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Motivation In The Workplace
Working as a customer service representative can be a very
challenging position for many reasons. In an inbound operation, for example,
employees must deal with a relentless stream of difficult customers, while
having most of their actions micromanaged and monitored. Under such conditions,
it is not rare to encounter low morale and a total lack of enthusiasm for the
job at hand. However, dwindling motivation should not be considered as an
inevitable attribute that all call center operations must share. It is possible
for contact center supervisors and managers to create an environment where a
culture of optimism can flourish. This can be accomplished through modeling
desired behaviors, enforcing policies and instituting appropriate reward
systems.
Modeling Desired Behaviors
As important as it is for supervisors to make sure that
their team members adhere to a standardized set of rules, it is much more
important, and effective, for people in charge to consistently model the
behaviors they wish to reinforce. Call center representatives must follow very
strict policies regarding attendance, call handle time, and breaks just to name
a few. In contrast, people in management roles may have more lax requirements,
which permit them to attend to duties such as coaching, meetings and various
administrative tasks. The obvious difference between the phone agent’s level of
freedom and that of a supervisor can be grounds for discontent if not properly
managed.
During periods of heavy queuing, for example,
representatives must handle dozens of calls without respite between
interactions. If their supervisors can be seen taking extended breaks, or
loitering instead of helping with the call volume, morale will suffer.
Moreover, the initial resentment that may begin with an isolated incident has
the potential of achieving epidemic proportions as other examples of perceived
unfairness are observed. That is why it is crucial for supervisors to follow
the behavioral standards applicable to all employees.
In terms of attendance, supervisors must set an example by
being punctual in all endeavors. Also, they must resist the temptation of
breaking inconvenient rules in front of their underlings. Answering a personal
call, while putting a customer on hold, would illustrate such a situation.Above
all, supervisors must remain professional in all their interactions with
customers. As the leaders of their teams, supervisors are tasked with handling
calls where representatives and customers have encountered an impasse. In
general, such calls require a great deal of diplomacy, poise and eloquence on
the part of supervisors in order to be successful. On the contrary, following
in the footsteps of customers who have reached the end of their civility is a
recipe for disaster.
Even more grievous than treating a customer poorly is
having the interaction witnessed by phone representatives who can lose their
jobs for displaying similar behaviors. Such paradoxes are always detrimental to
employee motivation because they reinforce the notion that supervisors get paid
more, but are held to a lower standard of conduct.
Enforcing Policies
It is difficult to envision a successful call center
operation without associating it with stringent requirements for call handle
time, attendance, up-sell/cross-sell quotas, quality scores, etc. In addition,
it would seem implausible for a call center to reach any level of consistent
achievement without the presence of competent management.
A hallmark of proficient supervisors and managers is their
consistent enforcement of the policies and guidelines established to ensure the
smooth running of their businesses. Without this quality, supervisor’s actions
can undermine a key component of employee motivation, clear expectations.
Call center representatives who don’t have a clear
understanding of what is expected of them cannot perform to their full
potential. To illustrate the point, let’s look at a fictional character we’ll
call “John”. Imagine that John is the type of agent that never misses a day of
work. Although he has never received any recognition for his attendance record,
John feels that being a reliable employee will eventually differentiate him from
other representatives who may be in line for promotions. Now imagine what would
happen to John’s attendance if he found out that his supervisor only followed
the attendance policy when it didn’t affect his best sales people? Given John’s
work ethic he may not change his attendance habits, but he may begin working
less diligently in order to restore equity.
One reason why supervisors may not enforce current policies
is that they may want to be perceived as being on the agent’s side. However,
such an approach would probably do more to foster mediocrity and lower morale
than to benefit the team. People need to know the repercussions of their
actions, positive and negative, if they are to work to the best of their
ability. As a call center representative, it would be difficult to remain
positive about the daily challenges of the job, while knowing that coworkers who
don’t do their part are treated the same as those who do.
The result of not enforcing exiting policies may best be
highlighted by the remarks that agents make after being transferred to a new
team. When new supervisors inherit what we’ll call “Trained Poor Performers”
they often encounter comments like “I know I have 25 occurrences, but that was
never a problem before”, or “My old supervisor said that QA scores didn’t matter
as long as I met my quota”.
Instituting appropriate reward systems
A final tenet of call center motivation is the
implementation of appropriate reward systems. While the definition of what is
appropriate can vary from one call center to the next, the basic characteristics
of a good reward system remain constant. In order to achieve their objective,
rewards must appeal to various motivators, encourage only desired behaviors, and
have incentives that are of value to the agents.
Successful reward systems begin by appealing to the various
motivators that impel people to action. Employees may be motivated by money,
recognition, job flexibility, a sense of accomplishment, and many other
intrinsic and extrinsic factors. In addition, things that motivate some people
to excel can just as easily discourage others. That is why it is important for
call center managers to identify and consider the most prevalent motivators
within their groups before finalizing any type of incentive program. Assuming
that money is the best, or only, way to motivate call center representatives can
prove to be a very expensive and counterproductive proposition.
Along the same lines as targeting the right motivators,
rewards must be based on behaviors that should be encouraged, while minimizing
the possibility of abuse. Unless they are careful in the design of their
incentive programs call center managers can find themselves promoting the
opposite of what they are trying to accomplish. Let’s take a contest to reduce
average handle time as an example of what can go wrong. In theory, encouraging
representatives to reduce their handle time would induce them to work more
effectively and efficiently, which in turn would promote faster resolution of
customer issues. Unfortunately, the reality of such an undertaking would be
very different unless strict controls are put in place. As an agent, the reward
would look the same whether the contest is won by disconnecting as many calls as
possible, as it would by working conscientiously. Not taking into consideration
such obvious pitfalls can turn almost any contest into a true customer
satisfaction nightmare.
Even if a reward system is well thought out and managed, it
must still offer incentives that are of interest to the agents involved. This
characteristic is different than the targeting of relevant motivators. People
can be motivated by money, for example, but offering them $20 to do something
that will prevent them from making $200 would probably fail as an incentive.
Rewards must represent things that cannot be gained by sticking to the status
quo, or conflict with more attractive propositions
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