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Resolving the Riddle of Retention
The document discusses the high attrition rates in contact centers, highlighting the average turnover and its negative impacts on companies, such as increased costs and diminished service quality. It explores the root causes of attrition, such as ineffective progressive discipline, poor training, and scheduling challenges, while suggesting various strategies organizations can adopt to mitigate these issues. Recommendations include improving training processes, enhancing performance reporting, and developing effective incentive programs to retain staff.
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Resolving the Riddle of Retention
- 1. Resolving the Riddleof Retention
- 2. Labor shortages hitcompanies across all verticals and job levels
- 3. Low Unemployment FuelsWage Increases
- 4. Contact Center Attrition Average Contact Center attrition reported by ICMI at 33% in 2017, up from 29% reported in 2016 Accepted averages are; Captive centers = 20% per annum Outsourced centers = 100% per annum But your mileage may vary; 365% turnover in six months at an outsource BPO 65% in an inhouse center
- 5. Impact of HighAttrition High Costs Direct cost Degraded service performance Performance related costs Eroded reputation Failure to meet business goals Depressed QA and CX scores Staff with less tenure and low pay attrite at a high rate than experienced and better paid staff
- 6. What are organizationsdoing to tame attrition Many organizations attempt to tackle attrition by employing some or all of the following tactics; Improving new hiring assessments Improving agent on-boarding training and nesting Increasing communications in training Improving coaching processes Creating mentor programs Increasing salaries, benefits and compensation
- 7. What are theCauses of High Attrition There are multiple root causes influencing attrition in the contact Center Staffing and Scheduling practices Dysfunctional Progressive Discipline Absence of agent profiles Absence of meaningful tests in Training Extended Nesting QA practices reduce likelihood of staff being coached and/or improving Absence of proper performance reporting Lack of Training for Center leaders (TL’s and Managers) Unstable incentive program
- 8. Common Staffing &Workforce issues & Scheduling Practices Not leveraging WFM for Scheduling RTA, and Forecasting Not fully understanding the capabilities of your WFM solution Forecasting is complicated – Often it is not properly designed Shift bidding is dysfunctional Ineffective forecasting and scheduling leads to high Occupancy & Attrition
- 9. Absence of Agent Profiles Without knowing the profile of successful agents, it is very difficult to know the skills, competencies and personalities that will allow agents to succeed Profiling allows job descriptions, the recruiting process/candidate assessment, training, nesting and coaching to be better aligned and continually improved
- 10. Dysfunctional Progressive Discipline Many organizations have biased and dysfunctional Progressive Discipline processes. Common examples include; HR has an out-sized role in the center, where it should be playing a supporting role PIP- is not operating as an improvement process, but rather serves as an agent warning system Delays in implementing progressive discipline makes the process ineffective and undermine the credibility of center leadership The process for Disciplinary Action is too time-consuming, often requiring many levels of sign-off (center, HR, senior management etc.) Absence of Service Level Agreement with HR to provide Disciplinary Action approvals in a timely manner
- 11. Progressive Discipline Recommendations AService Level Agreement between HR and contact center ensures that issues such as disciplinary actions and terminations can be dealt with in hours and not weeks HR should provide training and guidance to contact center leaders HR should play a supporting role to the contact center
- 12. Inconsistent Training Process Training often delivers different instructions than Nesting The absence of a Knowledgebase increases new agent confusion No feedback loop between Nesting and Training Trainers have no experience ‘on the phone’, may not understand the agent and floor perspectives or Trainer may have experience on the floor but not training on how to train Center Leadership (Managers, Supervisors, Teal Leads) don’t participate in trainings Training is not scheduled at times matching future agent schedules There is limited soft skill training content There are no assessments or quizzes employed in Training which could identify agent progress and where they may be having challenges There is no resource to develop Training content No tracking of agents and cohort performance post training to improve training and teaching
- 13. Training Process Recommendationsto improve effectiveness and reduce attrition Create and maintain a reliable knowledgebase. Eliminate the dichotomy between Nesting and Training via a feedback loop and/or rotating staff between these roles. Train Trainers to train. Have Managers and Team Leaders spend regular time in class observing and assisting. Certify Nesting Mentors as to knowledge and ability before allowing them to lead Nesting. Have Trainers work in in the center periodically to maintain understanding and improve credibility. Establish and employ quizzes and tests through training to confirm understanding and comprehension Emphasize soft skills and train on dealing with difficult customers as well as managing agent stress.
- 14. Training Assessment Recommendationsto Reduce Attrition and Improve Agent Comprehension Create meaningful training assessments with consequences, to weed out those for whom the position is a bad fit. Continuously track and analyze agents’ performance from day 1 of training Use assessments in nesting to determine when people are ready to move to the floor.
- 15. Nesting- Is ittoo long? A ‘No failure’ training approach results in agents with a broad range of proficiency moving to Nesting This can result in the organization extending Nesting to get agents to a minimum performance level needed to move to production Creates an artificial perception of what to expect on the production floor Creates the expectation of and/or on there being a ‘safety net’ that may not exist once in production
- 16. Nesting Recommendations 1 Allow agentsto ‘Fail’ out of Training during the training period. 2 Use assessments in Nesting to determine when people are ready to move to the floor 3 Movie agents from Nesting to production when they achieve minimum performance, limit remediation to avoid a perceptions of a ‘Safety Net’ 4 Ensure there are no mixed messages and confusion between Nesting and Training
- 17. QA Practice Issues-Common Challenges There is often a schizophrenic and conflicted relationship between QA and TL re observations and coaching Mix of ‘side by side’ and remote observations can create an uneven playing field Different coaching approaches between QA and TL’s (immediate versus delayed feedback can create a dichotomy and reduces effectiveness of TL coaching) Differing standards for bricks & mortar and for WAH agents Not using a system to manage QA results and trends Inconsistent coaching and tracking, often tied to a lack of training on how to coach adults No trend reporting or analysis in place Focus on agent vs center quality and overall performance or customer experience. Perceived bias in evaluations…easier to fail than to exceed Weak calibration process No ‘auto-fail’ No connection to VOC or CSAT
- 18. Quality Process Recommendations MoveQA analysts to 100% remote monitors. Schedule and conduct coaching sessions, reviewing trends from all observed calls and creating an improvement plan with agent’s input. Revise the QA scoring system so that doing something especially well can raise a score as easily as doing something wrong can bring it down. Trend reporting should be used to determine QA and coaching focus. Connect Voice of the Customer with internal quality to assure alignment.
- 19. Performance Reporting –Common Challenges There is no standard reporting/scorecards for agents, team leaders, managers, directors, VPs etc. Different reporting for different levels and purposes Reporting is mostly manual and time consuming. No data warehouse or data mart even though comprehensive data may be available. Lack of trust in VOC/CSAT (too many touch points, too infrequent, too general). KPIs at agent / TL level are not well-aligned with organizational values (i.e. AHT employed, FCR isn’t)
- 20. Performance Reporting Recommendations Createa structured reporting system to store all related data and provide various reports at appropriate level. Align and rationalize metrics to business objectives - Remove AHT as a KPI for agents/supervisors. Employ FCR as a contact center metric. Create a simplified survey (two or three questions) to be conducted (using automated IVR) immediately after the contact and/or establish a post call email survey Design and develop a balanced scorecard for agents, teams and centers. Employ scorecard scores as main contributor in any bonus program.
- 21. Lack of Trainingfor Center Leaders There is no specific training offered to Managers or Team Leaders on Contact Center Management, Coaching and developing staff or support specialties such as WFM, QA etc. This creates inconsistent knowledge and practices Which increases variability, disparate experiences and handicaps the effective management of agents, teams, support functions and centers No staff progression and career path outlined
- 22. Recommended Training forCenter Leaders Provide detailed training to Managers and Team Leaders on: Contact Center Management Coaching and Developing staff Provide detailed training to support groups on: WFM, theory and software administration QA practices and coaching
- 23. Incentive Program Best Practices Ensure Bonus/Incentive programis well understood to provide desired motivation. Ensure any Bonus program is inclusive for 100% of agents. First past the post programs only motivate a small % of agents. Ensure the program is based on continuous improvement. Don’t change program too frequently or risk agent perception that program changes are to ensure they can’t reach the desired performance.
- 24. Incentive Design Principles Introducethe program properly Which agents can benefit? Gap analysis for each individual Time to adjust Keep measurements simple! Maintain accurate performance data Keep the program flexible Support company goals Seek input from agents Add a benefit for everyone
- 25. Playbook for AgentRetention STAFFING SCHEDULING PROGRESSIVE DISCIPLINE QA PRACTICES, COACHING, AND REPORTING TRAINING, TRAINING TESTS & NESTING CENTER LEADER TRAINING INCENTIVES
- 26. Questions Colin Taylor CEO &Chief Chaos Officer The Taylor Reach Group, Inc. [email protected] 416.276.9068 www.thetaylorreachgroup.com
Editor's Notes
- #3 The downside of a strong economy is low unemployment and job shortages
- #5 Stat – ICMI, Contact Babel 55% may seem OK- but the center in question had great benefits and good pay
- #6 No shows in training can cost $2,500 to $7,000, quits in nesting or in first 30 day can cost $7 to $15K If 30% of you staff is still negotiating the learning curve towards competency, they are by definition performing at a lower level than the veteran staff. This is reflected in lower FCR, long calls, and more coaching and QA resource support and of course in lower CSAT and NPS scores, costing the organization customers. This ‘hidden cost’ can represent tens of thousands of dollars per month in additional direct support costs even for a small center of less than 100 agents. The bigger issue is the impact of having a significant portion of your agents in a constantly developing state and the impact on customer loyalty, retention and repurchase…which could cost an organization in millions in lost opportunities. If you are constantly hiring and people are constantly leaving your reputation as an employer cannot help but suffer, which in turn will make it harder to recruit new staff Attrition is cited a significant impediment to getting things done in the contact center- 85% indicate attrition is impacting achievement significantly.- Nice study
- #8 The tactics employed: Improving new hiring assessments Improving agent on-boarding training and nesting Increasing communications in training Improving coaching processes Creating mentor programs Increasing salaries and compensation All of these can be helpful, but if we fail to look at the center holisticly we will overlook other common causes including (READ LIST)
- #11 Disciplinary action SLA should be 24-48 hours