Call Recording Featured Article

When it comes to jobs, the call center industry is often saddled with a bad reputation. While it may be a deserved reputation in some cases – many people still remember the days of “boiler room” call centers in which the work was grueling and poorly paid – it doesn’t necessarily reflect many of the contact centers of today, which require workers with specialized knowledge and offer good pay and benefits.

It’s impossible to argue, however, that there isn’t a problem with employee engagement in the average contact. It shouldn’t be an indictment on contact center alone; many industries are struggling under high levels of employee neutrality or active disengagement. However, for many contact center managers, it remains a stubborn, costly problem. Poorly engaged workers don’t offer a great customer experience, they aren’t efficient with their time and they may even be actively losing the company money by causing customers to hang up and go in search of a competitor with better service.

According to a study by research group Gallup, disengaged workers cost the U.S. economy from $450 billion to $550 billion a year in lost productivity. For this reason, one of the most cost-effective things contact center managers can do is take effective steps to improve employee engagement. The best way to do this, according to a recent blog post for BLR by Moxie’s Dan Kurber, is by improving managers.

“Time and time again, studies show us that employees are leaving their leaders and not their organizations,” wrote Kurber. “When leaders build trust and ultimately influence among their employees, the relationship between them becomes stronger and as a result, employees feel more of an obligation to perform for their leader. The result is increased organizational buy-in and engagement among employees.”

In the hiring process, companies should look for contact center managers who are “people people.” This means they are engaged in the success of the organization themselves (and not just their own careers) and are willing to be strong and fair leaders to contact center workers. Effective managers walk the floor, hand out compliments and praise when it’s deserved (which means they need to be observing employee behavior closely), understand how to offer criticism without making it personal, and help employees attain their own goals.

“Making personal connections is an essential part of effectively leading others,” wrote Kurber. “If as a leader you are not connecting with your employees, it may be that you failed to make those personal connections. Stop, take some time, and make at least one personal connection with each one of your employees. Then, you can work towards building influence, which will ultimately lead to increased employee engagement.”

Managers who act as barking, inflexible drill sergeants with a “tough love” approach may generate short-term results. But if the goal is keeping employees engaged (and keeping them employed), this is not a great approach to contact center management. Younger workers change jobs even more frequently than their Baby Boomer of Gen-X counterparts, so companies unprepared to make an effort to engage them will find the coming years even more challenging.