Call Recording Featured Article

Two of every three employees are disengaged, according to Gallup. That’s too bad, because more engaged employees tend to add up to better customer service. That said, this is particularly relevant information for call center workers and their managers.

To help companies – and their call center organizations – better understand what factors figure in to creating a more engaging environment for workers, Gallup has compiled a list of things that such organizations tend to have.

Curious, involved leaders who want to improve tops this list, as Gallup notes in a Harvard Business Review article that ran a year ago this month.

“Leaders of great workplaces don’t just talk about what they want to see in the management ranks – they model it and keep practicing to get better at it every day with their own teams,” wrote Peter Flade, James Harter, and Jim Asplund in the Harvard Business Review piece. “By displaying a little vulnerability and visibly working on improving themselves, they signal that such engagement is how one gets ahead.”

Second on the list of factors common in companies with high employee engagement is having “cracking HR functions.”

Great human resources people, according to the Gallup authors, are especially good at influencing, teaching, and holding executives accountable.

Companies with strong worker engagement also tend to focus on engagement first, and then move on to talking about the company mission.

In this day and age, it’s also important not to attribute a lack of employee morale to a down economy or industry sector, according to Gallup.

“The experience of the 32 exemplary companies we studied calls this rationalization into question,” they say. “With few exceptions, they have also had to respond to flat or declining top lines – with structural changes, redundancies, and declining real pay and benefits – and yet not only have they maintained their strong cultures, they’ve improved them. They have achieved this by being open, making changes swiftly, communicating constantly, and providing hope.”

That takes us to the next factor, which is holding accountable yet relentlessly trusting and supporting managers and teams. That is the kind of thing that inspires employees and pushes them to do better.

Of course, knowing what to expect is also of the utmost importance for a functional workplace, as the Gallup authors note. That said, it’s key to be decisive and straightforward in performance management – and to recognize individuals for their good work.

Gallup adds that “a hallmark of these great workplaces is that they are filled with recognition junkies…. Meanwhile, they see tolerance of mediocrity as the enemy. Any action or inaction that doesn’t produce appropriate consequences adds to workplace disillusionment and corrodes commitment.”

Finally, the Gallup authors urge organizations not to pursue engagement for its own sake. Instead, businesses should keep their focus on their goals, but leverage as many of the factors noted above as make sense for them to reach those goals – while inspiring and encouraging their employees in the process.