If your turnover rate makes it look like someone’s installed a revolving door in the contact center, new research may have found the cause — and leadership could be to blame.
Contact center leaders bemoan the stereotype and reality of high turnover. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
If managers and supervisors take steps to avoid the things employees say are the most bothersome — and often lead them to walk out the door in about a year — they’ll retain a happy, productive team.
Big reasons, little fixes
Here are four of the biggest reasons contact employees cite for leaving — and how to avoid them:
“I don’t feel prepared or empowered.” Because of constant customer demand, many contact center leaders still use “baptism by fire” methods to get new hires up to speed. Quick, on-the-job training rarely leaves new employees feeling comfortable, smart and efficient on the job.
Better bet: Give new hires at least several weeks of culture, service, product and customer training before they work directly with customers by themselves. Lay out their responsibilities, expectations and rewards for meeting them — as well as consequences for failing — from the outset.
“I don’t know how I’m doing.” New hires are often insecure and uncertain, especially if this is their first job. They need a constant stream of feedback, which some organizations aren’t willing to provide.
Better bet: Schedule weekly and quarterly review sessions.
“No one cares what I think.” Established groups often forget to include new hires in their meetings — whether they are inter-departmental teams, brainstorming sessions or after-hour activities. Not being included is a morale killer.
Better bet: Include new hires, even if it seems they won’t have much valuable input at first.
“No one appreciates me.” It’s hard to be a superstar when you start. So doing just an OK job, and seeing the veterans praised for their outstanding performance can be a bummer.
Better bet: Thank newbies for their contributions and explain exactly how it affects customers, the department and company so they start to understand the big picture and get motivated to be a bigger part of it.