The world of work has changed significantly, with contact enters no longer standing as large corporate buildings requiring daily commutes from employees. Today, many contact center operations are run from homes and remote offices, with agents spread across the world.
With increased desire to work from home, contact center leaders must find ways to actively engage remote and hybrid employees. Creating a positive work culture built upon clear, timely feedback and continuous improvement is one of the most powerful ways to keep remote teams engaged.
Let’s explore a few ways that real-time communication can boost employee engagement and retention.
Does remote and hybrid work improve employee engagement?
A 2024 Gallup report discovered that remote-capable employees working fully remotely or in hybrid roles had higher levels of engagement than on-site employees. This same report found that 64% of remote-capable employees would look for new employment if a job did not offer remote or hybrid work options.
According to a 2023 Deloitte Digital report, 63% of contact center leaders are facing a staffing shortage, finding it difficult to attract and retain employees. There are additional factors like pay and growth opportunities that come into play, but its safe to say that work flexibility is a key factor to employee retention.
Remote and hybrid work offer opportunities for employees to find better work-life balance, leading to happier and healthier teams. However, some contact center leaders may still struggle to fully engage teams digitally. This is where having comprehensive workforce engagement management software can help.
Understanding the role of real-time feedback in contact centers
What is real-time feedback?
Typically associated with performance management, real-time feedback is the process of employees receiving immediate communication on productivity or customer interactions. These processes help employees correct mistakes, improve skills, and recognize where they’re excelling. Real-time feedback can be made easier through workforce solutions with automated tools, instantly evaluating performance and customer interactions.
Benefits of real-time data and feedback in a workforce
Real-time feedback can benefit both on-site and remote/hybrid employees. Having access to real-time metrics in workforce management solutions can streamline providing timely, efficient, employee feedback and evaluations.
Instant feedback mechanisms can help employees:
- Define and reach goals. Real-time feedback can not only instantly improve employee’s performance, it can also inform routine evaluations. Employees can develop a better understanding of how their hourly or daily performance is helping them reach individual goals, as well as organizational ones.
- Understand work expectations. People are usually happier at work when they understand wha’s expected of them. Tools with real-time data allow employees to monitor their own performance, while also offering clear visibility into supervisor feedback, evaluations, and expectations.
- Collaborate with leadership and peers. Feedback tools can open up conversations between supervisors and employees, as well as between peers. This includes conversations about improving service interactions and recognition of positive work being done.
- Build skills. Quick, thorough feedback allows supervisors and employees to recognize skill gaps. Real-time feedback allows supervisor intervention, sometimes mending poor customer interactions as they happen and enhancing each experience going forward.
Why real-time feedback matters for remote and hybrid employees
If you’re facing operational challenges in your contact center from changes in remote or hybrid work models, enhanced feedback and communication tools can bridge gaps across your workforce.
According to Gallup, some of the top challenges in hybrid and remote workforce include:
- Less access to work resources
- Feeling less connected to company culture
- Reduced team collaboration
- Negatively impacted relationship with coworkers
Efficient feedback processes can remedy a few of these major challenges by:
- Helping remote employees collaborate and build connections. Feedback isn’t limited to options between supervisors and direct reports. Workforce gamification tools include team-wide channels that promote peer-to-peer connections.
- Removing communication barriers. Clear alignment is important in every work model, but especially in remote and hybrid workforces where teams may be working varied hours. Automated feedback tools are flexible and can enhance communication, regardless of employee location and time zone.
- Building a better remote-first work culture. Remote work is here to stay in many industries. Implementing effective feedback processes that are constructive and timely can foster a positive work culture.
- Supporting proactive action. Real-time metrics that inform feedback processes can encourage proactive action. Having historic and current data on hand can assist teams in evaluating performance and finding areas to do better.
Additional ways support effective feedback
Alongside opting for comprehensive workforce software, contact center supervisors and leaders need to implement other feedback strategies to support employees.
Consider these tips when changing feedback strategies:
- Focus on constructive and positive feedback. Tell employees what they’re doing well and recognize them often. If there’s room for improvement, make sure this is communicated in an empathetic and constructive way with resources to assist them. Consider customizing learning paths to improve employee development.
- Establish clear and measurable KPIs. Ensure your team understands individual and team goals by aligning actionable feedback with these benchmarked KPIs.
- Schedule regular check-ins. Whether your team is remote-only, hybrid, or on-site, supervisors should schedule regular check-ins to gauge employee satisfaction and discuss performance.
- Value transparent communication. Develop a work culture that values both continuous improvement and transparent communication. Managers should be trained in effective, honest communication practices to foster a safe space for employees.
Measure the effectiveness of real-time feedback
Once real-time feedback solutions are implemented in your workforce, measure the impacts on employee performance. Note if these changes improved engagement for your remote, hybrid, or on-site employees.
What other ways can encourage better feedback practices in your contact center? How would you do things differently with remote and hybrid workers?
