Customer-facing companies are increasingly using artificial intelligence coupled with analytics to predict customer preferences and behavior. Less commonly, however, is AI directed to agent behavior or, more specifically, the likelihood of an agent leaving their job.
Contact center automation solutions provider Intradiem recently introduced what it’s calling the first AI-powered technology solution to quantify agent “burnout” and predict the risk of attrition at the agent level. Currently, the solution predicts agent churn accurately 80 percent of the time, but with refinements and model training in progress, that’s expected to increase to 90 percent or more by 2024.
Agent churn is high in the call center industry. While it varies from sector to sector, some agent jobs can experience greater than 100 percent turnover annually. Rigid schedules, repetitive work and regular hostility from frustrated callers make a call center agent’s job notoriously stressful. These factors fuel chronic attrition, which in turn drives costs high and undercuts a customer’s consistent brand experience. It’s estimated that agent attrition averages 40 percent to 70 percent annually, with some organizations turning over their entire agent population each year. And, replacing a single agent can cost anywhere from $20,000 to $35,000.
Using real time contact center data, Intradiem’s AI model measures the data against expectations or past performance in real-time and designates each agent’s burnout risk assessment on its dashboard. Once an agent is identified as an attrition risk, the tool alerts a supervisor and provides recommendations to reduce the risk of the agent resigning. These recommendations range from initiating conversations to deploying additional training, coaching, surprise wellness breaks, or other actions, many of which can be automatically scheduled or delivered through Intradiem.
“Agent attrition is always a pressing issue for contact center leaders. It’s costly to find, hire, and train agents, and a lack of experienced employees can negatively impact customer,” said Robin Gareiss, CEO and Principal Analyst at Metrigy, a research firm specializing in customer and employee engagement. “Intradiem’s solution helps to retain what are among the most valuable employees companies have–those who know the customer. By using Intradiem to identify agents who are at risk of leaving the company and immediately taking actions to remediate, companies will save money and enjoy happier agents.”
Edited by
Greg Tavarez
