How To Manage Generation Z And Millennials In The Call Center?

Millennials, born between 1980 and 1995, have been rookies in the workforce for the past 15 years, but there is a new group in society, Generation Z. Gen-Z members were born between 1996 and 2010, with workers with 23 years of age, and being the main entry level candidates in the call center.

While both generations have points in common, it is important to recognize their differences and how to address their performance management strategy, focusing on their unique needs and preferences.

Both generations are knowledgeable about technology, but each one trusts it differently. Millennials pioneered the use of the Internet, text messages and emails. In a professional environment, they prefer to send text messages, use digital messaging applications and email instead of speaking in person (Forbes, 2017). The Gen-Z does not know a world without Internet and social networks. However, the best way to communicate with Gen-Z in a professional environment is through face-to-face communication (HR Exchange Network, 2019).

Uniting The Millennials And The Gen-Z Through Communication

To serve both generations, contact centers must provide updated communication solutions. The customer service center’s performance management services offer panels with internal messages; announcements and job aids that promote collaboration to keep agents informed and encourage constant communication. This type of communication is vital for the accelerated environment that is lived in a call center.

With the instant nature of smartphones and the Internet, it is not surprising that the periods of attention of all employees are shorter than ever, and Millennials and Gen-Z are no exception. Millennials’ attention span is estimated to be 12 seconds, and only eight seconds for the Gen-Z (Forbes, 2017). Ironically, while both generations may be difficult to involve, they are always connected.

One of the most important ways to engage and satisfy agents of both generations is to implement a cutting-edge and intuitive call center technology that offers an attractive user interface, automates workflows and unifies all agent activities in one place. In fact, 91% of the Gen-Z said that the use of technology in the workplace is one of the factors influencing the choice of work among similar job offers (CMO, 2019).

Both generations are also eager to understand their performance at any time. These generations do not want to obtain a performance report at the end of the week. They want to see it instantly because that’s the world they live in. Dynamic dashboards, offered by performance management solutions, offer agents a quick view of their KPIs in real time with easy-to-use designs such as indicators, charts and leaderboards.

Not only do they need a way to see their performance, but they must also participate in it. Gamification is a key way to do it. This is essential in a call center. The best performance management software automatically qualifies and counts competencies based on the metrics generated from agent to agent, from team to team, from department to department or from site to site. Then, it automatically dispenses coins, gems, badges and prizes. Gen-Z thrives in the competition and expects rewards for its contribution, which makes gamification more necessary than ever as it merges with the workforce (Forbes, 2017).

Therefore, having knowledge about generational preferences, together with innovative technology, both Gen-Z and Millennials expectations in the contact center can be met.