In one of my recent blogs, I talked about your agents being the future of your contact center and best practices to incorporate in agent training. In today’s blog, I’m going to be talking about 5 ways you can motivate your agents to achieve peak performance:
Create an Optimal Physical Environment to Work in
In an article by Forbes about the impact of office space on employees, several interesting statistics are highlighted about the relationship between the workspace and employee well-being. The environment that your contact center agents work in can have a direct bearing on not just their well-being but also their levels of productivity. Happier employees perform better which, in turn, reflects positively on the bottom-line.
- Create a warm and inviting work atmosphere for your agents by adopting bright and sunny colors for your interiors.
- Provide adequate space between work-stations.
- Provide adequate lighting and ergonomic seating to offset the impact of working for long hours constantly in one position.
- Give agents the freedom to personalize their space with photos and individualized design elements.
- Ensure the environment is kept clean and tidy at all times.
- Keep windows open as often as possible to encourage the circulation of fresh air.
- Implement protocols to ensure safety and security at the workplace.
- Consider having a corporate wellness program to support the physical and mental health of your agents.
Provide the Necessary Tools To Perform the Job
Agents must have right tools to enable them to perform their jobs well. Tools can be in the form of technology as well as knowledge.
- Ensure that your agents have received adequate training for the jobs that they are being required to do.
- Provide agents with on-the-job training, including supervised intervention when they are just starting out.
- Provide support for agents so that they know they have someone to fall back on when they are in unfamiliar territory.
- Provide resources whereby agents can source information for themselves.
- Use technical tools and systems that are agent-friendly in terms of both usability as well as functionality.
- Make it easy for your agents to reach out to and communicate with others within the team.
Go Beyond The Numbers
It is easy to simply relegate agent performance to hitting the right numbers. However, this can be demotivating to individual employees over the long run. While setting clearly defined goals and expectations is necessary for employee motivation, it is also important to chart an agent’s growth and development holistically over a period of time.
An employee may demonstrate high levels of customer-centricity, which can influence your consumers as much as ensuring first call resolution. But this aspect can get lost if we are only looking at meeting targets.
Provide Consistent Feedback, Development, and Mentorship
An article by ICMI, addressing contact center agent motivation, discusses how consistent support is a motivating factor, while random support is not. In this respect, it is important to have a system in place that encourages ongoing two-way communication.
- Encourage contact center agents to come to the table with ideas, suggestions, and feedback.
- Listen to opinions with genuine interest.
- Provide support, coaching, and mentorship when needed.
- Include advanced development opportunities for high-performing agents.
- Praise in public and critique in private.
- Treat your agents the way you would want to be treated.
Lead by Example
Last but not the least, managers have a major role to play in team motivation. Agents are motivated by managers who walk the talk and exhibit transparency in their interactions. The most powerful motivation agents can have for doing their best is having a strong, trustworthy, and reliable leader at the helm.
CH Consulting Group provides unparalleled expertise in the Contact Center and Customer Experience (CX) verticals. We have a nationwide team of industry veterans that can assist you to achieve exponential growth, manage change, and generate profit. For a comprehensive Contact Center and CX assessment and strategic plan customized for your unique business needs, connect with us here today.
