Call Center Management Featured Article
How and Why to Engage Call Center Agents
A new report emphasizes the importance of fostering continuous and supportive feedback in work environments. That’s based on new research from the SHRM/Globoforce Employee Recognition Report.
“Continuous peer feedback and recognition, as well as a supportive feedback environment, have the power to help organizations drive employee growth and development,” said Derek Irvine, vice president of strategy and consulting, Globoforce. “As our study shows, HR professionals are still dissatisfied with the accuracy of traditional performance reviews. Reward and performance strategies need to be reimagined so they help fulfill employees’ basic human needs of appreciation and connection. Social recognition programs alongside more human-centered practices have the power to not only strengthen relationships between employees, but also employees’ overall connections to the companies they work for.”
When employees become disengaged, their productivity tends to drop. They may even quit their jobs. Indeed, the report indicates 47 percent of HR leaders say employee retention and turnover are their top workforce management challenges.
These are particularly large challenges in call center environments. Call center agent churn averages between 30 and 45 percent, according to one report.
“The cost of recruiting, onboarding and training new agents can really put a dent in a company’s wallet. What’s more, a high turnover rate can affect morale,” says Rodney Kuhn of Envision. “It becomes increasingly difficult to create a motivating and positive work environment when agents are constantly leaving.”
Kuhn says hiring people who can cope with sometimes crabby callers, hiring and training call center supervisors both to meet KPIs and to help guide and motivate agents, leveraging workforce optimization software to support training so agents are more confident in their jobs and managers can see what they’re doing, are all key to driving greater call center agent engagement.
Talkdesk adds that offering competitive pay and benefits, provide rewards, enabling agents to advance in their careers over time, and establishing clear objectives are also key.
Edited by Mandi Nowitz