Why Vanguard Group stopped taking Saturday live calls

Vanguard Group "Crew" who staff phones at the company's Malvern headquarters aren't coming to work on Saturdays anymore. Advisory staff tell me that as of this autumn they are no longer assigned weekend shifts. Hours are now Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m., Eastern time.

Vanguard spokeswoman Adrianna Stefanoni Sherlock explains: "We had found that the majority of our clients (90%) interact with us via our website or mobile apps, and that most of the inquiries we were receiving on Saturdays were those that could be self-provisioned online." And that many of the weekend calls required specialized weekday (corrected) callbacks anyway. The remaining 10% includes emails, as well as phone calls.

Most callers reach out during stock-trading weekday hours anyway, Sherlock noted. "We simply found that we could better serve our clients by increasing our weekly staffing."  

Some of the 2,100 Crew that Vanguard is meanwhile shifting from salaried to hourly status have told me the loss of Saturday hours makes it more challenging to schedule their work toward the end of each week. Update: More in my column in the Oct. 25 Philadelphia Inquirer here.