A disengaged employee is easy to spot.
They frequently skip work, have low productivity scores, take longer to reach full proficiency, and prompt complaints from customers. They’ll take longer breaks and show up at the last second, or late, for their shift.
Employee engagement plays a pivotal role in driving the success of any business, and its significance becomes even more pronounced within the contact center space.
Prioritizing employee well-being and creating an environment where employees feel motivated, appreciated, and recognized for their contributions should be a top priority for any contact center that wants to improve long-term employee retention and customer satisfaction.
Why is contact center employee engagement important?
Employees in contact centers have the biggest impact on customer satisfaction; the service received could mean the difference between a loyal customer and one who departs to another business.
Oftentimes, employee engagement will be the reason for this deciding factor.
Why?
Because happy agents equal happy customers.
Engaged employees are more likely to go the extra mile to assist a customer. Their favorable outlook on the company can lead them to refer their friends to job opportunities, increasing the range of applicants. And their colleagues will feel more inclined to perform their best as well.
Employees who lack motivation or feel undervalued will not remain in their current position for long. In fact, disengaged employees are 3.3 times more likely to leave their company—that’s a big risk in a sector that’s already famous for high turnover rates.
How can you improve contact center employee engagement?
There are proven ways to transform a disengaged employee into one who cares about their job.
With the proper tools, resources, and encouragement, you can empower employees to deliver the exceptional quality of service that customers deserve.
Read on for five smart tips.
1. Provide customized learning opportunities
The people you hire come from different backgrounds and have diverse strengths, skills, and learning styles.
To engage this wide variety of employees, training and coaching programs should be tailored to individual needs rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
A personalized learning style increases confidence, motivation, and productivity by helping employees engage with their work and with the customers they interact with.
When contact centers embrace customized learning opportunities, they demonstrate a genuine investment in the growth of their employees while addressing knowledge gaps and nurturing a culture of continuous improvement.
Bonus tip: Consider scenario-based learning, a hands-on learning style which uses real-life scenarios for employees to experience the job right away. It made a huge difference for Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, reducing a five day training class to just a few hours of orientation—with live work starting before lunch!
2. Use optimal tools and technology
For employees to succeed in their role they should be provided with the latest technology which is simple to use and helps support their workload.
A knowledge base centralizes company documentation into a single source of truth for all employees. And with a cloud-based knowledge management solution, anyone can quickly and easily get the information they need, when they need it.
By ensuring that employees have access to a centralized source of information, their engagement increases, as they feel confident answering any customer queries quickly and accurately.
When systems are simplified and complex processes are easy to follow, performance improves, and employees are more likely to want to stay at their job. This is crucial for contact centers that have traditionally high attrition rates.
3. Automate tedious tasks
It’s difficult to feel engaged when you constantly have to search for and answer the same questions over and over again.
Spare contact center employees from these monotonous, repetitive tasks by harnessing the power of automation.
With AI technology such as Agent Assist, internal searches are significantly faster and more intuitive.
Agent Assist works by pre-interviewing customers before the live agent connects, offering a jump-start to the nature of the call. It can also listen to conversations, conduct searches based on keywords, and suggest relevant information. This saves employees valuable time and allows them to dedicate their focus to the most important part of the job—providing exceptional customer service.
It’s a win-win situation for everyone. Employees feel much more engaged doing high-value work, while AI remains on duty for repetitive tasks without any loss of enthusiasm.
4. Collaborate and encourage feedback
Employees require ongoing collaboration and feedback, with 69% saying that they would work harder if they felt their efforts were being recognized by the organization.
When employees don’t feel recognized in the larger organization context, their engagement will diminish. That’s why it’s important to include employees in important company meetings, offer regular guidance, and encourage team participation.
Feedback works both ways, so gather it from employees through discussions or surveys. With their acquired wealth of expertise, employees can help your contact center improve performance metrics, increase customer satisfaction, and streamline processes.
Implementing employee suggestions proves that they’re valued members of the organization. This recognition increases engagement and fosters a culture of continuous collaboration and feedback.
5. Keep employees informed
It's discouraging for an employee to feel like they’re the last one to know about a new development at work.
In a communications survey, 85% of employees said they’re most motivated when management gives them regular updates. These could take on different formats, ranging from brief email blasts to longer newsletters.
With routine communication, employees develop a stronger sense of engagement since they perceive the organization’s goals as aligned with their own.
Bonus tip: With a change management plan, your contact center can prepare, support, and help employees during major company transitions.
Boost employee engagement in your contact center
A work environment where employees feel valued, motivated, and supported has a positive impact on the entire organization.
By prioritizing employee engagement with these effective strategies, you can retain top-talent, improve customer satisfaction, and foster a culture where employees genuinely care about their work.
