There are over 7,000 call centers in the US that are functioning today with the leaders in constant struggle to retain their agents. Over 30% of employees quit call centers due to various reasons, resulting in a stressful environment for both management and call center agents to fasten up processes and deliver exceptional customer service.
Every call center gives utmost importance to customer satisfaction and experience and in that process, agents’ job satisfaction stays behind the priority list.
The major reasons for such an increase in agent attrition rate are:
- Continuous workload
- Limited set of tools and resources
- Lack of necessary support from their managers
- Increased pressure to achieve the KPIs
- Lack of learning and development
Now that we know the crucial causes of agent attrition, let us also learn how we can resolve these underlying problems and improve agents’ job satisfaction.
Hire more agents
The most effective way to bring down the level of workload on each agent is to hire more agents to achieve equal and manageable distribution of work. This would also lead to an increase in quality of work as every agent would be able to focus on providing a better customer experience. When the workload is reduced, agents would find it easier to communicate with the customers without stressing out too much.
This way, the agents will be able to stay relaxed and positive throughout each call as they know that they are not overburdened.
Improve customer self-service
How advanced are your customer self-service systems like IVR and chatbots? Making sure that you are providing your customers with the option to be self-sufficient throughout the service is crucial for a better customer experience.
Enhancing these simple self-service systems can promote a healthier environment for your customers and for the agents. This can allow the agents to act on problematic concerns that the customers raise.
Deploy ticketing tools and software
Those days are gone when the agents could rely on manual tasks and paperwork. In today’s digital age, customers expect their concerns to be resolved as quickly as possible. No call center or business wants negative comments on social media and other online platforms due to any delay in response or unsatisfied resolution. Responding to customers’ requests and resolving them on time can be manageable with the right tool.
Utilize the power of ticketing tools such as Zoho Desk, Freshdesk, etc., to not only receive the emails from the customers but also to prioritize, resolve, and track the tickets for better workflow.
Offer managerial support and encouragement
When the agents are already facing challenges due to new software and to achieve their targets faster, they require a strong pillar of support from their managers. The leaders naturally focus more on attaining KPIs which can lead to dissatisfied and underappreciated agents.
A healthy balance between focusing on the KPIs and on encouraging the agents must be considered.
Conclusion
Making sure that every call center leader takes care of their agents and provides them with the right resources will reduce the attrition rate and improve job satisfaction. When the agents have a positive happiness rating, customer experience will also be elevated.
