If independent technology and market research company, Forrester, is to be believed, “89% of consumers who experience poor service with your brand will leave for your competition.” McKinsey, on the other hand says, “70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated.”
Customer satisfaction is directly proportional to the service and assistance offered by the contact centre. And it is conventional wisdom that happy employees offer the best customer services. So, once you have a pool of vibrant employee ready to rub off their optimism onto the clients, ensure that their effervescence remains intact. Don’t let them feel like a cog in an impersonal machine. The gamification of the work process will boost their performance, which in turn will result in higher rate of client acquisition and retention.
Fun Ways to Enhance Workforce Efficiency
“People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.” ~ Dale Carnegie
You cannot ignore the importance of a fun and engaging workplace, especially when your success depends upon the success of your employees. Here are some interesting ways to make your contact center more fun:
- Create Traditions: Create a USP for your work-culture and get creative with ideas. Plan a breakfast party every month or try theme days, like Eat-Out-Wednesdays, where the call centre agents can take their teams out for a barbeque or brunch. Alternately, you could celebrate Angel Week, where the employees in person or in groups would be a part of a charitable cause. Bring in a personal touch and sensitivity to the work place. Celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and other major milestones, and be together in times of personal loss or illness.
- Broadcast Appreciation: Let your call center agents feel like the star of their workplace. A pat on the back with a compliment certainly has its charm. However, writing a personal message of appreciation and broadcasting it in the office via wallpapers on desktops, or a poster on the notice board will enhance the effect manifold.
- Incentivize the Effort: According to McKinsey’s quarterly survey, employees rank non-cash motivators like praise from immediate managers, leadership attention and a chance to lead projects or task forces as more effective motivators than the three highest-rated financial incentives of cash bonuses, increased base pay and stock or stock options. So, track and reward the efforts of your contact center employees to boost their morale.
- Basket of Toys: Create a basket of goodies with squishy balls, slinkies, mini chalkboards, vibrating balls, cute soft toys, some candy and cookies and pass this on to an employee on a stressful call. Let this basket of happiness travel to every desk through the week.
- Laughter Therapy: Laughter is a proven stress-buster. Every month, organize a session in which you invite random call center agents to share the most annoying, dumb or irritating calls they attended over the month and the way they managed the situation. This activity will elevate the mood of the group and could also be an interesting way to share ideas on how to deal with difficult customers. You can reward the best ideas to keep this session going.
Think of what would best suit your team and your specific setting. If an hour of some sporting activity gets your team motivating, then choose that for a Friday afternoon activity. Doing fun things together is a great way to enhance bonds within a team.
Related : Gameplan for Agent Engagement
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