There’s no such thing as “business as usual.” If anything, workplace processes are constantly being challenged and disrupted. Rapidly advancing technology, agile practices, and shifting regulations have all revolutionized our work. COVID-19 has accelerated this transformation over the last few years, driving change on all fronts—cultural, behavioral, organizational and everything in between.
However, of the many things businesses have learned during the pandemic, one invaluable lesson has been that employee engagement can make or break a business. And when it comes to how to keep employees engaged in a call center environment, this is non-negotiable.
Let’s first examine why call center engagement has become critical to success. From there, we’ll look at how gamification, which involves including game-style incentives to encourage participation, can be used to help streamline your engagement efforts.
Why Does Employee Engagement Matter?
It’s no secret that engaged workers are passionate about their work and are often prepared to go the extra mile to contribute to their organization’s overall success. But when your workforce is mentally “checked out,” it can cost more than you think. Let’s look at what the numbers say:
- Disengaged employees are estimated to have 37% higher absenteeism, 18% lower productivity and 15% lower profitability. When converted into dollars, this translates into the cost of 34% of a disengaged employee’s annual salary, or $3,400 for every $10,000 they make. (Gallup)
- While companies with high employee engagement rates are 22% more profitable, only a third of employees feel engaged at work. For call center managers, this disparity is a big cause for concern. (Haiilo)
- For U.S. companies alone, the collective cost of disengagement at work comes out to roughly $350 billion for a single year. (Forbes)
- Business units with engaged employees have 23% higher profit when compared to business units with unengaged employees. (Gallup)
- On average, highly engaged workplaces see a 10% increase in customer ratings and a 20% increase in sales. (Qualtrics)
Gamification Trends: Playing Your Way to Higher Employee Engagement
Employee engagement directly correlates to productivity, which impacts a company’s profitability. And with customer experience being such a core element of organizational success, contact center agents serve as brand ambassadors for your organization and have the ability to unlock new avenues for growth.
Think about it—by the time a customer gets in touch with an agent, they’ve likely exhausted all other self-service options and are looking for someone who can quickly understand and resolve their problem. That said, improving remote agent performance will inevitably make your brand more successful and cost-effective in the long run.
To address this, many companies are turning to gamification to help develop and refine their employee engagement program.
Start at the top of your organization
Company culture and employee engagement go hand-in-hand. But when your agents are separated by distance, creating a positive company culture is even more important. In addition to helping contact center agents understand your company and its mission, vision, and values, it’s critical to ensure they feel comfortable, supported and happy in their roles. This will empower them to provide an unforgettable brand experience for your customers. Consider the following:
- Does your team feel comfortable voicing their concerns?
- Do you reward employees for their achievements?
- Do you provide clear expectations of what you want your agents to accomplish during a specified time period?
Offer game-based learning and training opportunities
Passive content, including PDFs and videos, can bore employees who have to read or watch them. By turning learning content into games, you’ll boost participation while getting a clear view of how much your agents are understanding and retaining. Then you can deliver individual coaching to those who need improvement.
For example, you can reward top performers who will meet their particular call center metrics with a variety of badges, incentives, or other prizes. Here are a few ways you can gamify your call center:
- Average Speed of Answer (ASA)
- First Call Resolution (FCR)
- Service Level
- Average Handling Time (AHT)
- Average Hold Time
- Percentage of Calls Transferred
- Number of Calls Taken
Organizations that deploy gamification techniques have seen their annual revenue grow nearly twice as fast as their peers. Currently, a staggering 70% of the top global enterprises are already incorporating gamification in some way.
Seek feedback consistently
Transparency is key in any healthy, thriving organization. With contact centers, making sure your agents are heard will give them a sense of belonging. Ultimately, your company values should be lived if you want to see results.
One way to achieve this is by developing an agent engagement survey where respondents can respond candidly and offer comments and seek input on how to improve. Keep these surveys brief, relevant, and anonymous.
Invest in technology that supports engagement
What’s the point of having a company culture that celebrates open communication if you don’t have a tool that makes it easy for your team to connect, share best practices, and celebrate their wins?
Determine the kind of technology your contact center will need to interact beyond emails and phone calls. Once the right technology is in place, your agents can track metrics, stay connected, solve problems faster, and make sure customer satisfaction is at its highest level across all channels.
Encourage team collaboration
When employees exchange ideas and collaborate, it feeds the company culture. Make it easy for your people to share best practices. Widespread collaboration leads to fully engaged workers who are willing and eager to take on new projects. They embrace change as a challenge that will elevate them to the next level.
Invest in Your Team to Improve Business Performance
In this day and age, business leaders must be proactive about the engagement of their employees to make sure their organization is running smoothly and growing sustainably.
After all, the role of a contact center agent has never been more important. These employees have the power to instantly shape a customer’s perception of your brand.
When you take the steps necessary to nurture employee engagement, you arm your agents with the support, tools, and feedback they need to deliver a truly exceptional customer experience—every time.
Courtney Cox is a senior product marketing manager at Alvaria, with 5+ years of experience in the call center software industry. Her expertise lies in understanding the magic of a product, the customer and how to connect the two. By applying her industry knowledge, she enjoys sharing her takeaways and experiences with readers.
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