Call centre managers are being advised to increase staff training as a means of boosting customer relations and staff morale.

While call centres have become an essential part of many companies, there is a fear the image they project could seriously damage a firm's reputation.

Scott Watson, a director of Halifax-based Summit Consulting and Training, said research shows that callers can associate the attitude and quality of call centre staff directly with the standards of the company they represent.

"Current call centre management thinking is based firmly on the use of statistics and data to impose pressure on personnel to perform faster and more effectively," he said.

"But this attitude cannot be expected to motivate staff successfully or enhance their customers' perceptions, especially where training is inadequate or even non-existent."

This view is supported by Paul Jagger, TUC Regional secretary for Yorkshire and Humber.

A report by the union into call centre conditions showed a long list of complaints from workers over conditions.

"The report showed that it can be very demotivating work, with staff working from scripts," he said.

"We are also worried about the lack of training. Workers have few generic skills of value outside the company. This was one of the things we were concerned about when call centres started."

Mr Watson said that by boosting training, firms may find that staff are less likely to move on to other jobs.

"Managers need to realise that these high rates of attrition are principally caused by poor training and management techniques, allied to rapid technical change, which inevitably disorientates personnel," he said.