Executive Interviews : Bob Furniss - President, Touchpoint Associates On Retention

In your opinion, what are the common mistakes that contact center managers commit in dealing with staff turnover?
A major issue facing retention in call enters is relationships between frontline managers and agents. In our careers, we have all experienced situations where we stayed in a job that was not the best one because we worked with a great manager. We have all probably left a good company because of a bad manager. The type of manager you are and the relationship you build with your employees is a key factor in whether employees will stay or go.

What systematic approach do you recommend in solving these problems?
It is important to have a relationship with your employees. The first step is to know them as a person. This will give you the opportunity to interact at a new level and perhaps be able to tie personal value to their daily work. Start with these areas:

Professionally – what are their professional goals/dreams; where do they want to take their career; do they enjoy what they are currently doing; what is their career history?

Personally – are they married/single; what is their significant other's name; how many children do they have or do they have animals and what are their names?

Passion – what is their hobby, pastime, what is most important to them? What do they love and value in life?

What are some common costs, direct and indirect, which contact centers experiencing high turnover must absorb?
Call centers that are experiencing high turnover need to re-evaluate their training procedures. Training is costly but successful contact centers understand the need for training. Whether it is classroom, online or in meetings, most organizations need more of it. Every company should have a designated minimum number of follow-up training hours. Some companies designate up to 40 hours of training per year. What is the right number for you and your company? It is also important to have a tracking method in place. The investment will be returned in happier customers and lower attrition among agents.

What specific variables are strong predictors of staff turnover in a contact center?
Create a detailed process to seek feedback from your employees. Do you really know what your agents are thinking? There are many ways to find out, but the best data comes from an actual employee satisfaction survey. Create the survey to help understand what is working and what needs to be improved. Allow them to comment and provide feedback on basic issues like morale, benefits and recognition. Also include a section on the success of different levels of management. Once you receive the information, work with the management team to create plans to address the issues. Ask frontline managers to design plans for improvement for issues they have the ability to change. Do the same at every level in the organization. Hold them responsible for change. Provide feedback and follow-up to the employees on a set schedule (3-months, 6-months, annually).

In your opinion, what is the most valued benefit of the agent that contact center managers must maintain with such considerable effort? How can they reap the most value from the agent in this regard?
Contact center managers need to continually acknowledge their agents value to the company. This can be done through consistent reward and recognition programs. Even something as simple as writing a thank you note or sending an email can have a huge impact on morale. What pointers can you give to contact center managers on how to improve and increase retention in contact centers?

An additional idea to improve and increase retention is to make fun a priority. Do something crazy to make the center a fun place to work. Like any employee, agents want to work in a place that values their success and rewards them with fun - innovative recognition. Nothing says "thank-you" like a Popsicle delivered to the agents' desks by the center's director during a particular stressful time of the month.

Do you agree that the social stigma associated with telemarketing work is real and affects how long agents are willing to do their job?
I do not think that the stigma causes problems once they become an employee, but there are some potential employees that may see this as an issue. If the call center is run with the employee in mind, social stigma will become a none-issue.