Call center managers know agent attrition runs high in their industry. Many might understand the common issues that drive agents out the door and cost huge profits. However, the reasons that agents might churn can vary by individual, and it can be challenging to discover the root causes of agent attrition. Here are several common reasons that agents leave after the onboarding process, and how AnswerOn’s solution can help call centers know which agents are at-risk – and, most importantly, the proactive action that can prevent them from leaving.
Feeling Unappreciated
At captive call centers, agents might not feel a strong bond to company culture. Call centers can inadvertently be seen as the least essential component of the company’s many goals and departments. An additional hurdle is that many call center agents are hired as temporary workers. These factors can prevent agents from developing strong ties and a sense of loyalty to the company. With a lack of feeling invested in the success of the company, agents can become disenchanted with their work.
Many call center agents, especially agents hired on as temps, report feeling that they are not part of a team. Agents who find themselves isolated and removed from their coworkers have a limited support system to turn to in times of need and their disenchantment with the company can continue to grow. Thus, a strong sense of belonging and healthy relationships with coworkers can help call centers reduce their rates of churn.
A Job is Not a Career
Additionally, investing in an agent’s long-term goals can increase their loyalty and tenure to the company. By outlining what a career can look like in the call center industry in terms of skill benchmarks and promotions, agents can have a defined path and will want to stay with the company longer. If training and goal setting are only short-term in nature, your agents will only stay for the short-term.
Also, a call center’s onboarding and training processes contribute directly to helping agents envision a career rather than a job. Onboarding should include a focus on company values and the reasons behind them. Likewise, after onboarding, team leaders should be readily available to agents should they require additional coaching or guidance. Agents who know they are on the right path, for current success and long-term success stick with the work. Call centers who invest in their agents’ long-term goals see a dramatic reduction in agent attrition.
Scheduling Problems and Poor Leadership
Some of your agents might be unsatisfied with or struggling to maintain their work hours. For example, repeatedly being denied a shift change, struggling with a commuting issue like sharing a car, or just preferring a different shift, are all scheduling issues that directly put agents at a high risk of churning.
Management and team leadership are critical components of the work atmosphere for call center employees. Actively listening to agents’ concerns or challenges in scheduling leaves agents feeling heard and appreciated. So, combined with recognizing agent success, you can boost employee morale of individuals and the whole call center. This means that supported and rewarded agents churn at significantly lower rates.
How to Curb the Root Causes of Agent Attrition: Proactive Individualized Solutions
Managers and team leaders need to know the pain points for individual high-risk agents and couple it with a proactive approach to effectively combat agent attrition. AnswerOn’s proven and predictive analytics solution for reducing call center attrition provides managers with the knowledge of which agents are at risk of leaving, why, and what the manager can individually do to help that agent before they go. Find out more about how the AnswerOn system has helped call centers of all sizes and industry-focuses decrease their agent attrition rates and increase ROI potential.
