The value of every agent, who works hard to please customers, is impossible to quantify, as it goes far beyond the numbers.
That’s why for contact centers, employee engagement must be the top priority. For every poor performer, brands can lose customers or suffer from the onslaught of negative feedback.
Call center managers must recognize that working on the happiness of their agents requires continuous effort. You may start with the little things first, such as providing comfortable chairs and fully functioning desktop computers. But as your organization grows, make it a point to invest more on the well-being of your team. If agents feel valued in the workplace, you’ll be able to lessen call center attrition, which then translates to bigger returns.
To inspire you to enhance your business practices, we compiled notable sustainable management tips from five of the world’s best places to work for. These may give you ideas on how to attract and retain agents.
Fun work environment at Acuity
Acuity, a property and casualty insurer headquartered at Wisconsin, United States, takes pride in its takes pride in its gaming and entertainment facilities. Their office is equipped with ping-pong tables, an adult casino (where you can really win cash!), and a human foosball, which is a life-sized version of the table game.
Keeping a fun work environment is one of the best ways to drive up employee engagement and productivity. Incorporating games into the workplace not only allows agents to de-stress but also enhances their creativity and problem solving skills.
Promotion of work–life balance at Boston Consulting Group
Boston Consulting Group is 2016’s third best company to work for. It’s known for the Predictability, Teaming, and Open Communication (PTO) program, which is an attempt to help employees find work–life balance. As a result, 74% of its employees say they intend to stay in the company for a long time.
The PTO allows for sustainable management, as it provides employees a roadmap on how to be productive while enjoying their personal lives. From the smallest things such as how to find time to meet with friends to the more complex issues such as how to connect more deeply with colleagues, the PTO has got it covered. Using the right approach, your call center can also conduct coaching sessions to help agents deal with stress and fatigue.
Health screenings at Wegmans
A supermarket chain with more than 88 stores, Wegmans does it best to take care of its employees, as though they’re family. Management provides immunizations, yoga sessions, cooking classes, and health screenings to promote wellness.
You can take a leaf out of Wegmans’ book by focusing on your agents’ health. Consider the lifestyle, diet, and physical activities of your employees and conduct health-related activities or campaigns to encourage wellness. This will ensure they’re always at their best conditions while working, allowing you to deliver high-quality services.
Great facilities at SAS Institute
If you want to reduce call center attrition, give your staff some compelling reasons to stay. This is probably what SAS Institute was thinking when it designed its campus. Without leaving the work area, employees can enjoy swimming, have their shoe repaired, get a massage, pick up a prescription, or take photography classes.
It’s a pretty ambitious setup, but smaller companies can start by providing basic services to employees first. Why not start with massages or medical clinics? More and more companies are hiring physical therapists and health professionals who can help their employees with medical issues.
22-hour workweek at Nugget Market
Reducing the workweek is one of the trendiest business practices nowadays, because employees tend to be more productive when well-rested. Nugget Market believes in this, and probably because of their employee engagement tactics, they’ve never had a single layoff.
It might be impossible for your call center to follow the 22-hour workweek. What you can do instead is optimize workforce scheduling and help your agents cope with stress. Also, you may provide them more freedom when it comes to taking days off. This way, they’d have enough time to rest and engage in their hobbies from time to time.