Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
Essential Call Center Scheduling Practices to Keep Agents and Customers Happy
A good schedule is key to productivity, efficiency and just maintaining order in general. In the call center, scheduling can make or break overall performance and is absolutely critical to maintaining agent productivity and happiness along with meeting the needs and demands of customers.
How important is agent happiness to the overall performance of a call center? According to research from The Quality Assurance & Training Connection, average annual turnover for U.S. call center agents ranges from 30 to 45 percent. That number is more than double the average for all U.S. occupations! The research further indicates that turnover can be attributed to repetitive, non-challenging work assignments, lack of recognition, low job satisfaction and an inflexible working environment.
Many of those factors may be addressed directly simply through proper scheduling. And the first step to drafting an effective call center schedule is to ensure peak call times are covered by top performing agents, and that those agents are given incentives and motivation to maintain outstanding performance. Recognizing agent performance is absolutely essential to keeping them happy and ensuring customers’ needs are being adequately met.
Not all agents can be top performers, but some have rare and specialized skills that need to be recognized and utilized. An effective call center manager will know which agents are best equipped to handle specific areas and types of calls, and will make sure they are appropriately scheduled so they are available to do what they do best. Agents should also be cross-trained to perform a variety of tasks, enabling scheduling coverage for times when specific agents are not available to work. This practice ensures an effective call center schedule while also keeping agents motivated and appreciated by teaching them new skills.
The more flexibility a call center can offer within its schedule, the better overall performance and outcomes will be. By giving agents some leverage about which days and shifts they work, and offering additional options like working from home, managers can boost morale and overall call center productivity. A mobile application can be extremely beneficial here, enabling agents to keep on top of scheduling changes and adjustments at any time, using any device.
Call metrics can also play an important role in scheduling, providing managers with valuable insights about call resolution and abandonment rates as well as how well agents are performing. Adjustments may then be made within the schedule to better allocate resources and ensure those metrics are steadily improving.
Finally, activities outside of call handling should also be managed and scheduled. This includes breaks, training times, meetings and post-call data input. These are all important factors in overall call center operation and need to be scheduled and managed accordingly.
Edited by Maurice Nagle