What do you think could improve agent retention in an inbound Call Center?

Question

If you worked in a call center before what did you do for fun in meetings or just in general? Was anything done to improve morale in employees? Thanks

Answer 1

I worked at an inbound call center supporting Quicken software for a few months. I hated the job but the pay was decent (about $14 an hour), and they had this cabinet full of snacks and candy the employees could buy on the honor system for next to nothing. I think conventional wisdom kind of deems the call center jobs as pretty undesirable so, failing the obvious solution of offering a competitive wage, promoting a laid back, fun environment with flexibility in scheduling might be a good way to go.

Answer 2

I worked in a tech support call center for 2 of the most agonizing years of my life. By definition a call center job is the lowest of the low. Retention was, is and will always be painfully low. Any person with an ounce of intelligence and a clean record will scramble at the opportunity to find a better job. The question shouldn’t really be how to improve retention, it should be “How to reduce ‘no show, no call’ walk-offs.”

Don’t placate employees with superficial prizes and gifts; respect their intelligence. The employees know the job is horrible and can be either transferred to India or performed by an automated recording. As a manager, don’t pretend the job is something larger than it really is, such as a career path.

Have a sense of humor. Good natured jokes should never be considered inappropriate by management, regardless of gender. Let the employees decide what is and isn’t “good natured” and then take up issues with management on a one by one basis.

Act human. Policy should never be written in stone and should be flexible enough to accommodate individuals with specific needs. Also realize that the agents are people and they should never work "for" anyone other than themselves - unless you're referring to medieval serfs. Instead of having people work under managers, have them work *with* managers.

Break times should be given generously. Typical jobs allow two 15 minute breaks per day. For a call center the problem comes with scheduling – having enough people on the phone at one time to reduce the queue. For the sake of the employees’ sanity, allow these breaks to be taken at the discretion of the employees (within reason) without repercussions from management (such as looking down upon taking a break when the queue is high).

Employees come first, queue comes second. Too many call centers look at the queue as something that should be destroyed; long hold times are the bane of their existence. Everything that takes place takes place due to the queue. As a call center - realize that the more employees on the phone, the smaller the queue will get so treat them with the utmost respect and provide for them as much as possible and they will continue to work, thus reducing the dreaded queue.

Answer 3

Inbound , answering incoming calls , you may want to be experienced to renowned a thanks to reply . as an example that is technical help , or information about productsor facilities. Outbound , making calls to potential purchasers , as an example : making appointments for sales reps , qualifying potential purchasers for a facilities or products . many times with a script and information on rebuttals to adverse responses that can help you you be triumphant.

Answer 4

I enjoyed the ability to work four 10-hour shifts and have three days off during the week instead of just two.

Answer 5

Free on-site daycare

Medical benefits

Paid Vacation time

Company sponsored outings (picnics, ski trips, etc)