Call center agents have a pretty tough job. Let’s think about it. You’re stationed in a cubicle, addressing multiple customer concerns for hours at a time. High attrition rates are quite common in the call center industry, which shows that it takes a lot of work for a call center organization to retain its employees.
If recent studies are anything to go by, it is in the best interests of call center companies to invest more of their resources into rewarding and recognizing their agents. By doing this, companies can show their employees that they are valuable to the company, motivating them to stay consistent or do even better than the expectations set for them.
However, it’s not that simple since it’s important to understand what motivates your workforce first. Additionally, performance targets need to be clearly defined to ensure that the rewards you offer reinforce positive behavior. Here are five reward and recognition ideas you can try in your office.
1. Offer Material Rewards
Material incentives are effective in reinforcing positive behavior. After all, call center agents put in the hours to earn money. Giving them extra rewards makes them feel compensated for their hard work.
Budget constraints can make it difficult for a company to give everyone a raise, but an incentive program can be implemented to ensure that the best performers are rewarded. It’s always advisable to provide cash rewards to the best employees, but you can also offer a variety of material rewards such as gift certificates, coupons, meals, coffee, and more!
2. Personalize Your Rewards
Rewarding call center agents with a company mug or a Starbucks gift card for doing well on a specific task makes them feel appreciated, but only up to a point. There will come a time when an employee only sees these rewards as nothing more than just token gifts.
It’s always a good practice to reward employees with personalized items from time to time. You can purchase gifts related to an employee’s hobbies or interests, for instance, anything a friend would give. Doing this inspires loyalty in the employee because it makes him feel that the company appreciates and values him as an individual.
3. Offer Special Work Condition Incentives
One of the most challenging aspects of working in a call center is having to deal with shifting schedules. As such, many call center employees will welcome the opportunity to have some control of their work life.
So, reward your best performers with perks like allowing them to bid for their most preferred shift schedule, get extra paid leaves, choose accounts, and other work-related incentives. Knowing that they are offered opportunities to get some reprieve from the stressful aspects of call center work gives employees a good reason to stick with the company.
4. Team-Based Rewards
Offering rewards or incentives to account representatives for their group's performance motivates and inspires them to work better as a team. This also prompts members to engage each other in positive peer pressure, which creates opportunities for peer-to-peer learning.
5. Provide Positive Feedback at Every Opportunity
Call center employees face stressful situations regularly, so don’t pass up the opportunity to compliment them when they deserve it. Remember, even a small gesture of appreciation, a congratulatory pat on the back, or a smile of acknowledgment can go a long way to making agents feel better about their day.
What’s Next?
For a reward system to be effective, you have to develop a credible one for collecting and interpreting performance metrics. Otherwise, inconsistent and faulty evaluations of employees may lead to bickering, which could, in turn, negatively impact company culture.
Here at Select VoiceCom, employees are our greatest asset. We take great pride in our competitive incentive package, which we developed to ensure that our people are sufficiently rewarded for their hard work.
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