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New Solutions to an Age-Old Challenge

by Kim Lockhart, Senior Vice President, Randstad Staffing - June 24, 2013

New Solutions to an Age-Old Challenge
 By Kim Lockhart
 Senior Vice President, Randstad Staffing
Kim.Lockhart@randstadusa.com
254 291 8344


For many contact centers, the issue of agent attrition is both long-standing and overwhelming. In fact, more than two-fifths (42.7 percent) of contact centers are experiencing agent attrition[1]. Furthermore, the average turnover rate in U.S. call centers is 43 percent and even worse for large centers with more than 1,000 agents where the rate spikes to 70 percent annually.[2]

New Environment, New Training Strategies

Not only do new agents require a lengthier learning curve, but most contact center workers are less than satisfied with the training and development opportunities offered by their employer.

In fact, less than one-quarter (24 percent) of customer service workers say they are extremely or very satisfied with the training and development opportunities at their current organization.[3] A general lack of sufficient training contributes to poor performance levels and ultimately dissatisfied agents who quickly leave the company.

Strategy One: Hire for the attitude, train for the skills

Before training can even begin to take hold, the agent must be the right fit for the job. The reality is, working and thriving within a call or contact center demands a special type of person – someone who is a natural problem solver, has excellent interpersonal skills, a positive attitude, patience, values teamwork and can remain calm under pressure. Too often, hiring managers will focus on typing speed, knowledge of software applications, or high call volume, when these are skills that can be trained and developed.

Strategy Two: Be honest and clear about the nature of the job

Another culprit in high turnover is a false impression of the job itself among candidates. It is crucial for hiring managers to be clear and open about the nature and expectations of the job. In fact, exposing potential candidates to the contact center before hire can help assure they fully understand the environment.

Strategy Three: Consider elongating the training and onboarding process.

One of the best ways to foster higher engagement among agents is to ensure they feel prepared, comfortable and part of the team. This often requires a lengthier training and on-boarding process, particularly for new hires. Consider implementing new initiatives such as, transition training that offers workers a shift from traditional classroom training to the official phone floor. A training phone bay allows agents to take basic calls while being coached by a supervisor to enhance their skills.

Another option is to encourage peer mentoring, whereby more experienced agents can help train newer workers, giving both a sense of purpose and inspiration. Engagement among veteran agents is boosted because they feel a sense of leadership and importance.

The Growing Importance of the Universal “Super” Agent



Alongside the evolution of the contact center, the role of agents themselves is also changing.

In today’s environment, contact center agents are required to meet higher expectations of service from customers, but also stand to influence and shape their employer’s brand and reputation.

Enter the universal agent. These workers are a one-stop-shop when it comes to solving customer inquiries. They don’t need to transfer customers to other departments in order to get an issue resolved. These agents are equipped to handle it all. They are the point of contact for those preferring to deal with one capable person.

In order to excel in this role, these agents must be highly knowledgeable about the company’s products, services, procedures and values. They typically need to master a wide range of technologies because they may move quickly from taking an inbound call, responding to email inquiries, or engaging in an online chat with web customers.

Agents like these are not universal, they need to be developed. So how can you create universal super agents?

Strategy One: Invest in training and coaching

Because universal agents are asked to take on more responsibilities than the traditional call center worker, it is vital to equip them with the training, skills and information they need to be experts in many areas of the organization. This will take training, coaching and to some extent, money. However, this investment can deliver very high returns for the company in the form of higher customer satisfaction, loyalty, and a more productive agent. The good news is that 81 percent of customer service workers strongly agree that employees should be required to grow and improve their abilities to help the organization succeed.

Strategy Two: Take advantage of idle time

Agents aren’t always on the phones, so during their down time there are opportunities to continuously train these employees – educate them about all products and services, beyond the ones they are already familiar with; train them on the vision and values of the company’s brand and how they relate to that overall vision; and create shadowing opportunities to help workers learn about the ins and outs of all departments.

Strategy Three: Consider training for cross-selling or up-selling

The benefit of utilizing highly-trained universal agents is that typically, their customer interactions are more successful. Therefore, they present an ideal window to help generate revenue by selling additional products or services while solving the customer’s inquiry.

For many, developing sales skills will require specialized training to help recognize and execute opportunities to generate revenue. However, the result is increased agent utilization, lower overall costs, and improved customer experiences.

Compensation and Incentives Matter

It may be difficult to hear, but the truth is, compensation matters in the contact center industry. It matters particularly when several contact centers are operating in the same geographic market, because the industry tends to offer low wages. This can undermine attraction and retention efforts. It is critical to be diligent about wage trends among your immediate competition and within the overall profession.

The need for competitive pay is acutely evident by the low satisfaction among call center workers when it comes to financial compensation. Only 26 percent say they are extremely or very satisfied with their financial compensation.

Strategy: Determine if your wages are competitive

Begin by researching wage scales in other contact center organizations within your geographical area. Or, if you’re partnering with a staffing and recruiting partner, tap into these consultants to better guide your wage scales in this specialized area of business. Beyond compensation, offering career growth and rewards based on performance is arguably just as important. In fact, the Randstad Engagement Study found that “offering promotions or bonuses to high performing employees” was the most important aspect named by customer service workers to keep them engaged.

Solutions to the attrition challenge in contact centers can appear elusive, yet Randstad has examined the expectations and attitudes of contact center workers when it comes to keeping them engaged and loyal. These strategies have proven successful in helping contact center management overcome the attrition hurdle and ultimately, deliver better customer service with lower turnover costs -- all while keeping employees happy and productive.



[1] International Customer Management Institute (ICMI), 2012 Contact Center Agent Salary, Retention & Productivity Report

[2] “State of Call Center Human Capital” Survey, CallMe!

[3] “The Randstad Engagement Study,” conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs, commissioned by Randstad, 2012

 
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