Team management dilemma: Should you fire lazy agents right away?

Faith Ocampo Published on June 20, 2016

lazy-call-center-agent-sleeping-watching-customer-service-coworkers

In a productivity-focused setting like a call center, it seems there’s no room for lazy agents. Or is there?

As a manager, we’re sure you’ve encountered this employee before: the one who never seems to get any work done. Either you’ll find them wandering about and chatting with their teammates or just sitting in front of their computers, physically present but are really busy daydreaming.
How should you deal with these types of agents?

bored-lazy-call-center-agent-idle-feet-up-table

Your impulse might be to consider firing them immediately. After all, they may be dragging down your team’s productivity or possibly annoying their teammates who want to focus on doing actual work. Slacking off, or appearing to do so, always has a negative connotation, and this bad reputation multiplies exponentially in a result-driven setting, such as in the customer support field.
As a team leader or manager, performance management is one of your key responsibilities. You’re in charge of improving less than ideal situations so you can maximize the organization’s productivity. But before you fire your “lazy” call center agents, we suggest you consider the following.

1. Is it possible to transfer them to another position?

businessman-welcome-new-employee-with-box

Even professionals who have a lot of potential may, at some point in their careers, appear sluggish. It can happen to each one of us, especially if our job doesn’t match our key skills.

Often, managers forget that effective team management is a result of harnessing the potential of employees. You can only do that if you hire the right people for a particular job. If not, those employees will be wasting so much of their knowledge and talents by doing a job that doesn’t let them maximize their expertise.

 

2. What are their biggest contributions, so far?

boss-one-on-one-meeting-employee-evaluation

Before firing a lazy call center agent, you first need to review all of their contributions to the organization. An employee may be judged as unproductive, but that doesn’t automatically mean that they’re unsuccessful in all subsets of their job. They may, for example, excel at some tasks like upselling or cross-selling but be ineffective at resolving the technical problems of customers. For a more holistic performance management, you should take a closer look at every single one of your employees’ contributions. This way, you can also evaluate them in a fair and accurate way or design training programs to target their weaknesses.

 

3. What do these lazy employees do best?

female-call-center-agent-typing-on-keyboard

Team leaders and managers are in a position to help their staff nurture their individual potential. The greatest leaders allow their team members to shine by letting them do what they do best. Have a one-on-one talk with your agents and let them know that you’re willing to make rearrangements if it’s possible. This way, you’re letting them make more significant contributions to the organization while making room for a new member of your team who has the right customer support skills.

 

4. How do they affect team dynamics?

sleeping-female-customer-service-agent-call-center-coworkers-watching

Team dynamics greatly affect employee engagement. When team members work harmoniously with one another, each of them becomes driven to accomplish more. But if there are gaps among some members, productivity may suffer.

If your “lazy” call center agents affect others’ performance, you may feel the need to cut them loose. The other option is to transfer them to more individualistic tasks that won’t require much interaction with others. Remember, when you do move them to another department, make sure that their new task suits them better than the previous one.

In reality, different leaders have different team management styles, and what works for one may not work for the other. This is because you’re operating on varying contexts and there are unique considerations in almost every case. Tell us how you deal with lazy agents in the comment box!

Faith is a digital media enthusiast aiming to become an active part of the tech world by sharing her insights. She likes to blog about everything digimarketing, technology, and social media.
Join us on facebook
Open Access BPO 2 days ago
Compared to most industries, #CallCenters are known for providing a fun and positive workplace for their employees.
But more than just making daily ops light and dynamic, the agents, the contact center, and the clients benefit from this: https://buff.ly/3NiWbEB

----------
Let's create a program hyper-customized for your brand's goals, needs, budget, and customer demands: OpenAccessBPO.com/get-started

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#CustomerService #EmployeeEngagement
Open Access BPO 2 days ago
Efficiency in #CallCenters involves enhancing agents' #productivity and #satisfaction.

Check out these 5 tips to boost #EmployeeEngagement and productivity in #ContactCenters: https://buff.ly/46H48KE

----------
Learn how our training, employee engagement, and culture of diversity contribute to our high-quality #CustomerExperience: OpenAccessBPO.com/get-started

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#CSat #CustomerSupport #CX
#CustomerService #CustomerSupport
Open Access BPO 3 days ago
#CallCenters are made up of people from different cultures or backgrounds.
Each one is likely to have differing workplace habits and values, all of which can result in conflicts.

Here are the top 10 causes of conflicts in the call center: https://buff.ly/3GsT0GL

----------
Connect with an #outsourcing firm that provides great employee training and management programs: OpenAccessBPO.com/get-started

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#CompanyCulture #EmployeeManagement
Open Access BPO 3 days ago
As more consumers turn toward online channels, businesses are struggling to provide quality #CustomerSupport for their international customers.
Partnering with a reliable #MultilingualCallCenter has, thus, become a valuable strategy.

𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 businesses must offer to remain competitive in global markets: https://buff.ly/4a7ocZp

----------
For #CustomerService and #BackOffice support in over 30 languages, contact Open Access BPO today: OpenAccessBPO.com/get-started

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
Open Access BPO 3 days ago
𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐲.

Luckily for you, #outsourcing can back you up in this battle.
Here's how call centers protect your customers from ecommerce fraud: https://buff.ly/47GJvPX

----------
Partner with an #outsourcing partner that keeps #InfoSec a top priority alongside great #CustomerSupport: OpenAccessBPO.com/get-started

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#CustomerExperience #DataSecurity
#outsourcing #FraudProtection #FraudDetection
Open Access BPO 3 days ago
In celebration of 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡 this December, Open Access BPO Davao collaborated with the Philippine Red Cross - Davao City Chapter for a blood donation drive held last December 1, 2023.

Our collective efforts turned moments of compassion into life-saving contributions.

Thank you to all our OABPO Davao heroes who rolled up their sleeves–you've proven that a small act of giving can have a monumental impact.

----------
Open Access BPO actively promotes community involvement in the workplace by supporting the annual blood donation activity among other causes.

𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘈𝘉𝘗𝘖 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦.

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#OneWithHealth Philippine Red Cross
Open Access BPO