Rallying the Troops: Ways to Get a Call Center Staff Motivated
1 Nov, 2002
By: Dennis MontsIn today's fast-paced and ever-changing call center culture, keeping staff motivated and productive is a formidable task even for experienced managers. A point to remember is that the most valuable asset of any organization is its people. Even in software-driven call centers, keeping top talent is critical to success. Happy, involved and committed workers can drive revenue through efficiency and improved customer service.
But how can managers keep employees motivated? How can they rally the troops and get them happy, involved and committed? You know the hardest problems often have the simplest solutions. Managers often see positive results by simply talking to their workers. Yes, talking! It''s amazing how valuable a little communication can be when it comes to improving employee morale.
According to the results of Randstad North America''s 2002 Employee Review, communication is critical in dealing with the expectations and demands of today''s workforce. The annual survey conducted by RoperASW focuses on the attitudes and experiences of both employees and employers, The findings were gathered from in-depth telephone interviews of 1,105 employees and 882 employers.
''Employers who regularly communicate with employees, providing performance reviews and company financial information, are rewarded with higher employee morale and stronger loyalty to the company, both of which significantly impact the company''s bottom line.''
Employers who regularly communicate with employees, providing performancereviews and company financial information, are rewarded with higher employee morale and stronger loyalty to the company, both of which can significantly impact the company''s bottom line.
Everyone knows that society as a whole is in the midst of a communications explosion. From the television to the radio, from the Internet to the cell phone, people receive mountains of information that they have to process each day. It''s important for companies to realize that more access to information is not communication. Getting an important message through all those superfluous messages bombarding people can be a true challenge. It's not how well something is said but how well it is understood that can make the difference in improving employee morale.
One of the most critical disconnects between call center agents and their managers is that the management team does not paint a clear picture of where the company is going - what business goals have been set and how well the company is meeting those goals. More importantly, managers often don''t communicate how their employees play a part - a major part - in helping the company as a whole meet those business objectives. In too many organizations, mid-level managers spend more time communicating up the ladder than down to the ''worker bees'' of the company. For senior management, communicating with the majority of the workforce is all too often no more than an afterthought. And they''re not fooling anyone in the cubes.
With all the modern technological advances and conveniences, personal interaction has become more important than ever. Employees want their managers to sit down and talk with them - to explain what''s going on in the company and to listen to their concerns. If employers listen, they''ll find that what employees want more than anything is to be trusted, to have some flexibility in their scheduling and to feel like they have a ''career'' rather than just a job. The key to building a productive workforce is to create a motivating program around these three areas.
Trust
Research conducted for Randstad''s Employee Review found that 91 percent of employees say trust is what makes them feel successful in the workplace, even more than money and titles.
Employees want some input in decision-making. Agents want the opportunity to make a difference for their customers, although many don''t feel they have the latitude to make such decisions. Confronted with a myriad of restrictions, policies and procedures, eventually even the most dedicated employee begins to feel powerless to satisfy the customer. The ability to turn an angry client into a fan is highly motivating for employees. Feeling that their hands are tied in appeasing an irate customer, on the other hand, can be extremely frustrating for any dedicated call center agent. The good news is that many call centers are becoming more relationship-based, giving agents more access to tools and data to make decisions that will help keep customers happy. Such programs enable a company to create a work environment that maximizes employee efficiency and improves workforce morale.
Agents also rebel against the excessive structure some call centers implement and the very specific criteria upon which they are evaluated, such as talk time, average sales per call, or number of calls answered/placed. Many agents question the validity of the criteria and resent the inflexibility of the ''standards''. Performance management systems like this often set the stage for an ''us'' versus ''them'' scenario between agents and team leaders or call center managers. For example, telling a top sales agent that they spend too much time with each customer can ''de''-motivate that person.
A better option is to involve agents in deciding performance criteria.
Once criteria are established, managers and senior agents should spend time explaining the logic behind the evaluation, or link the information to tangible results and customer satisfaction so they can see and understand the usefulness of the structure.
Flexibility
Employees who have some flexibility in when, where or how they work are more satisfied with their jobs. The more satisfied they are, the more motivated and productive.According to the Employee Review, 77 percent of employees surveyed said that flexibility was a characteristic of their ideal job. Call center agents are no exception. The more flexible call centers can be about workplace issues, the more likely they are to attract and hang on to agents who both require and desire flexible schedules.
The most common reason employees seek a flexible work environment is to handle family obligations. The importance of family versus work has been on the rise the last three years. Just two years before in the 2000 Employee Review, 54 percent of employees said that family was their top priority. That number shot up to 68 percent in 2002. An analysis by age groups shows that time for family is an overwhelming priority across the generations. Seventy-four percent of Boomers (ages 37-56), 72 percent of Matures (ages 57 and up), and 62 percent of Gen X/Y (ages 18-36) also agreed that family was their top priority. It isn''t that work is less important to the vast majority of American workers, it''s just that family is becoming more important.
Employers must acknowledge this trend and establish policies that allow workers to create their own balance. Employees want to know management is responsive to family situations that arise from time to time. And they certainly feel there''s room for improvement when it comes to creating a family-friendly atmosphere in the workplace. While 76 percent of employers said they are more understanding about the need to take care of various family situations, only 61 percent of employees said they see any increase in understanding.
When it comes to flexibility in the workplace, employees like the idea of:
•Setting their own hours
•Working full-time with extended time off for education/family/charity functions
•Telecommuting
•Working four 10-hour days
While some of these ideas may be impossible to implement in a call center, others may be worth investigating. Allow agents to chart what their desired work hours are and have managers compare the hours with others on their team. Can people be shifted around so that a father can get to his son''s t-ball games on Thursday afternoons? Can two or three agents work compressed workweeks, taking 10-hour shifts four days a week?
Providing flexibility in job responsibilities is also important. Why? Quite simply, agent retention is higher in call centers where people can rotate responsibilities than in centers where agents are expected to handle the same type of calls for extended periods of time. Adding variety
- different projects and different types of calls - to the agent''s regular routine underscores the belief that workers are valuable members of the team.
Career Pathing
All employees want to know they''re on the right track. And for most, that''s following a career path replete with directional signs along the way.
Employees who feel they have a career and not just a job are generally more motivated. Again communication is important. Managers need to convey to their agents that they are on a career path. One of the easiest ways to do that is to provide agents with regular performance reviews. Eighty-four percent of employees say it is important to receive reviews, and 82 percent of employers agree. But only 72 percent of employees say they actually receive regular reviews.
According to the research, employees who are given regular feedback about their performance are more satisfied with their managers, more likely to describe their company in positive terms, and have significantly higher views of job satisfaction. How''s that for a checklist of reasons to provide workers with regular feedback on their performance? Reviews should include not only feedback on how an agent is doing in his or her job, but also outline how agents can grow and advance in their field. While employees think it is ultimately their responsibility to chart their career paths, six in 10 say it would be great if their employer could help them out. They not only want advice on skills needed to reach the next level, they want training programs to help get them there.
Training is also a powerful motivator. Training programs show that employers want to invest in employees for the long-term. This is especially important for younger workers who are working to establish a career path.
Ultimately, open and honest communication is the key to keeping top talent happy and productive. By implementing some of these ideas, call centers can reap many rewards, including increased productivity and higher retention rates. But perhaps the best reward is customer satisfaction.
It''s been proven time and again that there is a direct correlation between customer satisfaction/loyalty and employee knowledge, satisfaction, and loyalty. In the end, motivated employees mean happy customers and increased revenues. And that''s sure to make everyone happy.
Employee Performance ReviewsRegular Employee Performance ReviewsNo
Regular Employee Performance Reviews
Always looking for better job opportunities 27%35%
Likelihood to be working for the same firm in one year 88%79%
Loyalty to employer 71%49%
Feel employer is loyal to them47%25%
Optimism about the future of the company53%46%
Faith in senior management to make the right decision87%74%
Satisfaction with manager or supervisors92%72%
Employers are more undrestanding about employees needing to take care of families or private lives64%54%
F.I.S.H. Motivates Employees
Many companies have found using creative techniques to motivate employees can increase retention and loyalty without busting the budget.
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Outsourcing Solutions Inc. (OSI) is a $612 million provider of business process outsourcing services in the area of receivables management.
Serving Fortune 500 companies, OSI has implemented many of the principles outlined in Randstad''s Employee Review. OSI''s Charleston, S.C., call center recently implemented the F.I.S.H. associate recognition program - short for "Frequently Issued Special Honors" - for its 1,100 employees.
The F.I.S.H. program provides associates and on-site vendors with three F.I.S.H. certificates each month, which are typically used to recognize fellow associates who go ''above and beyond the call of duty'' while supporting the core company values. When associates see a colleague doing something great, they complete a F.I.S.H. certificate noting the observed behavior and give the certificate to the person recognized. A carbon copy of the certificate is deposited into a ''F.I.S.H. Bowl'' which is later collected and recorded by Human Resources for additional recognition.
F.I.S.H. certificates carry different point values which, when accumulated, can be exchanged for OSI logo items and other valuable prizes. At OSI, the F.I.S.H program was launched in March 2002 with a teaser campaign complete with daily posters, presentations a top-secret decorating party and many other F.I.S.H-centered activities including a kick-off party to generate excitement. The program was designed to complement other initiatives already in place to support associate development and satisfaction, such as structured performance reviews, communication of company financial information, a peer-assisted learning (PAL) program and tuition reimbursement.
In addition to F.I.S.H., associates still receive regular feedback from supervisors including monthly assessments to set goals and weekly updates to review progress. The combined approach has been very effective thus far. Says Vania Lively, OSI vice president of operations, "We''re just receiving some preliminary data, so it''s too early to give actual numbers. However, morale is up, and we suspect a possible correlation between F.I.S.H. and our reduced attrition rates." So far, more than 9,000
F.I.S.H. certificates have been issued.
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According to the responses from the Randstad''s Employee Review survey, success in the workplace is not judged simply by the size of a paycheck.
Nine out of 10 employees (91 percent) define true success as being trusted
to get a job done, surpassing fulfillment derived from money or a title.
