Call center Managers are always looking for new ways to motivate their agents and enhance their productivity levels. However, with such high employee turnover and low morale in many call centers, it is not always easy to keep employee productivity high.
While there is no absolute fail-safe way to maintain high level of Agent productivity as well as high/her morale, here are some of our top tips that work for our call center.
Tips for Improving Call Center Agent Productivity
1. Schedule Frequent Short Breaks
Allowing our agents to take short breaks when their stress levels get too high is a great way to improve employee productivity. Providing our agents with the chance to take small breaks throughout their shift not only allows them to reenergize, but could also save the call center from a poor customer service report that may occur when the already frustrated agent takes another phone call.
2. Have Monthly Contests
At the end of the day, agents need motivation to do their work the best possible way. In most cases, a little healthy competition can be a great motivator – especially if it provides agents with the chance to be rewarded for going above and beyond the standard expectations of the campaign they are working in. Monthly contests for best call center practices can serve as a great motivational tool for any call center.
For example, at Fusion CX, we incentivize agents in some campaign to strive for higher first call resolution rates by offering the contest winner a bonus, gift, or even extra time off. Such contests can also strengthen morale in the call center. And that’s the best thing about it.
3. Utilize Internal Communication
When the company makes changes without informing the agents, it becomes quite frustrating for both agents and customers. Lack of good internal communication causes the call center productivity to slow down. Thankfully, this problem is an easy fix. Agents will be able to handle calls more quickly and effectively by communicating internally every time a change takes place.
4. Use the Information Provided by IVR
Interactive Voice Response is a good way to pace up calls and collect relevant information from customers. However, when the information provided by the customer through IVR is not used by the agents, customers tend to get frustrated and are forced to spend more time on the phone. By collecting and using the information provided with IVR, agents can save both their and their customers’ time collecting that information again.
5. Implement Schedule Adherence Strategies
For the past few years, average talk time and average calls handled per hour are the most important key performance indicators used to measure call center agent productivity. However, to be honest, agents can’t really control the number of calls they receive per hour, or how much time a phone call requires from a customer viewpoint. However, agents can control the time they are available versus the time that they are on a call or carrying out after-call work, which is what schedule adherence measures. This call center KPI can give you a good idea of an agent’s productivity levels within their schedule.
By improving agent productivity, call centers can save a lot of money and enhance call center satisfaction. Ensuring that agents have all the tools they need and the best conditions possible will enable them to do their jobs more competently.
