The Call Centre Committee had been briefed on the rollout of Call Centre Agent Assessment Tool (CCAAT) on February 13th, 2019. The employer is transforming CCART and intends to use it to assess performance for all employees including permanent employees. In their view, this mandatory national tool supports a consistent approach to call monitoring, meets CRA’s business needs for term staffing and is also used for performance listening to assess all agents and ensure they maintain a sustained level of proficiency.
We made it clear to the employer that we do not approve the use of CCAAT in its current format. We believe this tool should be used solely for quality assurance purposes and not for performance evaluation or rehire.
The union has advised the employer of the many issues that have been raised at the local and regional levels, as well as identified by the committee itself. These issues include, but are not limited to:
- The calls selected for evaluation do not accurately reflect our members’ work
- The absence of defined thresholds for obtaining a “benchmark” or “Distinction” rating
- The increased workload for the team leaders
- The overall subjective nature of the tool itself
A major area of concern is the absence of the grievance procedure in the information guide for agents. The employer mentions that “differences of opinion should be resolved informally through these open discussions” with team leaders. Then, they stipulate that “there is no formal staffing recourse on the contents of the CCAAT assessment itself”. Members must be reminded that grievances could and should be filed if they have legitimate concerns with their assessment. CCAAT assessments are, in our opinion, a formal employee performance review as per article 56 of the Collective Agreement.
We have made numerous suggestions to improve the tool and the employer told us that they appreciated our comments and will get back to us.
It is essential that locals identify issues as soon as possible and refer them to their RVPs and the Call Centre Committee in order to address them in a timely manner.
Gregory Krokosh
Chair of the Call Centre Committee
Regional Vice-President
Rocky Mountains Region
Union of Taxation Employees