According to the U.S. Contact Centre Decision Makers Guide, call centers saw an average of 60% agent turnover rate by mid-2017. Unfortunately, this rate (or much higher) is common in the industry, and continues to be among the top issues faced by call center managers. However, there are steps you can take to retain hard-working, loyal employees.
Here are three tips to help minimize turnover in your call center.
Careful Hiring Practices
Most turnover occurs within the first 30 to 90 days of employment. So, the more thorough your hiring process, the more likely you are to reduce turnover. Remember, not everyone is cut out to be a successful customer service rep. The work can be stressful, especially on days when agents have to deal with multiple demanding, unhappy customers.
You want people who are consistently upbeat and empathetic. Create a profile of your ideal agent — their skills and personality traits. Then, search for candidates who match that profile. Testing and pre-employment assessment tools can help. For example, behavioral testing will help you (and the candidate) learn if they have the right temperament to be a CSR. Skills testing confirms they can type at required speed and handle other tasks.
In the interview, ask questions. Discuss the product or service they will be representing. Some people will come right out and tell you that they wouldn’t feel sorry for someone having an issue with that product. Now that’s a red flag!
Conduct background checks, too. This verifies the candidate’s personal information, and it helps ensure workplace safety.
A second interview helps, and in general, give yourself enough time to be thorough. If you are hiring in a hurry, people may leave in a hurry!
Proper Training
Once you have selected the best candidates, training is critical. New hires often quit because of inadequate training. They get nervous, flustered, and frustrated. So, tempting as it is to get agents online and “earning their keep” as quickly as possible, remember that turnover is very expensive. Cutting that corner is a sure ticket to spending the time, money, and resources to recruit a replacement.
As part of training, include tests and exams. Find out where the teams’ weak points are. Retrain right away before they hit the floor, feel inadequate, and quit. Investing more in up-front and ongoing training almost always provides a greater long-term return.
Once the classroom training is complete, leave time for nesting on the floor. Easing new agents into their job by using experienced reps and/or supervisors as mentors is a great way to make those first calls less stressful. It also shows care and builds trust between the new agents and the management and supervisory teams. This goes a long way toward agents giving you the benefit of the doubt when there is an issue instead of simply walking off the job.
Remember, the number one reason employees leave is because of their supervisor. Take the opportunity during training and nesting to build bonds and trust that will make a difference, and ensure that your supervisory team is up to the job.
Meaningful Incentives
Retention is no accident. With today’s extremely low national unemployment rate (3.8%), good candidates are at a premium. Your agents could go looking for — or be lured away to — greener pastures. However, they are much less likely to leave if they feel happy and appreciated in their position with your call center. So, how do you incentivize your agents?
By hiring the right people, training them thoroughly, and creating an environment that makes them feel valued, you will have a happier, more productive workforce that will greatly reduce agent turnover and greatly increase customer satisfaction with your call center.
Source: https://blog.theconnectioncc.com/3-tips-to-minimize-agent-turnover-in-your-business
Publish Date: June 19, 2018 |
2.) | Answer-4u Telephone Answering Services Answer4u offers both SME and corporate sized businesses Telephone Answering Services delivered by our team of professional receptionists. They are all trained to answer your calls, in your company name, whenever you need them most. All of our client calls are answered in our Nottingham offices, in the heart of England. We have agents working on a 24/7 basis, meaning all calls are answered through the day and night by UK based operatives. No calls are ever outsourced or go to an answering machine. Each of our clients has their own personal Account Manager, who heads a team of trained receptionists. Our receptionists answer the phone in your company name, explain to your callers that yo... (read more) |
3.) | Connect Assist Contact Centre Services We’re a specialist Contact Centre business and market leaders helping socially focused organisations deliver quality support to their clients and service users. We do this by providing 24/7 helplines, software solutions and consultancy services. Since launching in 2006, we’ve operated at the sharp end of customer service, supporting some of society’s most vulnerable people. We’ve pioneered in our space to become a specialist in helplines, whilst using the most advanced communication and database technologies available. Our social mission has remained a constant throughout, providing many meaningful career prospects and growth opportunities to people within our local communities and fur... (read more) |
7.) | WorkGenda WorkGenda WorkGenda is a state of the art WFO cloud service, used by customers around the world. WorkGenda provides: a) an AI based forecasting engine, which automatically generates forecasts with a WAPE of 3 to 5%, b) a capacity management engine based on a traffic simulator, with perfect support for blending regardless the type of channels, which subsequently automatically converts the computed capacity into optimised shifts, where ‘optimised’ equals to a zero or the mathematically minimum possible overstaffing under the given contractual constrains, c) an automated scheduling engine, capable of scheduling 3000 multi-skilled agents for a whole week in 2 minutes and d) an Intraday bot which automatic... (read more) |
Healthcare Call Center Best Practices: Work with a Qualified Call Center | March 12, 2020 |
Interpreting a Call Center Metrics Dashboard with The Connection® | February 13, 2020 |
Benefits of Outsourcing Your Appointment Setting Services | January 30, 2020 |
Customer Service Trends to Look Out for in 2020 | January 16, 2020 |
Causes of Inaccurate Call Center Workforce Forecasting & How To Avoid Them | November 21, 2019 |
Call Center Staffing: Best Practices for an Outstanding Team | October 31, 2019 |
It's All in the Numbers: Your Ultimate Guide to Call Center Metrics | October 17, 2019 |
Customer Satisfaction Metrics: What You Should Know About CSAT and NPS | May 30, 2019 |
How to Identify the Best Customer Service Assessment Test for Your Call Center | March 28, 2019 |
Call Center Training Tips for Managing New Hires | March 7, 2019 |
I am checking out all the amazing and daily updated content on ContactCenterWorld.com and networking with professionals worldwide
Send To Friends Post On My Wall