5 Things Frontline Leaders Can Do to Help Agent Attrition
I love working with front-line supervisors and managers who are learning how to be more effective coaches. Most are eager to learn how to build a great team. During our work time together, many express frustration about agent turnover, the time and effort that new hire training takes with high turnover. Some add that they feel powerless to do anything about attrition. They’ll blame it on poor hiring or an agent that didn’t have the right attitude, but often they don’t see the part they themselves play in keeping employees engaged and employed.
Agents share a lot of their concerns and comments with me too and their relationship with their supervisor and manager is very telling indeed. Some say that they love the way their supervisor rolls up their sleeves and helps when the queues are busy. Others tell me that their supervisor disappears from 8 to 5 in meetings and they barely have any contact with them. A few even tell me that the only time they see their supervisor is when they have done something “wrong.”
Those who are engaged and continue to work in their center roles will share what the best of their leaders are doing to keep them coming to work everyday and enjoying what they do.
The best part is that the most-mentioned agent attrition fighters below are free or nearly free.
1. Pay Attention
When was the last time you stopped by an agent’s desk just to say, “How is your day going”?
Offer each agent personal attention, time to speak with you about their goals for their career and not just a monthly coaching session because you have to do it. They can tell if you are sincere or just marking the session off on your management checklist. Stop by and say “Good Morning” or “Great job on that last call.” Just show you are interested in them.
2. Recognize
Many agents tell me that they think the customer service week focus (i.e. one big deal week out of the year) is just something managers think they HAVE to do, rather than really recognizing contributions and efforts regularly made. Ask your agents for ideas on rewards and recognition. You may find that not everyone loves that popcorn party you planned as a reward!
3. Sincere thanks
Give heartfelt thanks, not a corporate designed thank you! Sign up for a free or inexpensive e-card service (for example, Jacquie Lawson) and send a personalized thank you card for special projects, great improvements in skills or other reasons to show individual appreciation: attendance, covering for co-worker who is out, mentoring, etc.
Or, spend a few dollars and buy a box of blank thank you notes. Handwrite something about their abilities and efforts. Agents have told me that they take these custom written notes home to proudly show their family and then bring them back to post at their desk. They love looking at these on a tough customer day.
4. Notice when I’m doing something right and show me how to do better
The biggest push-back I receive from supervisors and managers is when I ask them to spend an hour sitting side by side with each agent observing live calls, emails, chats, workflow and even take calls while the agent observes them. Most tell me they are too busy to do this often and make excuses when asked to do it even once. Using intraday automation tools, you can eliminate manual tasks and find snippets of time in your schedule (and your agent’s) to interact with your team.
This is a wonderful opportunity to bond with your agent, show that you are still learning and working on skills too and that improvement is a work in progress as a team, not you versus me.
You should also “spot check” live calls from your desk during the week. When you hear a great call or an agent who is practicing the skills you just coached with them, you can go over to their desk and praise what they’ve done. They love it!
5. Listen to me
Ask your agents for feedback on things: processes, training materials, tools they use, what the customers are telling them and how to improve customer experience and their own work there. Show interest and value their input instead of just telling them what they need to do. If they ask for something challenging or perhaps unreasonable, don’t just say no. Explain why it would be a problem or at least offer to think about it. Millennials in particular love to have reasons shared rather than given flat “no.”
As frontline supervisors and managers, we DO have ways to fight agent attrition. Focus on proactive ways you can take charge of engaging and personalizing your daily interactions with each individual on your team. Find and take the time to coach them and communicate with them. Engage them so they not only want to do a great job — they want to stay!
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