Whether an accurate reputation or not, call centres are known for their high turnover of staff. It’s true that working in a call centre requires a specific set of skills and personality traits that perhaps not everybody possesses, but a high turnover of employees can mean more money is spent on training and recruitment.
Is there a way to retain new employees, while simultaneously improving the service given by your contact centre? One theory suggests that job satisfaction and control over one’s role will mean happier employees, and in this case, happier customers.
Between 2011 and 2012, a comprehensive survey was taken by polling company Gallop of how people around the world felt about their work. Millions of people were contacted as part of the study, in as many as 142 countries. The results were staggering. A mere 13% were “engaged” in their jobs (“meaning enthusiastic about, and committed to their work”). On the opposite side, 63% were “not engaged” (“putting time, but not energy or passion into their work”). Shockingly, 23% were “actively disengaged”, which meant they weren’t just unhappy, but were “more or less out to damage their company”.
So how can a contact centre use this information to improve customer and employee satisfaction? As a result of this profound study and others that inspired it, a direct correlation has been made between control and happiness within one’s place of work. Put simply, the more control employees have in their role, the happier they are.
While it might not be possible to put your staff behind the steering wheel, you can inspire them in other ways. For example, can you create a direct link for them between what they do and what the customer needs. It is in their control to make the customer happy, and often the customer’s happiness is a result of the work they put in. By reminding the telephone answering team that each person they speak to is a new opportunity to make a difference in somebody’s day, you could potentially increase the levels of job satisfaction while also improving levels of customer service. While not a perfect science yet, incorporating some of this research could mean a more productive, content contact centre!