Working in contact centers demands customer service representatives to be fit--physically, emotionally, and mentally. This is due to the level of stress caused by high call volumes, irregular schedules, and frequent customer complaints they need to manage on a daily basis.
As leaders, one of your responsibilities is to keep your team members motivated. If left unchecked, lack of motivation can directly affect their entire well-being and job performance. This is why it’s important to bring back their interest in their respective roles to maintain, if not improve, their performances and avoid high attrition rates. Here are five motivational techniques to keep your agents on track while keeping their customer service skills in check:
1. Help agents prioritize their tasks
There are times when employees find their tasks for the day too heavy. Their checklist might make them feel overwhelmed or confused about which duties need to be prioritized. To help them sort out their dilemmas, encourage them to be open about expectations and deadlines given to them. Also, ensure that all facilities and tools are available to support their tasks. Knowing the reasons that could possibly take away motivation is the first step towards keeping them from burning out and giving them the drive to accomplish their assignments.
2. Encourage life and work balance
The proverb “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” must be ingrained in every employee. While hard work and dedication truly pays off at work, it’s still important to give every agent some space for their personal lives. So if there are instances when your agents are requesting for leaves, be more considerate and think about their welfare. The more you make them feel that they have your support in and out of the office, the more they’ll be driven to meet your expectations.
3. Provide rewards and recognition
All employees want validation about their work. They want to know whether their efforts are getting them closer towards individual and team goals. Without any acknowledgment from leaders, their interest to exhaust all their means at work can easily wane. This is why more than a raise or bonus, it’s vital to give an occasional spotlight on exceptional performances to motivate the entire team to strive harder to get the share of recognition.
4. Set a good example
One way to encourage agents to keep up with the team’s pace is to be a role model. When they see you motivated and passionate about doing your job, they’d likely be influenced by your positive display. By serving as an example, agents can take your expectations as motivators and not demands that can be deemed difficult.
5. Provide an avenue for suggestion
Encouraging frontliners to voice out their opinions about standard procedures and management regulations can improve any type of business. This allows top executives to evaluate current rules that directly affect employees. Moreover, giving your agents the freedom to share their viewpoints can make them feel more valued by the company.
Keeping your entire team solid and motivated is important as a leader. It can be quite challenging, but definitely doable with the use of motivational techniques mentioned. What other strategies do you use in your teams which were not mentioned? Let’s discuss them here.