Call center managers know that happy agents are loyal and productive agents. This is why firms across the outsourcing industry, such as Open Access BPO, Convergys, and Telus, allocate time and budget to create strategies that can keep their agents happy.
When agents are satisfied and engaged in their work, they tend to do more than what is expected of them. Aside from being motivated, happy agents are also friendly over the phone and are responsible for creating a positive environment in your outsourced call center in the Philippines.
This also helps make agents passionate and committed to their work, avoiding the repercussions of agent attrition. Here are some ways how you can improve the office morale by keeping your agents happy:
1. Provide positive feedback
Letting your agents know how you view their performance is an important form of affirmation needed by agents to know if they're doing things right.
Feedback shouldn't only be about criticism and pointing out mistakes. When someone from the team does something exceptional, let the person know you appreciate his or her hard work even through a simple note. When agents know that someone notices their efforts and achievements, they are more likely to keep up or even surpass their good performance scores.
2. Welcome suggestions
An effective call center manager is not only good in giving feedback, but in listening to agents' concerns as well. A healthy workplace welcomes suggestions and feedback in a professional and structured manner. More importantly, your responsibility doesn't end with just listening to your agents' concerns. You have to make sure that you attend to these suggestions as well.
3. Develop your agents' skills
When agents don't receive training or when their skills are not fully developed yet, they're more likely to feel stagnant. They tend to feel that they are no longer growing. Show them otherwise by providing learning opportunities for new skill sets or technologies. Other than having agents that will stay with you longer, you will gain a lot from agents that strive to continue learning and acquiring valuable skills.
4. Improve working conditions
Ensure that the call center's operations floor is conducive for work. Assess how your agents feel about employee matters such as work schedule, salary, employee benefits, and leaves.
Some agents may have concerns that are just waiting for the opportunity to be voiced out. By improving work conditions, you guarantee that your people enjoy what they're doing and would love to come to work every day.
5. Host team building activities
May it be a quick happy hour or a team outing, it's important to dedicate time in building the ties among your agents. Filipino call center agents are known for their strong sense of community and team work. They treat co-workers as close family members. They also tend to be more productive and efficient at work when they are comfortable with the people they are working with. Hence, by investing in team building activities, you strengthen the bond among agents, which is crucial in agent retention.
6. Give rewards and incentives
Rewarding agents who give exceptional performance or make achievements can motivate your people to keep up the good work or even do better. By introducing incentives, a healthy competition is created among your agents. Just make sure that you don't cross the limits and give excessive prizes that can cause jealousy among them. If cash prizes may seem to be too much for your call center, try other forms such as gift certificate, voucher, or a special day off.
By making sure that your agents are happy and satisfied with their work, you prevent your business from losing valued human resources since agent satisfaction can lead to agent retention. When agents love their work, you no longer have to worry about losing agents or spending for the recruitment and training of new ones.
