Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
Simplifying Call Center Motivation
Motivating call center agents should be fairly easy. In fact, many managers tend to overcomplicate the motivation process. Many agents are more than willing to participate, especially if the motivator is moving up the corporate ladder.
Carolyn Blunt speaks of a self-employed friend whom has run an online company from her home for 15 years. When Blunt and others ask what keeps her motivated, working alone all day, she replies “peanut butter.” Why peanut butter?
“Well, I like peanut butter sandwiches all right, but not enough to live off them every day, so every day must be spent productively earning, otherwise I’ll be having plain old peanut butter sandwiches for supper. It’s that simple.” Is that really a motivator, especially 15 years in, Blunt has to ask?
“No. But it keeps things in perspective. They think it has to do with personality, tenacity and business smarts. Certainly they have their place, but it’s simpler than that. People tend to overthink things, think that they need to have this mega idea or skill in order to be a success, when it’s really simple: Every day do the small things that will bring in an income and then you will have an income. It’ll give you a sense of accomplishment, and over time you’ll step up the corporate ladder because you are always learning.”
This means working for a personal gain and not just because it is required. Have high metrics based on FCRs or assisting other agents with the goal of moving on to a management position. Agents always need to set goals to keep self-motivation high.
Managers and team leads can help by having mini-mentoring meetings. They can ask agents about goals and when they are the happiest at work. Find out what is motivating them and try to find ways to help in achieving set goals.
Make long-term plans with agents, even map them out. Watch with them as they progress and act as a cheerleader. The kindest words of encouragement can put a smile on any call center agent’s face.
It is fairly simple to keep agents on a path to motivation sans complication. Zero in on what motivates them to excel on a daily basis and play off that. If all else fails, tell them about the peanut butter sandwiches.
How is your call center motivating agents?
Edited by Maurice Nagle