Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
Duvet Days Bring Modern Flexibility to Call Center Scheduling
The rate of absences in the workplace is something many companies have grappled with. From decreased productivity to poor engagement and high turnover, there are many reasons why businesses look to solutions that diminish the rate of sudden call outs by staff.
While planned vacation time and sick day allowances are typically offered as part of a standard benefits package to full-time employees, there are other instances when an emergency or short notice (like the morning of the call out) that can leave businesses scrambling to plug holes to maintain efficiency.
A Changing Workforce
The other factor that’s coming into play as well is that today’s workforce varies greatly from the workers of the past decades. As more work/home life balances are focused on and people are looking for flexible workplaces that allow for scheduling they choose, it’s become critical for companies to reshape their time off policies to meet these needs. Only by answering with solutions can they protect their production and bottom line.
Duvet Days
Duvet Days, first popularized in the U.K., have made their way to U.S. companies too now and are a way for businesses to offer their employees days when they need to suddenly take off of work without advance notice. Some companies refer to these as “personal days” but usage can be blurred if there is an unlimited opportunity to take unexplained absences. Duvet Days address this head-on by offering a chance to have a “no questions asked” day off.
Benefits for Call Center Scheduling
In call centers, where agent productivity is critical at each moment, lapses in coverage for customer communications is a big no-no. This is an industry that’s had to constantly reinvent the wheel to make better adherence possible. Adding these no pressure days off to the agent’s benefits package is one way many companies are seeing improvements today. A survey conducted by CBI/ Pfizer Absence and Workplace Health on the rate of absences in the UK found that the issue of callouts with no accepted reason remains as a significant burden to the UK economy.
As an answer to the issue, many businesses have already implemented Duvet Day options to their time off and scheduling. The added flexibility has boosted engagement and satisfaction and helped companies to plan in advance for sudden days off. Like any policy, this will require rules and should be added only with a plan that makes sense for the company.
If you’re a call center manager that’s been struggling to keep agents on schedule and reduce call outs, a Duvet Day might be the answer!
Edited by Maurice Nagle