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Motivation Misunderstandings

Centerserve presents a new tutorial series focused on identifying and improving common problems related to motivating agents. This tutorial series will pull from Prosci's research-based toolkits and best practices reports. The first module in the series explained the importance of understanding call center culture and what it means to your agents. The second tutorial addressed the disconnect between agents and supervisors. Last week's tutorial compared the most popular agent incentives and motivators. Now we will explore the concept of agent development.

Module 4: Agent Development

Background

The last tutorial in the "Motivation Misunderstandings" series examined the meanings of incentives and motivators, comparing and contrasting to discover missed opportunities for keeping agents satisfied and successful. One of the top ways to motivate agents mentioned in the tutorial focused on development of agents' skills and career advancement. This tutorial will further discuss the concept of agent development and its impact on the performance of your call center. Note: the techniques described also apply to team leads and supervisors.

Learn from hundreds of call center professionals with the following data, excerpted from our Best Practices in Call Center Operations Report and the Motivating Agents Toolkit.

Development defined

Career development for call center employees refers to those activities or opportunities that provide a sense of growth or advancement. Although promotions may be a key aspect of your agents' development plans, they are not the only aspect. Agents may not be ready to move up to supervisor positions, but they can be offered additional responsibilities. The next section explains possible options that can be used for developing your agents.

Examples of agent development

The following are examples of agent development activities as discovered by Prosci's research with hundreds of call center managers around the world. Use these examples as a starting point, not an all-encompassing list. Gather inspiration and think about what you can add that would be valuable to the employees in your call center.

Enrich and develop agent skills through ongoing work place opportunities:

offer rotational job assignments

allow agents to work on special projects

cross-train for additional competencies

increase job responsibilities

nurture a yearning for lifelong learning and personal growth

provide advancement and promotions based on abilities and individual goals

allow participation in seminars and workshops

offer additional self-paced training

institute tuition reimbursement programs

sit down and talk to your agents- find out what they want from this job!

The impact on turnover

The point of providing development opportunities is to further the growth of your agents. By taking an honest interest in the well-being of employees, they learn to appreciate the job and what it offers for their future. Most agents do not want to spend the next twenty years being yelled at by angry customers; find out ways to help them get what they want, be it a promotion or better work schedules, and they will be better employees because of it.

By providing a structured development plan for agents on an individual basis, agents will be more loyal to the organization and work hard to meet the goals you have set together.

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

Creating motivation is a process, not an event

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 impact if your efforts 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 gaps with holistic, easy-to-use tools such as the Threshold Model.

To learn more about the Threshold Model and view a sample of the Motivating Agents Toolkit, click here.

For more information on principles of motivation, check out Prosci's Motivating Agents Toolkit.

Click here to find out more

Recommended resources:

This tutorial provided information from our Motivating Call Center Agents Toolkit. More information on this and other call center products can be found in our Bookstore.

Motivating Call Center Agents Toolkit
A comprehensive guide specifically designed to increase productivity and motivate agents. Discover what truly motivates your agents to do their best work with easy-to-follow steps that guide you through the principles of motivation and how to overcome the agent-manager disconnect. Interactive assessments are included that allow you to find the root cause of low agent productivity and reduce your turnover rate.

Best Practices Reports Over 240 call centers from around the world share how they have improved service quality, productivity and customer satisfaction. This report shares lessons learned by call center managers regarding their most effective management practices.

Call Center Business Performance Packages Find a call center package to meet your needs and save 20-25% off the list price.

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