| Module 3 - The Motivation Process
Roadmap
The Call Center Learning Center is excited to announce its
new toolkit - Motivating
Call Center Agents, a comprehensive guide on how to increase agent productivity and
retention. This tutorial series will pull from the Motivating Agents Toolkit to illustrate
how to establish an effective motivation and incentive program in your call center. Module 1
introduced the series and looked at the agent-manager disconnect and what you can do about
it. Module
2 took a closer look at the Motivation Lifecycle. This module will illustrate the
motivation process roadmap and show you how to create a truly motivating workplace. Module
4 will conclude the series with tips on how to incorporate other call center resources to
retain motivated and loyal agents.
Creating Motivation is a Process
As addressed in Module 1 of this series, creating motivation is an ongoing process.
Just as the culture in your call center is established over time, creating motivation is
also a process, rather than a one-time activity or event. In order for your call center to
be truly motivating, you must be pro-active, not reactive. Spending money on gimmicks,
games and logo-emblazoned mugs and pens will have little long-term effect if you stop
there. The most meaningful efforts will be relevant and specific. Agents will value them,
and you will see both short-term and long-term returns on your investment.
Like any meaningful change, you must view this effort as a process, not an event or
a meeting, or even a new incentive program. Lasting change will result when the call
center embarks on a program that addresses their unique needs and culture.
Prosci's Motivation Process Roadmap
This module in the Motivating Call Center Agents series provides an overview of the
process for creating a motivating workplace and finding the real value behind incentives
and methods for improving productivity. This systematic improvement
process provides the steps that you can implement to create a truly
motivating workplace.
Below is the Motivation Process Roadmap that is used in the Motivating Call
Center Agents Toolkit.
The action steps of the motivation process are divided into three
categories: preparing for change, planning the change and implementing the change.
Phase 1: Preparing for change
After you understand the principles of motivation, you can
begin an action plan to create a motivating workplace in your call center. An adequately
prepared call center workforce is much more likely to accept a change in their incentives
and motivation program. By following the steps below, you will be on your way to
developing a motivational strategy that works.
Preparing for change includes two steps:
1. Form a project team and begin
change management
This step addresses how to create a project team with your peers and agents - all of the
key players that you will need involved in the change. Using selection
criteria to determine who should be on your team will ensure a fair
process in choosing team members who participate in designing a plan
to motivate your call center agents. To determine your selection
criteria, you will want to look at a few specific factors about your
agents and be sure that certain important groups are adequately
represented. Groups to be represented include new and experienced
agents, agents with different duties, areas and shifts, and agents
with different demographics.
2. Assess the current state of your call
center
Before you embark on any changes in your call
center (even if you already have specific ideas in mind), it is
essential that you assess the current state of your call center.
This step is a reality-check. It will help you establish, in
unambiguous terms, the effectiveness of your company's current
incentive programs. Once everyone has a clear picture of where
you are as a call center, it will be easier to determine
where you want to go.
Phase 2: Planning the change
Now that you have formed a project team that adequately
represents your call center and have performed a comprehensive assessment of your call
center, it is time to move on to the planning phase.
Planning the change includes three steps:
1. Identify gaps
using the Threshold Model
After you perform the assessment of your call center, you will be able
to identify the gap's in your call center's required job factors
and desired job factors, as well as the potential
disconnects between agents' views and supervisor's assumptions.
(Note: The
Motivating Call Center Agents Toolkit does this by using the
Threshold Model, a unique model designed by Prosci, and interactive
assessments that calculate the data collected in your review.) When
you know where your gaps are, you'll know where you should begin the
work to fill them in, using your project design team's help in
formulating and launching your action plan.
2. Prioritize the
greatest opportunities
In this step, you will identify potential solutions
to close the gaps uncovered in the previous step. You will then
prioritize those solutions based on criteria that you will define.
The criteria should include the many perspectives you will need to
consider when deciding on the best solution, possibly including
cost, time to implement, impact on agents, return on investment,
etc.
3. Prepare the
business case
Now that you have assessed the state of your call center, identified
the gaps, and prioritized your solutions, creating a business case
is the first step to actually launching your action plan for
motivating your call center agents. Depending on the solutions you
have selected for your call center, you will need to determine the
extent to which a formal business case is required. The greater the
investment, typically the more extensive is the business case
proposal. Ask you call center leadership what they expect in terms
of a proposal from your team.
Phase 3: Implementing the change
By the time you reach Phase 3, you will have
collected and prepared the necessary components to set your action plan
in motion.
Implementing the change includes two steps:
1. Launch the
program
To ensure that the implementation of your project is a success, please
take some time to review the major principles of change management.
The next step is to begin to organize
your action plan and determine how it will be administered in your call
center. Breaking down your overall action plan into negotiable
components or subprojects will help you pinpoint problems and track
your progress more easily. Be sure to include a timeline and
key milestones and achievements in your plan to keep you on track.
2. Evaluate the
effectiveness and revise the strategy
Launching your action plan is only the beginning.
You must also determine whether the changes you have implemented
successfully address the identified gaps, or whether you need to
make adjustments to those improvements. Gather feedback from your
agents and supervisors based on the changes deployed through your
action plan and revise certain elements and timelines of your
original plan accordingly. Most importantly, don't forget to
reinforce the change, and to reward and recognize all those who
contributed to the success, including your agents and supervisors.
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