Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
How Call Center Scheduling Can Reduce Agent Stress
The word job shouldn’t be synonymous with stress, but for some in the call center industry, this is a reality. Call center agents have a significant amount of pressure put on them in a given day, from the number of calls they should handle, to the amount of time they should spend on each call to the way the calls should be resolved before disconnect.
The Human Resource Executive Online recently published a post on this topic, highlighting just how rigorously call center management monitors everything. The Integrated Benefits Institute recently conducted a study of roughly 200,000 call center customer service representatives and found that call center workers are significantly more likely to take time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act.
While such a leave should be provided by the organization, it also costs them money to do so. Wouldn’t it be better to make the necessary investments upfront so as to avoid lengthy FMLA leaves? There are a number of adjustments that could be made, one of them being in call center scheduling. Such adjustments aren’t just about giving agents the schedules they want, but also scheduling all agents according to accurate forecasts so as to avoid under or over scheduling.
Consider the reasons why call center agents are taking time off from work. According to the Integrated Benefits Institute study, most customer service representatives are female and also earn less than other employees. Female employees are 77 percent more likely to take continuous FMLA leave and 146 percent more likely to have intermittent leave when compared with male employees. These employees were also more likely to take FMLA leave to attend to their own health issues instead of caring for other family members.
The environment in which the call center runs as well as the demographic from which companies are recruiting appear to be playing a role. A lack of flexibility can contribute greatly to stress and illness. Also, considering the fact that most call centers attract individuals with limited education, the risk of leave due to illness is higher simply because such individuals tend to be less healthy. Even when these factors are controlled, however, there is still a significant difference in leave rates when compared with other industries.
To that end, there is tremendous opportunity to change the outcome with call center scheduling. The call center is always going to be a stressful environment, no matter what kinds of changes are made by management. When agents have the schedule they want, the flexibility to take time off and can make requests as needed, they have the opportunity to get a better handle on work stress and perform as needed. The key is to understand the challenges and the tools available to affect change.
Edited by Maurice Nagle