The more things change in the call center industry, the more they stay the same. New technologies and strategies introduced in recent years have to a large extent changed the landscape of the call center industry. Yet call centers still struggle to find and retain good employees.

 

Call center turnover is high in part because employees tend to be young; many leave their positions as agents to move up the ranks within the organization or use the experience gained to leverage higher pay or position at another company. Also, the work tends to be stressful which leads to employee burnout.

 

Since there is no slowdown in the call center staffing sector and companies are continually hiring  to fill new and replacement positions, it’s necessary to establish a strategy for recruiting and retaining quality call center employees. Overall, the most successful call centers are those that get creative in the way they recruit, hire and retain their agents. The Internet is now a primary source for recruiting quality employees.

 

Training is crucial to retaining good employees. A call center with excellent recruiting practices, competitive pay, and a top-notch working environment may still fail to retain employees if it ignores training. Most turnover takes place in the first 90 days of employment, a clear indication that when agents do not have the skills necessary to do their jobs, they tend to abandon ship.

 

Staying on top of trends in the call center industry is also vital for keeping a highly competent workforce. Technology advancements have dramatically changed the role of call center agents. Many routine customer service tasks are now handled by interactive voice response (IVR) systems, with more advanced transactions requiring human contact. This means that the skill level requirements for agents is higher than in the past; if so, recruiting and training practices need to be updated to keep pace.

 

Another change is the creation of “contact centers,” where agents not only provide customer service over the phone, but may utilize e-mail and Web chat. Again, more advanced skills (such as excellent written communications) may be required of agents to excel in this setting.

 

To learn more about techniques for reducing employee turnover in call centers, please visit the Call Center Jobs channel on TMCnet.com, sponsored by CallCenterClassifieds.com.

 

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