In high-stress, high-volume, customer service roles, employee burnout and churn can be a difficult challenge to tackle. Contact centers experience an average of 35-45% annual turnover, with some organizations seeing upwards of 60% turnover in a year. Addressing employee churn is challenging, as effective solutions often vary by organization.
However, one thing is certain—leadership plays a fundamental role in whether employees decide to stay onboard.
“Research suggests that only about three out of ten people promoted into leadership roles naturally have the attributes to be effective leaders—qualities like empathy and understanding.” - Jordan Birnbaum, Episode 2 of Futureworks
Implementing effective leadership strategies are one of the best ways to build a positive work culture and combat employee churn. Let’s explore a few strategies to consider across different levels of leadership in your contact center to ensure employees feel valued, happy, and more likely to stay onboard.
While empathy and understanding are keys to effective leadership, we need to go beyond these basics. Let's explore actionable strategies that can transform leadership approaches and reduce employee churn in contact centers.
Prioritize agent autonomy and freedom
Nobody enjoys micromanagement. While it's crucial for agents to meet KPI goals, micromanaging their performance isn’t the way to do it. Telling someone exactly how and when to complete their work puts them on a fast track to feeling frustrated and devalued. When you hire and thoroughly train someone, trust them to accomplish their goals in the way that works best for them.
For example, some contact centers rely heavily on scripts. Agents are required to follow these scripted interactions to move customers through calls efficiently. However, reading from a strict script repeatedly all day, nearly every day is both exhausting and stifling. Instead, give employees the autonomy to be themselves during interactions, while providing them with the tools and training they need to effectively solve customer challenges.
And if an employee struggles to meet their goals, take a collaborative approach by working with them to find processes that encourage improvement while preserving their autonomy in how they work.
Key points on employee autonomy:
- You hired adults, trust them to do their jobs unless they prove otherwise.
- Let people be themselves, customer interactions are better when employees are happy.
- Give your team a say in their work schedules, through WFM solutions that offer true self-service.
- If you need rigid, scripted interactions, use virtual assistants rather than people—though I can't remember the last time a virtual agent actually solved my problem.
Help your employees learn and grow
A leadership focus on development not only improves workdays for agents, it can also improve outcomes for businesses. According to a Gallup study, organizations that prioritize employee development see an 11% increase in profitability and are twice as likely to keep employees. It's proven that employees value career growth, and feeling stagnant in a role—especially one with repetitive tasks often found in contact centers—carries a lot of weight.
Leaders across an organization can promote a culture that values employee development by considering the full employment lifecycle. When creating job descriptions, training programs, engagement practices, and other cultural elements, it's imporant to envision what career paths will look like for each employee.
Regular check-ins are essential to understand each individual's strengths, weaknesses, and workplace interests throughout their employment journey. By using these insights to create personalized training and career paths, organizations can transform a contact center position from a temporary job (the average agent tenure is around 14 months) into a meaningful career.
Key points on employee development:
- Customized learning paths can be effective ways to tailor training and development programs to each employee’s needs.
- Supervisors should be a coach above all else, prioritizing employee development through coaching sessions and real-time feedback where possible.
- Online training modules can be helpful for some learning styles, but many people benefit from hands-on exercises and training in the field.
- Don't assume all employees share the same development goals—ask people directly what they want from their workplace through one-on-one conversations.
For leaders, one of the most powerful things they can do is have one-on-one conversations with their team members. Ask them what matters most to them, then follow up to show that you remember and care. Jordan Birnbaum, Episode 2 of Futureworks
Build meaningful work relationships
With the rise of remote and hybrid work, building connections in the workplace has become more challenging. Contact center leaders must actively foster a sense of belonging among team members. People want to feel like they're part of something bigger than themselves and contribute to goals beyond their own. Creating this sense of community and purpose leads to greater job satisfaction and lower employee turnover.
Keep points on building better work relationships:
- Leaders should use one-on-one meetings not only to discuss employees' professional lives but also to understand them personally. Simple gestures like asking someone how they're doing—and genuinely caring about their answer—matter more than we often realize.
- Part of one-on-one conversations should be discussions about how each employee’s performance matters in the bigger picture of organizational goals.
- Foster community and camaraderie through team events, friendly competitions, and group check-ins that strike a balance between personal connections and professional relationships.
Interested in learning more about leadership strategies to engage your workforce and reduce employee churn? Catch the Aspect team at the SWPP Annual Conference in Nashville on April 22-24th. Join our thought leadership session and special Futureworks podcast taping, “The Power of Leadership over Employee Churn” on April 23rd at 1:30pm.
