High attrition rates are pervasive and costly. In January 2013, Call Center Times reported “it is common for attrition rates to reach around 30% annually.” The cost of an agent quitting within the first 90 days is an estimated $30,000. Two keys to reduce attrition rates include 1) being clear with agents about performance expectations and 2) giving agents full visibility into their performance so they understand exactly what they need to do to meet expectations.
Be Clear about Performance Expectations
Contact center management needs to be clear about what they expect from agent performance. Transparency is critical because without it there is a detrimental communication breakdown – an agent might believe they’re performing well, and will be completely dismayed when management tells them otherwise. Agents frustration can be compounded if they don’t understand how management reached the conclusion they aren’t performing at the right level. Under these circumstances, it doesn’t take long for agents to become discouraged and quit.
Management can prevent this by explaining to agents exactly how their performance will be measured and why. This insight into KPI’s is critical because it gives the agents a full understanding of what they’re expected to do and how their role contributes to company success. For example, if Average Handle Time (AHT) is a KPI, management should explain how they determined AHT should be measured and elaborate on why it was adopted as a performance metric. This type of transparency between managers and contact center agents engenders trust and with full visibility into performance, it increases agent ownership and accountability.
Provide Agents with Full Visibility into their Performance
After establishing clear expectations, the next critical step is providing agents with full visibility into their performance. Once an agent understands the rational for implementing certain KPI’s, they should be given a real-time view of their performance. With the right tools, and agent can see how well they are doing over the course of a shift and how close they are to achieving their goals on any given day.
Take this a step further and provide agents with role-based scorecards. Use them to provide specific, personalized feedback and to determine any necessary coaching or eLearning that can help an agent to improve.
Being clear about performance expectations and providing visibility into performance will not only help reduce attrition – these two steps will radically improve an agent’s job satisfaction.
Learn more:
- Read about NICE CXone inView powered by ClearView®.
- Read about NICE CXone’s Workforce Management offerings.
- Watch a video testimonial from NICE CXone customer CLEARLINK about Supporting Agent Retention with WFM.
- Find out about NICE CXone’s Quality Monitoring, which includes role-based scorecards with KPIs.
Chances are your attrition rates are affected by lack of agent visibility
It has been our experience at NICE CXone that most companies do not give their agents adequate visibility to their performance. Many express the complications and frustrations that arise from limited agent communication and that agent attrition has an enormous impact on their bottom line…
Agents having one expectation and leadership has another is a recipe for attrition.
Some companies have reported costs as much as $30,000 every time an agent quits within the first 90 days and this number only goes up the longer the agent is employed with the company..
InView not only allows the agent to clearly see precisely what the company’s expectations are for each particular metric, but it allows the agent to see how they are performing to each goal in real time.
