Module 3: Incentives vs. Motivators

Background

The last tutorial in the "Motivation Misunderstandings" series addressed the agent-manager disconnect.  We discovered that what managers believe motivates their agents and what agents say they are motivated by are often quite different.  This "disconnect" may inhibit your call center's ability to achieve top performance and retain key agents. 

This tutorial will address another misunderstanding commonly made by call center managers: not differentiating between incentives and motivators.  The quest for reduced turnover and improved metrics relies on recognizing and properly addressing this distinction.  Learn from hundreds of call center professionals with the following data, excerpted from our Best Practices in Call Center Operations Report. 

What's the difference?

Truly understanding your agents depends on the ability to distinguish between incentives and motivators.  This simple, yet essential characterization may make all the difference in meeting that all-important service level goal.

An apple is always a fruit, but a fruit is not necessarily an apple.  With similar circular logic, incentives may be motivators but not all motivators are incentives.  More clearly put, incentives are the rewards and prizes that are dangled in front of agents in an attempt to improve performance, while motivators refer to those aspects of the job that make an agent want to work harder and perform better.  Sure, gift certificates and bonuses may spur some agents to action, but for many that inspiration goes much deeper.

Most common incentive programs

First we will look at the most popular incentive programs used by call centers.  According to Centerserve's Best Practices in Call Center Operations Report, seventy-two percent of participants reported using one or more employee incentives. 

They were, in rank order:

1. Monetary

• cash bonus tied to individual or call center performance

• commissions as a percentage of sales or cross sales

• merit-based pay scale

2. Prizes and gifts

• meals

• travel

• recreation

• gadgets and gift certificates

3. Recognition and awards

• one-on-one feedback for a job well done

• recognition in front of peers

• posting a “wall of fame”

• certificates for service excellence

4. Company benefits

• time off for perfect attendance

• comp time for overtime (comp time is the ability to work overtime and then take time off at another time, or to take time off and then make up that time at a later date)

5. Development opportunities

• promotions     

• added responsibilities

• training for personal development

Top ways to motivate agents

Now that you are familiar with the incentive programs your call center peers are using, we will look at how managers motivate their agents.  As listed by participants, the top ways to motivate CSRs and make the job more interesting (in order of importance) were:

1.     Enrich and develop agent skills through ongoing work place opportunities.  Build off-phone time into the day, offer rotational job assignments, special projects, cross training, increased responsibilities, and advancement opportunities to nurture a yearning for lifelong personal growth. 

2.     Create a positive and fun workplace.  Many call centers sponsor contests and friendly competitions to spice up the atmosphere.  They schedule social events like holiday parties or entertainment, surprise employees with spontaneous lunches and breaks, have special dress up/down days, or do simple things that match their personality styles (tell jokes, offer a quote of the day). 

3.     Reward and recognize employee contributions to the call center.  Catch your employees doing the right thing and let them know their efforts are appreciated.  Showcase exceptional performance in settings with an audience and drop written letters of recommendation into their personal file.

4.     Use exemplary people skills to mentor, engage and build trust with employees.

5.     Communicate with employees through team meetings, staff meetings, organizational meetings, and meetings with senior staff.  Use these forums as sharing opportunities.

 

Conclusions

In comparing the two lists, we find some interesting contrasts.  As both lists were populated from information submitted by call center managers, it is of notice that first on the list of motivators was "enrich and develop agent skills through ongoing work place opportunities" - yet this factor was at the bottom of the list of incentives used.  The top incentive program, monetary payments, does not even appear on the list of motivators.  Consider the tactics your call center is using and the effect they are having on performance.  It may be time to reevaluate the message you are sending to employees and determine what agents are really looking for as "incentives."

To learn more about factors that impact agent performance, check out the Motivating Agents eToolkit.

Coming up...