Contribution ergonomique à l'analyse des relations de service exemple de professionnalisation d'une fonction d'accueil en bureau de poste

Abstract

This paper presents the main results of a field study on the process of the professionalization of welcoming clerks in post offices. Current research contributes to the study of complex relationships between professional skills and work organization in the field of public relations (PR) within the French Post Office. It concerns the process involved in the professionalization of a new function, known as « contact agent » (« agent de contact »), in existing working organizations. Our approach combines two complementary axes: professional integration and skills' development. These are studied in relation to different aspects of the working situation: contact agent, organization and customers. In order to analyse the work of contact agents, data is collected both by direct and indirect methods (interviews, observations). The reported results identify the basic determinants of the contact agents' actions as well as the characteristics for integrating their actions into the organization of the post office. Results show that the variety of customer relationship situations allows the contact agent to develop specific skills for managing public relations. The working group, mainly represented by counter clerks, also takes part in this development by contributing informally to their training. Specific patterns of organizational design and psychological features of contact agents are observed as to their influence on acceptance in post offices and indirectly on the professionalization process. This research contributes to the study of professionalization. It emphasizes that the dynamics of this process depend on specific patterns that link operator and organizational features. It also contributes to the development of ergonomics in the field of services by suggesting a formalization of the cooperative work process, associating the operator with a non-professional actor, the customer.