Is Stress Affecting Your Agents’ Performance?

Call center agents are the unsung heroes of any organization. Their contributions drive customer’s experience when they call your business, whether it’s to place an order, find out more information about a service, or pay a bill.

It’s important that your agents continue to maintain a positive image since one slip-up can lead to negative consequences for your company. One negative interaction between an agent and a customer could mean a sullied reputation. There’s no disputing that a call center can be a highly stressful environment. In fact, 87% of agents experience moderate to high levels of stress during their workday.

What’s worse, your agents may feel unappreciated. This can lead to feeling detached from their job, which can in turn lead to them providing poor customer service. 3C Contact Services provides its partners with ways to easily mend this situation.

Tips to Reduce Stress and Improve Performance Among Call Center Agents

Share the Workload

According to a study by The International Customer Management Institution, many call center agents have seen the expectations of their roles expand by up to 75%, supporting multiple channels with increased responsibilities. Many call center managers say that they expect agent roles will expand even further in the coming years.

That’s why we recommend that our partners have a plan in place to support this; whether it’s hiring more agents, even if it’s temporarily, or distributing tasks so your employees are not overwhelmed. This way, they can anticipate the increased volume of work and find ways to deal with it.

Offer Better Resources

Your agents may be working with dated equipment or training. If it’s in your budget, try to replace your equipment every few years, or at least refurbish it. Keep your eye on the latest trends in your industry and constantly update your agents’ training.

Not only will this help with their job satisfaction, it will also help you to remain competitive and efficient. Remember, your agents are what drive your business’ success. If they are not doing their job to the best of their ability because they’re working with outdated equipment and training, it’s safe to assume your business will suffer as a result.

Make Stress Reduction and Improved Job Performance a Priority

Call centers need to re-evaluate their priorities by putting stress reduction and improving job performance at the forefront. To do this, it is recommended that you ask the following questions:

Do your agents have the necessary authority to resolve the customer issues they may experience?
Do you provide them with the tools, training, and technology necessary to complete their jobs as efficiently as possible?
Do you hold them accountable for situations in which they can affect the outcome?

If you answered no to any of the above questions, it’s time to start looking at ways to reduce your agents’ stress and improve their job satisfaction.

At 3C Contact Services, we provide our partners with a number of resources to help make their jobs less stressful. Contact us today to find out how we can help you.

Source:

Tierney, J., “Is Customer Satisfaction Hindered by Stressed Out Contact Center Agents?” Loyalty 360, May 6, 2015; http://loyalty360.org/resources/article/customer-experience-hindered-by-stressed-contact-center-agents.