Agents are the soul of every call center firm without whom the companies will cease to exist. High turnover rate of agents in outsourcing firm also negatively impacts the process of the firm. As a result, the trust and credibility of the vendor begins to decline.

Therefore, a blend of management techniques and resources is necessary to retain the agents in the company for a long period of time.

Here is the compilation of important techniques that are guaranteed to reduce the agent attrition and develop a sense of loyalty among your employees.

1. Give Emphasis on Orientation of New Agents

As per a research by Harvard Business School, the companies can make their employees more productive and happier if orientation is done properly. During the orientation session, call center companies must communicate the goals and objectives of the firm to the new hires. Discussions related to strength of a new employee also boost the morale in the very beginning. Avoid overloading the new employees with excessive information during orientation as it may result in loss of interest.

A properly designed orientation program, which is revised regularly, will definitely make sure that the agents feel attached to the company from the beginning of the tenure.

2. Keep Promotion Opportunities Open

Make sure that top performers are promoted regularly in terms of salary, designation and responsibilities. This will definitely make sure that agents work more seriously and efficiently to climb the success ladder. Regular increase in salary will also purge off the idea of switching to another firm for better opportunities. The incentive structure should also be modified with each promotional level.

3. Provide Finest Ergonomic Conditions

Companies may not realize but working environment matters a lot for the customer support representatives. Proper lighting, comfortable chairs, advance headphones and aesthetic interiors will make sure that agents do not begin to hate their job after few days. If suitable with the project, you can also offer flexible schedule for your agents to add comfort in their lives. Some companies are even offering work from home facilities through which employees feel more satisfied and comfortable.

4. Conduct Employee Engagement Surveys

There are many improvement ideas and management-related suggestions brimming in the minds of your contact center employees. You can have access to these ideas and suggestions through employee engagement surveys. These surveys should be conducted on regular basis to identify the satisfaction level of your agents. But conducting of survey is just first part of the employee engagement process. Actual benefit will be achieved only if actions are taken on basis of cumulative results of the surveys. It is the implementation of these ideas that gives assurance to employees that their voice is being heard in the company.

5. Allow them to Learn Customer Support Through Other Channels

If your customer support agent works in the calling process, do not think that his/her potential is only limited to this channel. You must offer training to learn customer support through channels like email and live chat support. This type of learning opportunity will not only reduce agent turnover but will also help on occasions like holiday rush.

6. Offer Reward and Recognition

You can put a performance score of top 10-20 employees on a whiteboard so that every agent can check it. This way, average performers will also get a booster shot. You can offer incentives to these top performers on monthly basis. Recognition in the form of gift coupons, certificates or trophies also encourage the best performers to stick with the company.

7. Agent Ownership Creates a Huge Difference

Feeling of ownership will not only ensure that agents love working with the company but they will go an extra mile to improve the quality of customer interactions. You can do this by allowing agents to handle customers beyond scripts by using their creativity and communication skills. Agents should also be allowed to offer discounts or product-return related facilities to any conflict with the customer. Discussing small and big achievements and additional information related to project develops sense of ownership among agents.

Conclusion

Make sure to implement all these and various other innovative methods to make sure that attrition rate is minimized. This will also ensure that Customer Support Representatives of your firm become your most valuable assets.