How Contact Centers Can Get Their Agents Pumped Up

If you wanted to find some of the happiest, most gung-ho people in the world, where would you go? One good answer is an NBA or NFL event – or even just a place with a TV tuned to a game in which NBA or NFL teams are playing.

Why? Because there are a lot of sports fans out there, and some of the games are very exciting. But it’s really more than that, isn’t it?

Watching and talking about sports bring people together and makes them feel part of something. When the Chicago Bulls had their championship run, pretty much everybody in Chi-Town got into it. And for decades Cubs fans have bonded over that team’s legendary losing streak.

Most adults will take a pass on wearing a mask or funny hat for Halloween. But many sports fans are more than willing to sport a Swiss cheese hat or other strange accoutrement to support the Green Bay Packers or other storied sports teams.

Fans bring a lot of color to these teams and events. But it’s the leagues and teams that fire them up in the first place.

Whether fans are watching a game from the comfort of their favorite recliners, or seats within a stadium, promoters of professional and college sports are great at creating engaging environments. That includes color commentary, stat sidebars, mascot appearances, condiment races, music, and more.

So what does all this have to do with contact centers and workforce management? It’s just a way to demonstrate how organizations that work to create excitement and drive engagement can do so.

Of course, businesses don’t need to have the resources of a professional sports team to make that happen. Something as simple as hanging some fun artwork, firing up the crowd with a brief motivational rallying call, encouraging teamwork with weekly gatherings, or just opening the blinds to let in natural light can make the difference between creating an uplifting work environment and settling for the other kind.

Outsourced contact centers sometimes ask their clients to supply posters and T-shirts and hand them out to agents and managers who are working on their accounts and campaigns. These may seem like cheesy little things that don’t make much of a difference. But they illustrate to agents that the clients and contact centers care. They’re a constant reminder of why everybody is there. And if managers pass out the T-shirts and hang the posters with a bit of verve and style, they can bring excitement and a sense of teamwork to the related efforts.

Of course, engaging workers goes beyond creating positive physical environments and having a rah-rah attitude. Making agents feel like they’re a part of the team while at the same time recognizing their unique qualities and desires is also key.

For example, one agent might be great at answering very technical inquiries but not as adept at helping out with others. Setting schedules that provide those individuals with more tech-related work can allow for better business outcomes and greater employee engagement.

Providing greater flexibility in shifts and schedules can improve work environments for agents as well. It gives them the opportunity to have greater work-life balance. And it can add up to lower agent churn and keeping the best agents longer, which tends to mean better customer service.

Workforce management systems can allow for agent call matching, greater scheduling flexibility, and more effective and personalized coaching too.

“All of these capabilities help contact centers to put agents first,” write Monet Software (News - Alert). “That makes for happier agents  – and happier customers.”

Edited by Maurice Nagle