Agent attrition, or employee turnover, has a significant impact on time and resources in contact centers. It is often seen as a health check for any business. Think of attrition as the symptom of a greater issue. If your company has a high churn rate, there are probably a few reasons why. Here are ten strategies for reducing attrition in your contact center.
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Optimize Your Recruiting and Hiring Process
Reducing attrition starts with hiring suitable contact center agents. That process begins with developing the appropriate hiring profile and is often the “secret sauce” to ensuring the successful hiring of long-term employees. So, how accurate is your job listing? It is essential to clearly define the role during the hiring process, including daily tasks and performance expectations.
Once you have a pool of qualified candidates, consider their communications skills, personality, attitudes towards working as part of a team and also look for the soft skills that help lead to good customer service.
If you are finding it hard to even get candidates, consider implementing a referral program for current employees or even allow agents to work remotely where possible to add value to the position.
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Personalize Training Programs
While each agent must receive the same basic training to gain specific knowledge needed for the role, it is good to approach training from several different angles. Some learners are visual, some prefer lecture-based instruction, and some flourish in a hybrid environment. By personalizing the structure of the training program to meet a variety of learning styles, you optimize the learning process for each employee.
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Focus Less on Metrics
It is crucial that customer-centric metrics, including quality of contact, customer satisfaction, and first contact resolution, are monitored. Metrics such as average handle time, hold time, length of call, etc… are certainly important, but they sometimes increase agent fatigue and anxiety as they try to deliver expected service results. By instead focusing on delivering empathetic, customer-centric interactions in the most efficient manner possible, agents feel less pressure in performing their tasks and a more natural interaction can occur.
The most successful contact center agents are usually the ones who can make a personal connection with each caller. Removing the pressure associated with non-stop metric-based evaluations can be key for agents to provide authentic customer service which benefits the agent and the customer relationship. As management, you should be aware that reducing agent stress can increase the length of time the employee works for the contact center.
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Establish Clear Communication Channels
Just as in most jobs it is pertinent that contact center agents have a clear understanding of expectations, receive the proper feedback, and know to whom they should go when any issues arise. Include your contact center agents in some business decisions that affect their jobs and survey them about their experiences with the company. Contact center agents are on the front lines and can have great ideas that drive positive changes. Allowing agents to be part of decisions and having the communication lines open will make them more invested in the company.
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Enhance Recognition and Rewards Programs
Recognitions and rewards programs motivate contact center agents and build the morale of the department. Whether based on peer input or from management, agents who are performing well should be recognized or rewarded when they meet milestones or defined performance metrics.
Contact center managers should go the extra mile to ensure that every agent receives feedback tied directly to their performance. Positive feedback is a simple way to brighten someone’s day and encourages agents to continue providing good service.
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Create A Coaching Culture
Management should champion a culture of coaching and encourage collaboration within the contact center team. When agents receive constructive feedback and personal attention, they are more likely to enjoy work. When agents can rely on one another for guidance and support, they will feel like they are part of a team and will stay longer with the company.
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Provide Skill Development Programs
Agents who are encouraged to learn new professional skills, ultimately increase their performance and experience increased job satisfaction. They are more likely to stay with the company longer and be better at their jobs. Contact center agents who aren’t provided with training to develop their skills are more likely to disengage from the company and leave.
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Offer Advancement Opportunities
Providing a clear career path of advancement for your agents is a key strategy to retention. Team members should be able to see where they could advance in the organization and have clear goals that will take them there. When agents know that excelling at their job leads to advancement, they will be more engaged with the company.
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Provide Excellent Software and Tools
Contact centers that use innovative software are more efficient and effective. When agents are using software that is easy to learn and use, the training will be shorter, and the agents will be better at their job. It will increase work satisfaction and agents are likely to stay with the company longer. Struggling with outdated software just adds to agent stress and negatively affects the entire contact center.
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Improve Work-Life Balance
The goal here is to have contact center agents that love to work for you and that love what they do when it comes time to work. When you allow agents the option to work from home, have a flexible schedule, or work in the office in an ergonomic workspace, they will generally be more satisfied and feel more in control of their work-life balance.
As a near-shore contact center with offices in Mexico, Centris is different. We are considered a source of very stable employment. We offer agents comfortable salaries, benefits, and job training that equips them to perform their jobs at a high level. We place a high priority on employee training, ensuring that every employee understands the scope of their duties and has received the proper training to perform them. We also prioritize employee well-being and satisfaction; understanding the stressful nature of the job, we provide recreation areas where our agents can take needed breaks if the day has been incredibly challenging.
If you’re looking for a contact center that consistently offers excellent customer service from a staff of agents who bring years of experience to their job, contact us.
