Motivating Your Team When They’re Exhausted

Even the most highly motivated team can suffer from exhaustion, especially during busy periods. Motivating employees, even when they’re burnt out, can be a challenge for even the most seasoned managers. Keeping your employees’ minds stimulated goes far beyond keeping a hot pot of coffee on hand.

While motivating employees in the workplace may seem like an insurmountable challenge, 3C Contact Services tells their partners that if your agents have the proper motivation, they can get through even the busiest periods.

First and foremost, when it comes to motivating employees, reflect on what’s causing agent exhaustion, take steps to correct it, and find ways to keep your agents motivated. Here are some other things to keep in mind:

Pay Your Agents What They’re Worth

Working in a call center can be highly stressful, and the compensation for such a job needs to be consistent and on par with the industry standard. Knowing that they’re being paid a competitive wage can often be enough to motivate your agents through busy periods.

Provide a Pleasant Workplace Environment

If your office is clean and visually stimulating, it can keep your agents going, even during busy periods. Motivating employees in the workplace includes providing them with an environment in which they feel comfortable and enjoy working.

Offer Your Agents Opportunities to grow

Upgrading your agents’ skill sets goes a long way towards motivating employees and also makes them a much more valuable asset to your organization. We recommend constantly updating your agents’ skills and knowledge base to ensure that they are aware of the latest technologies and industry news.

Encourage Teamwork

A survey from WeekDone.com found that 39% of employees feel that their contributions are not appreciated. Encourage your agents to participate and invite them to provide input on how to improve things at your call center. Always ask them questions, listen to their answers, and, when possible, implement their suggestions.

Foster a Happy Environment

If your agents are happy, this attitude can be infectious. Keep an eye on whether or not your agents are in high spirits. If they’re dissatisfied with their job, this can spread and wreak havoc with morale.

Don’t Punish Mistakes

We’re all human and make mistakes, and motivating employees in the workplace means taking that into consideration. Let your agents learn from their mistakes. Provide coaching and advice to prevent these mistakes from becoming repetitive. If it was something major, make sure to address it so they will know to do better in the future.

Clear Goals

One of the fastest ways for your agents to lose focus is unclear goals, with 63% of employees feeling they’re wasting their time at work if they don’t have clear goals. Motivating employees in the workplace must include making what is expected of them clear; as a manager, this should be your number one priority.

Don’t Be a Micromanager

There’s nothing worse than a boss who insists on standing over their agents’ shoulders. In fact, in one survey, 38% of the employees questioned said they would take an unpleasant task over working with a micromanaging boss. Giving your agents clear goals and a sense of independence to complete projects, only checking in as needed, can go a long way towards motivating your employees.

Only Meet About Important Matters

Many agents and supervisors may suffer from meeting fatigue, as it’s been found that the average employee spends 3.8 hours a week in unproductive meetings. To combat this, invite only necessary employees to meetings and keep them as short as possible. You can also distribute an agenda in advance and start the meeting on time.

Source:
Economy, P., “9 Super Effective Ways to Motivate Your Team,” Inc. web site, December 29, 2014; http://www.inc.com/peter-economy/9-super-effective-ways-to-motivate-your-team.html.