Someone I know very well has recently decided to change her career and retrain to become a teacher. She had worked in a call centre, providing customer service for some very demanding customers for almost two years. As a customer service trainer myself, I happen to think she was excellent at her job but I know that she has been disillusioned about her working environment for some time.
She related to me her last day at the call centre. She described her elation on entering the old grey building for the last time, how she took several abusive calls from customers without feeling upset and updated the system with customer complaints without feeling depressed about the measure of poor service.
However, as her last day progressed, she had a few emails from customers who knew it was her last day, emailing to wish her well. The chap who sat across from her produced a lemon cake, which he invited her and a few colleagues to share after lunch. A co-worker from downstairs came up to say goodbye and wish her well and even her boss came in, looking sad and abandoned. By the time the day was finished, she was almost worrying about whether she should be leaving and felt very sad indeed. It was clear from our discussion that she was surprised by all of this. She concluded it would be the people she would miss, not so much the job itself, which she says she hated.
We commented on the huge amount of well-trained people that had either just left or were thinking about it and concluded that perhaps changes to the way in which the place was being managed could help retain staff. Some of the suggestions we listed were as follows:
- Staff need to be more involved in creating the big picture and gaining a better understanding of the vision for customer service excellence
- Staff need more variety in their responsibilities for their customer service contribution
- People need regular training. Even short updates and the introduction of new techniques can motivate
- The rotation of call centre staff not only increases flexibility but provides more job interest
- Managers should occasionally say thank you when a job is well done instead of always focusing on what hasn’t been handled well
- On the job coaching
- Call centre achievements should be published throughout the rest of the organisation
- Staff should have incentives – after all sales departments often have them why not call centres?
- Strong leadership is a must
- Call centre staff should be encouraged to have a bit more fun – lets lighten the load
- Regular communication is essential, announcements, five-minute team meetings, email briefings all help keep staff informed
- A strong sense of teamwork helps people feel secure, particularly in a call centre where the abuse from customers is high
If you are looking to improve retention rates in your call centre then why not give these a try.
By Kasmin Cooney OBE | Righttrack’s Managing Director