The call center exists to keep customers happy. Of course that’s the case, but too many companies forget that it’s equally important to keep their call center agents happy. Happy and fulfilled agents project positive energy, and customers respond accordingly. Even if you don’t buy into the whole “happy auras beget happy auras” idea, it’s an irrefutable fact that high call center turnover costs companies a bundle every year. The constant need to recruit and train new agents and get them the requisite skill level to deal with customers well is a drain on resources.

Essentially, by keeping your call center agents happy, you can both save money and keep your customers happy: a win for everyone. But how, exactly, do you keep your agents happy? According to management expert Dayna Steele, writing for SearchCRM, it’s about taking steps to create a positive environment for call center agents, which is a multi-step process.

For starters, writes Steele, evaluate the quality of your physical contact center. Sit down in one of the agent’s seats. Is it comfortable? Is the artificial lighting warm and inviting or harsh? Is the view attractive, or are employees looking at dusty duct work? Is there natural light from windows? How are the acoustics? Can agents hear little but their conversations or other agents? Try to place a call…can you hear the caller at the other end of the line well? How does the call center smell: is it moldy and in need of fresh air? Are the headsets old and broken or the monitors prone to glaring? Improving the call center’s physical environment can go a long way toward keeping employees happy and comfortable in their jobs.

The next step, says Steele, is ensuring that agents have the right tools and technologies to actually solve customer problems. Are your agents spending too much time saying “I don’t know” or “I’m not authorized to do that” to customers? Providing agents with the right technologies to get the job done, the right access to critical data, and a bit of empowerment to solve customer problems with some of their own initiative can go a long way toward improving the quality of the work. No one likes to be bored, but even more critically, no one likes to feel helpless and unable to do their job properly. Sometimes, Steele reminds us, you need to spend money to make money. While holding onto yesterday’s technology may seem like a good idea in the short run, it may actually be costing you money.

Finally, says Steele, appreciate your employees. Successful call centers have programs that help employees achieve and feel that their work is valued. Employee-of-the-month awards, pizza parties, rewards for the most successful team and even social events outside of work can help call center agents feel like they are a valuable part of a whole. Listen to their complaints and consider their suggestions (and even implement some of them).

When it comes right down to it, treating your call center agents well is a direct step toward treating your customers well. Consider any changes you make to improve your contact center money well spent.