Workforce Management Featured Article
Why Workforce Management Should Focus on Happy Agents
What does it take to create happy agents in the call center environment? Is it more money, better hours or the promise that they never have to deal with a frustrated customer? The last option would be ideal for any customer service operations, yet hardly achievable. What you can do, however, is focus on changing the way you handle customer interactions so as to greatly reduce the number.
The reality is, agents are more productive when they are happy. Yet distractions and poor dispositions can break the focus and keep agents from completing the tasks they need to do in a given day. Workforce management can help in the process, but it’s not the end all approach to ensure optimal productivity. In fact, it is the perceived happiness of the agent that has a direct correlation with the satisfaction of the customer on the phone. Therefore, agent happiness should be your first priority.
A recent Aspect (News - Alert) blog highlighted an infographic that stressed this very point. Of the customers surveyed for this research, two thirds reported that their experience with a customer service agent significantly affected how they felt about the brand. If happy agents mean happy customers, it’s something that should be the primary goal for any workforce management initiative. Let’s take a look at the infographic and see what other information might be valuable to include in your strategy.
Did you know, for instance, that work at home agents are happier agents? Of those included in this research, 53 percent have some of their agents working from a home office. As a result, 12 percent increased productivity. Contact centers using home agents also reported a 50 percent reduction in home worker attrition compared with those who selected to stay in the office to work. Happier and more productive agents have been proven key to building customer-company relationships and 73 percent of consumers will commit to a brand due to friendly employees or customer service representatives.
So what’s the moral of this story? It’s one thing to invest in a workforce management solution to keep things running smoothly on the calling floor. It’s something else to make the investment because you want to create a better environment for your agents. It’s not just about reinforcing a positive environment; it’s about achieving overall revenue goals. If the latter is your motive, you’re likely to see better overall outcomes and a healthier bottom line.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi