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There’s no way to sugarcoat it, the holiday season in the call center can be mayhem. Leading up to the end of December you’ve got customers calling to place orders or inquire about delivery dates, and after the last package has been unwrapped you have a ton of returns and exchanges that need to be taken care of. It’s a lot for your staff to deal with, which is why it’s so important to take their thoughts and feelings into consideration when you’re planning call center space.

Heavy volume times like the holidays make it more evident how important it is to have space for agents to unwind, collaborate, or collect themselves even if it’s only for a 15 minute break. Here are some suggestions to bring collaborative workspaces to your weary agents.

According to call center furniture provider Interior Concepts, lounge areas have become increasingly common in call centers, and with the collaborative environment they provide it’s no wonder why. Lounges offer a comfortable retreat for informal conversation, where people can bounce ideas off one another and potentially generate new work strategies.  You can make sure to keep productivity up by outfitting comfortable chairs with built in tables, great for scratching down notes in a pinch. Bright colors will stimulate the mind and keep your agents awake even after a marathon of overtime shifts.

If you don’t have the space for a lounge, then the collaboration café offers another option for helping your agents build relationships or to just shoot the breezeon their break. Here IC recommends tables that are a little higher than the waist, outfitted with power adapters to plug in cell phones, laptops or whatever else your agents need to charge. If your agents themselves need a little recharging, the collaboration café is usually right near the kitchen so they can grab some water, a snack, or the all important 2PM cup of coffee that’s going to help them finish the day strong. Proximity to the caffeine always helps stimulate conversation, and the higher tables make it comfortable to stand, so your agents can shake off any stiffness they may have developed sitting at their desks all day.

If you look at the way technology innovators like Google (News - Alert) get their staff to produce great ideas, you realize downtime is an essential component to the creative process. Give your call center agents the time and space for free-thought, and you’ll find that the best strategies come from impromptu conversations around the water cooler, not the boardroom.

Chris DiMarco is a Managing Editor for TMCnet. He holds a master's degree in journalism from Quinnipiac University. Prior to joining TMC (News - Alert) Chris worked with e-commerce provider Suresource as a contact center representative and development analyst. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page. Follow him on Twitter (News - Alert) @cpdimarco.

Edited by Stefanie Mosca