I have always fostered this statement in the headline with my clients. Your staff, if happy and content, will help you reap the benefits of happy customers, which will increase your customer loyalty and satisfaction.
My mantra is “Think Like a Customer,” and now I would like you to “Think Like an Employee.” Keep in mind your employees are mothers, fathers, grandparents, sisters, brothers, aunts, and uncles, and they have a family that at times affects their daily work routines.
Start with HR
I believe this will start with Human Resources (HR). This department is pivotal in providing your company with appropriate policies and procedures, and their energy sets the tone for your company’s culture. Building a strong culture where staff feel empowered, valued, and connected makes for happy employees.
HR needs to maintain and solve these employee challenges in your company: flexibility, consistency, accountability, compensation, communication, and transparency. Each issue has its own requirements, and they all deal with trust.
But HR sometimes has an image problem: “We need to see HR about this,” which, for me, is reminiscent of “I am taking you to the principal’s office.” It almost feels like a scolding rather than a partnership. Be watchful for this and discuss with HR if you see this happening in your company.
HR, like your contact center, is instrumental in making your company excel in the marketplace. It all starts with HR interviewing the individual, followed by the onboarding processes that will make the new hire happy they accepted the position.
The first day on the job is what everyone tends to remember. I remember mine: they did not even know I was coming or who hired me!
Together, HR and contact center management need to develop programs that comply with employment laws yet enable your staff to love coming to work. Yes, I said love.
...you need to develop your wish list of what you should be doing to successfully influence customer and employee satisfaction.
For I have been in situations where I interviewed employees and their responses were so toxic that I have asked them, “Why do you still work here?”
If, like the statement “Your employees are your greatest asset,” shouldn’t the next question be, “How do I keep and grow them?”
After all, don’t you want to retain and expand those elements in your organization that sustain and build it? Rather than see them underperform or just disappear?
Some of the programs that you might want to consider or enhance are:
- Employee engagement opportunities
- Professional development
- Retention strategies
Recently, I was a judge for ICMI’s 2025 Awards - Best Small Contact Center and Best Medium Contact Center. I reviewed 16 applications and some of these program ideas were highlighted by the entrants. My suggestions in this article also include recommendations made during my client engagements and research.
Employee Engagement Opportunities
Currently, AI implementation may be causing staff to think they will lose their jobs. Yes, some staff may have to be reassigned to other departments.
If you see AI as potentially changing your staffing level, you need to develop your wish list of what you should be doing to successfully influence customer and employee satisfaction. I am sure you have many projects that there was no time to really think about and implement.
May I suggest a re-read of my article, “How to Properly Serve Your Customers” in the November 2024 issue of Contact Center Pipeline. There are quite a few task force suggestions and think abouts.
- Invite senior agents to participate in strategic discussions about future needs. Many times, these employees have worked in another enterprise and can share ideas on what they were surprised you were not doing.
- Daily feedback from team huddles, employee surveys, and skip-level meetings are beneficial and will reinforce the value of every role in the center.
- Real-time dashboards on staff monitors AND large monitors in all areas of the workfloor are essential. Calls in queue, service level, abandoned calls, and average speed of answer are valuable statistics to display.
We are all familiar with the term VOC (Voice of the Customer). How about developing your own “VOA” (Voice of the Agent) program? This will help identify gaps and what needs improvement in your centers’ operations and technology to ensure efficiency and productivity. Then put a task force together that will monitor and implement their findings.
What about an Employee Appreciation Day each month, where food is catered during the day (or sent to remote workers’ homes). One of my clients had their CEO ride a bicycle on the work floor with a cooler to deliver ice cream to each agent.
Yes, let us not forget our remote workers. Social connectivity is extremely important when using virtual platforms. You need to involve them, albeit virtually, in all your meetings, including award ceremonies and other internal events, enabling them to speak and introduce themselves and ask questions.
Community outreach is a great way to get staff involved. There are so many charitable and philanthropic organizations that need volunteers. Your company can offer sponsoring events such as walks, area litter clean-ups, and happiness visits to senior centers or veterans’ homes on special holidays.
Your employees can coordinate and work on the events. Even your remote employees can get involved: which gives your company visibility in those communities where you do not have a physical presence.
Professional Development
You and HR need to look at every employee to develop a goal-setting personal career path and offer coaching, training modules, mentorship opportunities, and access to resources for all roles in the center.
Leadership development programs should be a priority for all levels of center management, and you should consider off-site locations.
Continuous coaching, not "You did these wrong" statements, with positive reinforcement, is how you support long-term employee growth and retention.
Cross-training in all departments that interact with the contact center is necessary. This will result in a clear understanding of how each department affects the other for customer needs and satisfaction.
Most critically, meet with your agents to discuss their work. Use your technology management reports to show agent productivity to create the desire to exceed and discuss their next career path.
Retention (and Attraction) Strategies
Unfortunately, our industry has always been faced with high turnover. This could be just the wrong hire or the staff sees no plan for advancement. This will be evident in your exit interviews.
Here are several proven methods to help retain your agents, and which will encourage word-of-mouth hiring of excellent new ones:
- Open communication, celebration of success, and employee wellbeing should be emphasized in all areas of the contact center.
- Celebrate individual and team achievements as well as peer testimonials.
- Incorporate flexible scheduling options around your demand needs so that agents can bid on a preferred schedule. Bid choices should be based on agent performance evaluations.
- A “Wall of Excellence” area in the center should be developed where you display complimentary letters to staff members.
- Consider monthly “Above and Beyond” awards and shout-outs on internal channels for “well-done” accomplishments. Rewards can be lunches, gift cards (gas, retail stores, transportation, massages), or a day off with pay.
Continuous coaching, not “You did these wrong” statements, with positive reinforcement, is how you support long-term employee growth and retention. This, combined with service level, adherence, NPS, customer effort, CSAT, and QA scores, will ensure you are always driven by a purpose, not just productivity.
My final thoughts are that it is always a good idea to step back, look at how your contact center operates, and decide the best way to move forward by discussing enhancements with your agent and supervisory staff.
Always “Think Like a Customer AND Employee” when you are developing new policies, procedures, products, and services.
Remember, we are all customers of someone else. Your mantra should be to treat your staff and customers the way you want to be treated.
I wish you continued success!