Top 5 Issues Impacting Contact Centers Nationwide

Part 5: Agent Retention & Turnover

A Year in Review – Planning for 2018

By Chris Recio, Director of Contact Center and Advanced Applications

Hands down, and you probably already knew this would be on my list, agent retention and turnover is a never-ending battle and is on top of every end-of-year list I read annually. Every Contact Center operation I have visited over the past year has had this issue. You are not alone in this.

When it comes to employee attrition, finding out why people leave is a critical start to developing an ongoing strategy to reduce churn. Churn happens and it should be expected. But you can take proactive measures in attempting to gain some semblance of control from the inside out.

Oftentimes, we are at the root of why agents tire of the workplace. Here is a list of some items to consider:

• Lack of Proper Training – Proper training sets the expectations and opportunity for success for new employees. Throwing agents in too soon can also work against you.
• Inconsistent Expectations – Moving targets are hard to hit. Consistency across the leadership team is critical to driving expectations.
• Lack of Communication – Feedback is critical. Open communication in both directions is critical. Having a voice without retribution should be welcome. Clear and documented expectations.
• Inadequate Tools and/or Technology – The right products for the job. This has a psychological impact on the user and the expectation. Inadequate tools work against expectations. Providing adequate tools and technology can almost ensure success.
• Lack of Recognition – Everyone works for recognition. Recognition and publicly saying “job well done” is priceless.
• Lack of Career Development – Most everyone looks for development opportunities. Create pathways for advancement – within the Contact Center or within the organization.

This is the final of a 5-part series of blog posts about the Top 5 Issues impacting most, if not all, Contact Centers in the industry. In this series, we will cover each of the issues in greater detail. If you missed any of them, be sure to catch up by clicking on their name below.

1. OUT-OF-DATE, UNDERUTILIZED & ADVANCING TECHNOLOGY click here to read
   
2. LACK OF ACCESS TO DATA & UNDERUTILIZED REPORTING OPPORTUNITIES click here to read
3. LACK OF PROACTIVE CUSTOMER OUTREACH AND/OR FEEDBACK click to read
   
4. MAKING CONTACT CENTER CULTURE A PRIORITY click to read

The Contact Center of the future is here now. Those that take this to heart will be far ahead of those that do not. The gap between these two groups will become wider as proactive operations outpace reactive operations.

As businesses review their year and prepare for 2018, it is very important to mitigate what’s ahead. We spend a great deal of time working with clients at deeper levels in their contact center operation through our CCSM (Contact Center Success Manager) program and found that their struggles boil down to the 5 issues to be pointed and discussed in this series. Stay tuned in the upcoming weeks!