7 Reasons Why Call Center Agents Quit and How to Avoid Them

No industry is perfect. At some point, your employees may let go of their current position and decide to pursue other interests. While this is a regular occurrence, it also means that you must continuously train recruits to maintain your company standards. 

The call center industry naturally experiences high turnover rates among call center agents since around 74% of the workforce is at risk of burnout due to several factors. Some common examples include a terrible work environment, poor pay, lack of employee training, and poor management, among many more. 
This article explains why call centers in the Philippines are losing agents and what you can do to keep them happy. Use the infographic below as your quick guide.

Why Are Call Centers Always Hiring?

Many call center agents often quit due to several factors they may have experienced. While this is normal in any industry, call centers share the unfortunate reality of having high turnover rates. When too many employees leave a call center, the business has to constantly look for recruits to fill in the gaps and ensure that the company can still handle numerous calls while managing other tasks.

Here are some common reasons why and what you can do to mitigate this undeniable circumstance.

1. Burnout

An overworked team = poor performance. Burnt-out agents are more disengaged and more likely to quit. To prevent this, encourage your agents to take breaks or use their vacation days for rest.

2. Issues in team management

Agents need to have confidence in their seniors. Start creating ways to make standard processes more organized. Doing this will help everyone work towards a common goal and succeed. 

3. Lack of career development

Many agents often feel like they’re stuck in an industry that has no clear growth opportunities. But by providing targets for them, they strive to work hard and gain more ownership over their professional paths. 

4. Stressful working environment

Being overworked or expected to work tedious hours generates stress among call center agents. To handle this situation better, encourage private workspaces, build regular break times throughout the day, and provide flexible work policies. 

5. No work-life balance

Agents with no work-life balance may often feel that they must sacrifice their personal goals to meet work criteria. Instead of wasting your workers’ time, set boundaries and encourage them to practice good time management skills. 

6. Lackluster pay

Being underpaid is a common problem among agents that want to quit. One way of getting around this while remaining fair to others is by providing performance-based bonuses and pay increases. 

7. Lack of sufficient training 

Agents needing more experience and training may feel overwhelmed with their workload and decide to quit. Conduct regular training programs to ensure that your agents’ capabilities are adequate.

Effects of Call Center Agents Quitting

Whenever an agent quits, your company faces significant shifts. It affects your overall productivity, your reputation, and management. Here are some of the effects you may face with high turnover rates. 

1. Impact on vendor pricing 

When your company loses employees, you’re forced to spend more on recruitment programs and salary improvements. To maintain profits, you’ll have no choice but to increase your prices.

2. Undertrained agents 

Undertrained workers are more likely to deliver poorly. They may also feel undervalued in their role, leading to long-term dissatisfaction which may disturb other team members’ flow and hinder the team’s overall progress. 

3. Inconsistent customer experience 

Customers who experience inconsistency in your service are less likely to become loyal patrons. When you lose customers, you miss out on making sales. It also shows that your agents aren’t committed to the company’s goals. 

4. Longer resolution times 

When experienced agents leave, you’re left with junior members who may still need to become familiar with the workflow. As a result, troubleshooting will take longer, causing impatience and disappointment in customers. 

5. A decline in empathy 

Call center agents who consistently experience stress and poor management eventually lose interest in their positions. They become less empathetic when providing customer service, which definitely increases the number of customers who are unhappy with your business.

6. Reduced credibility in the market 

Without a good team to handle your operations, you risk losing your customer’s belief in your company’s capabilities and losing business to your competitors. 

7. Increased reliance on automation 

More customers will need to deal with automated processes and responses while recruits are being trained. Heavy reliance on these tools makes the customer experience less personable and memorable. 

Call Center Burnout: How to Prevent Agents from Quitting

Increased turnover rates are troublesome for your company. To keep this factor in check, you must find incentives that will motivate agents to stay. Here are some tips to keep your workers happy. 

1. Focus on stress reduction

Overworked employees are more likely to leave their positions. To help reduce this occurrence, help your agents find ways to relieve stress. You may also adjust their workload to make it more balanced for the whole team. 

2. Conduct mentoring programs

If an agent needs to improve in a particular area, mentoring programs help guide them toward improvement. At the same time, you’re also setting a measurable standard they can strive for. 

3. Offer incentives

Benefits and other incentives help motivate your agents to stay with your company longer. You may also produce loyal workers who can lead and train new recruits. 

4. Create team-building programs 

Team building exercises help each department understand one another and their needs. It encourages teamwork and allows everyone to work cohesively towards common goals. 

5. Encourage a healthy work environment 

While call centers are known to be stressful, you must take a few measurements to ensure agents are happy. Some examples include providing flexible work hours and building a no-tolerance policy on workplace harassment and discrimination. 

6. Create opportunities for career development 

Help your agents reach their professional goals by providing career growth opportunities. It can be anything from promotions to training programs. 

7. Provide the right tools

When you provide the right tools needed for the job, your agents perform their tasks more efficiently and accurately. This saves you time and money in the long run, as you can use it to solve queries faster and improve customer service experiences.

Leading Your Call Center Team to Success

Call centers experience one of the world’s most significant turnover rates. While each agent leaves for different reasons, it causes many problems for these businesses. As a result, you must look for various solutions to maintain your employee count. 

At Select VoiceCom, we ensure that both your customers and your employees get a consistently high-quality experience. Achieve success sustainably—partner with us today!