Enhancing Employee Engagement and Retention: The Role of Call Center Technology
“The Great Resignation” is a current phenomenon that’s affecting the workforce as a whole. Recent surveys suggest that over half of employees are exploring job opportunities, and a significant portion of workers aren’t planning to stay with their current company for the long term. This trend has also impacted call centers, with a significant increase in live job openings advertised last year Inbound call center.
While high turnover rates may seem concerning, it’s not all doom and gloom for call centers. Retaining top talent is still possible, even in the face of these challenges. By taking proactive measures to improve employee engagement and job satisfaction, call centers can create a work environment that’s conducive to retaining their best employees.
Boost Call Center Retention with Better Onboarding & Recruitment
Improve employee retention in a cloud call center. It’s important to focus on the recruitment and onboarding process. When hiring new staff, it’s not just about their skills but also their fit with the company culture and specific behaviors that are valued.
One way to find potential hires who fit the culture is to encourage current employees to refer candidates from their own networks. To motivate employees to do so, consider offering referral bonuses for those who refer to call center representatives who stay for a certain period of time. This is a great way to recognize and reward employees for their contributions to the success of the organization.
Before a new employee starts, it’s important to provide them with information that gets them excited about the role. It’s also important to begin rewarding them for exhibiting desired behaviors right away. Make sure that managers are prepared for formal training, but also consider how to onboard new hires culturally. Assigning a peer ambassador or buddy can help ease the new employee’s hesitancy to ask questions about the company culture.
Nurturing and Reinforcing Core Values: Key to a Strong Call Center Culture
To strengthen your call center’s culture, it’s important to ensure that your team’s behavior reflects your organization’s values and objectives. If there’s a gap, identify what it takes to embody those values in the call center and motivate your team members to commit to those behaviors. You can promote core values in various ways, such as recognition programs, team-building events, signage that reinforces cultural messages, ongoing training, and individual/team contests.
If your employees are disengaged due to a lack of interest in their daily tasks, gamification can be an effective way to re-engage them. Studies have shown that gamification can increase productivity and profitability. To implement this strategy, consider setting short- and long-term goals that are tied to training, job performance, and customer service scores. This can create a sense of competition and achievement among your employees.
Flexibility and Creativity in Service: Key Call Center Mindset
Call center representatives often feel isolated, especially since many of them are now working from home due to the pandemic. This job can also be stressful, which exacerbates the problem. A recent study by Calabrio found that high turnover rates among contact center agents were primarily caused by frequent occurrences of acute stress and feeling unsupported by their employers.
To address these issues, call center reps should be encouraged to exercise creativity in their everyday tasks. Instead of strictly adhering to the script, they should be empowered to provide customer assistance with flexibility and a personal touch while still maintaining the quality of service. This will allow them to connect with customers and feel the impact of their work on customer satisfaction.
Improving Engagement and Performance through Employee Recognition
Appreciation often gets overlooked in the workplace due to busy schedules and competing priorities. However, it is crucial on multiple levels. According to HBR, it is important to help employees feel valued and supported, not only for their wellbeing but also for the organization’s success.
When call center reps show your organization’s core values, it is important to inspire supervisors and colleagues to take a break from their busy plans and identify their wanted behavior. Whether your reps are working from a shared center or remotely from home, there are countless creative ways to publicly acknowledge their hard work and contributions. These acts of recognition confirm that their presence and efforts are valued by others, keeping them motivated and engaged, which in turn increases productivity.
Here are some achievements that you may want to consider recognizing through awards and appreciation:
- Milestones achieved through hard work and dedication
- Retention awards for managers who successfully retain their employees on a month-to-month basis
- Anniversary awards to celebrate employees who have been with the company for a significant amount of time (but be sure to start recognizing them early, even before the first year of service)
FAQS
Q: Why is call center retention important?
A: High turnover rates in call centers can lead to decreased productivity, higher costs due to recruitment and training, and decreased customer satisfaction. Retaining top talent can positively impact customer experience and overall company performance.
Q: How can call centers improve employee retention?
A: Call centers can improve employee retention by focusing on recruitment and onboarding, nurturing core values and culture, promoting creativity and flexibility in service, recognizing and appreciating employee contributions, and soliciting feedback to continuously improve.
Q: How can call centers make onboarding more effective?
A: Call centers can make onboarding more effective by providing new employees with information that excites them about the role and company culture, assigning a peer ambassador or buddy, and rewarding desired behaviors right away.
Q: How can call centers promote their core values?
A: Call centers can promote their core values through recognition programs, team-building events, signage, ongoing training, and individual/team contests.
Q: How can call centers promote creativity and flexibility in service?
A: Call centers can promote creativity and flexibility in service by empowering representatives to provide customer assistance with a personal touch while still maintaining quality of service, allowing them to connect with customers and feel the impact of their work on customer satisfaction.
Q: How can call centers recognize and appreciate employee contributions?
A: Call centers can recognize and appreciate employee contributions by encouraging supervisors and colleagues to acknowledge desired behaviors, celebrating milestones and achievements, and soliciting feedback to continuously improve.
Q: Why is feedback important for call center employee satisfaction?
A: Feedback is important for call center employee satisfaction because it helps individuals learn and grow in their roles, fosters a culture of continuous improvement, and ensures that employees feel valued and supported.
Solicit Feedback to Boost Call Center Employee Satisfaction
Asking employees for honest feedback is essential to improving workplace satisfaction and making positive changes. Experts at Gallup stress that feedback should go beyond routine check-ins and be meaningful to help individuals learn and grow in their roles. Incorporating a culture of feedback can help organizations continuously improve and thrive. Rolling Stone Culture Council members agree that seeking feedback should be an integral part of a company’s culture to foster growth and development.
