8 Ways to Motivate Agents in Call Centers After the Pandemic

Top-of-the-line customer service may not be the ideal job for everyone, and it can often be exhausting. Therefore, the commitment and motivation of employees is a great concern for many call centers, especially after the pandemic.

What Is Employee Engagement?

It is the emotional commitment that the employee has with the organization and its objectives. When agents are emotionally committed to work, they care about fulfilling their job function and the company. They also work productively to meet the goals of the organization because they really want it to be successful.

8 Ways to Motivate Agents in Call Centers After the Pandemic

1) Implement the Right Tools

To motivate the agents of a call center it is very important to provide them with the best tools so that they can optimally perform their work.

In short, to facilitate their working day and the execution of their tasks by implementing a single application that connects employees so that all of them have access to the file and customer history, an effective schedule, an improvement in procedures daily newspapers, a boost in their commitment to corporate culture, a good internal communication channel, a minimization of training costs and an improvement in their professional skills, among other aspects.

2) Offer Rewards and Incentives

When agents feel valued, their self-esteem increases, which makes them more productive and happy. That’s why it’s essential to let them know when they make a difference, congratulate them on a job well done, share company news internally, and celebrate collective achievements.

It is also important to provide good incentives and rewards to keep the team engaged, happy, and satisfied. Small details make the difference in organizations. For this reason, the rewards don’t have to be big or expensive: a team lunch, the ability to work remotely part of the week, offer a free monthly Netflix subscription, organize exercise and wellness classes in the office, etc.

Why Are Rewards and Incentives so Crucial to Motivating Agents in Contact Centers?

• Create happier employees.
• Build trust and appreciation for management.
• They create loyalty in the company and reduce the turnover rate.

3) Encourage Team Feedback with Supervisors and Managers

It’s vital that managers remember this when they want to motivate agents in call centers – their employees are involved in everything from each customer’s complaints, compliments, and concerns. In addition, they know the preferences of the users, a key factor in offering an excellent customer experience (CX).

On a regular basis, not just annually, it is advisable to ask employees for their opinion / comments on any topic: from customer experience, sales ideas, company culture or employee experience, supervisors and managers have to hear it all. Without feedback, the company cannot grow and instead faces a stifled company culture and doomed to frustration.

According to a study, 65% of employees believe that their company is behind in many ways and 82% have ideas about how things can be improved, but no one listens to them.

4) Encourage Open Communication

Having open communication in the workplace makes it easier to mitigate conflict, increase employee engagement, build better relationships, reduce churn, or increase productivity.

As a motivational technique in a call center, open communication and trust create an environment that leads the business to success, as it allows agents to understand their job role and how they bring visibility to the company. When employees have a big picture view and understand their role in the success of the organization, it is easier for them to understand why certain decisions are made and how they directly affect them and the company as a whole.

Therefore, it is essential to remember that effective and open communication keeps the entire team on the same page, so everyone is working in the same direction to achieve the same goal.

5) Create SMART Goals

When creating goals that are measurable and achievable, you don’t need to wonder how to motivate call center employees. Taking the time to create realistic and achievable goals and include the team in the decision-making process is a great motivating factor.

In this sense, the SMART objectives (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Based) allow to maintain certain objectives, create a viable calendar to keep the team in the same direction, define what counts as a success and get feedback to optimize the organization’s goal setting.

6) Provide Growth Opportunities

Employees should have every opportunity to move up in the company, regardless of the size of the call center. For this reason, it is convenient to encourage agents to grow within the company, for example, through various training courses that help them increase their knowledge and skills.

These opportunities allow agents to feel engaged and motivated while learning new skills, helping the company keep turnover low and preventing employees from leaving the organization. Additionally, employees are learning valuable skills that can greatly benefit the bottom line.

Managers and supervisors must recognize that each agent’s work may only be a starting point at a certain point in their career. When hiring a new agent, ask them what their career goals are. Then they need to make sure they work with them to create a growth path, such as through coaching or 1: 1.

7) Create a Fun and Warm Work Environment

When considering how to motivate contact center employees, the work environment plays a key role. The space where agents work must be conducive for them to perform well. It’s no secret that everyone enjoys working in a nice, clean place, with working computers and telephones, some pretty plants, comfortable chairs, or a living room where they can share leisure time.

In conclusion, if the call center is warm and welcoming, the agents will want to go to work every day and will be motivated to do their tasks satisfactorily.

8) Promote Team Building Games

There is no doubt that Team Building games can help break that repetitive routine that exists in the day-to-day life of customer service centers, and thus provide a bit of fun. Also, when there’s a new addition to the team, it’s a great exercise to welcome them in and introduce them to their new teammates.

To put Team Building into practice, it is necessary to have a goal in mind, since this also makes it easier to choose the game. Whether it’s conflict resolution, communication, team bonding, etc., there are games that can provide a great incentive to the winning team to improve performance.