The workforce is changing rapidly as millennials become the largest group of employees, making up over 40% of the workforce in 2020. As baby boomers retire, this trend will only continue, and by 2030, Gen X will also start retiring, leaving millennials and Gen Z as the dominant force in the workforce, accounting for 74% of it.
Cloud call centers must be aware of this shift’s technological and cultural demands, as it goes beyond simply having “younger people” in the office. With the recent COVID-19 pandemic, virtual employee and customer interactions have accelerated, and employers must adapt to engage, train, and retain their new employees effectively.
While previous generations may have stayed with one employer for their entire career, millennials and Gen Z are perceived to switch companies more frequently.
Although this assertion is not entirely conclusive, with typical churn rates hovering around 30% to 40%, contact centers need to consider the following unique characteristics of these groups when creating employee engagement strategies.
Firstly, millennials and Gen Z are technology-driven generations with high expectations and skills. They are used to customizing dashboards, setting filters, and enabling features that increase their engagement with technology. Businesses that do not evolve with employee and customer needs may find their workers frustrated and ready to leave for the competitor.
Secondly, there are cultural shifts, such as increasing diversity and social responsibility. Workplaces need to ensure that both company culture and technology are accessible and inclusive of everyone. The millennial generation has a high minority rate, and Gen Z is on the trend to be the last US generation with a Caucasian majority. These groups also prioritize working for employers that demonstrate environmental responsibility and promote positive social causes.
Thirdly, millennials have higher education rates than any preceding generation, giving them more employee bargaining power.
Finally, the recent WFH trend has been eased by the fact that millennials and Gen Z are comfortable with technology. This advantage will persist well into the future, with many organizations expecting at least half of their staff to work from home part-time to full-time.
Understanding Call Center Workforce Management
To understand the importance of call center workforce management, defining what it means is necessary. Simply put, it’s the process that call centers use to find, train, and retain the best agents for their business.
This process starts with the recruitment effort to find the right people for the job. Once agents are hired, they must be trained to ensure they perform at their best. Finally, the call center needs to work on retaining these agents for as long as possible to reduce turnover rates and improve employee satisfaction.
Effective call center workforce management is crucial for ensuring that call centers have the right people in the right positions to provide excellent service to customers. By prioritizing this process, call centers can create a positive work environment, retain top talent, and provide better customer service.
Call Center Workforce Management: Why It Matters
Workforce management is vital to the success of any business, including call centers. With the fiercely competitive environment call centers operate, their employees are essential assets. However, due to the industry’s high turnover rate, call centers need help managing their workforce effectively.
Hiring new staff continuously can be a significant expense for call centers, making managing their workforce optimally to minimize such expenses imperative. That’s why effective workforce management is crucial for the long-term success of call centers. By finding and retaining the right employees, call centers can reduce their turnover rate and increase their overall productivity and profitability.
Advantages of Effective Workforce Management
Workforce management is essential for any business, especially for call centers. Here are some benefits of effective workforce management:
- Better Overall CX: Effective workforce management can improve customer satisfaction and loyalty, increasing revenue.
- Cost savings – Employee productivity: Efficient workforce management can increase employee productivity, reducing overtime and the need for additional resources.
- Cost savings – Scouting, hiring, and training: Retaining qualified agents through effective workforce management can save costs associated with scouting, hiring, and training new prospects.
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Higher employee engagement: The right call center software can improve communication between employees and managers, leading to higher employee engagement and a more productive work environment.
Call Center Workforce Management Processes
Preparing a List of Must-Haves
To create an effective workforce management strategy, you must start by determining your needs. Rachel Macklin recommends focusing on the following areas:
- Work environment: Will your agents work on-site, remotely, or in a hybrid environment?
- Geography: Consider how wide a net you can cast. Will you hire agents from a specific location or have a broader geographic scope?
- Logistical needs: Consider the logistical challenges your agents may face, such as internet connectivity, equipment requirements, and workspace setup.
By identifying these needs early on, you can create a workforce management strategy that is tailored to your call center’s unique requirements.
Integrating Call Center Software with Workforce
Here are some important considerations when it comes to integrating your call center software with your workforce:
- Skill-based routing: By implementing skill-based routing for inbound campaigns, you can ensure that calls are directed to the agent with the most relevant skills to address the customer’s issue.
- Fair workload monitoring: It’s essential to set up a system that monitors the workload of each agent to ensure that it is fair and manageable.
- Reward and recognition: Building an attractive reward and recognition system for contact center agents can increase motivation and engagement, improving performance.
- Gamification: You might also consider implementing a gamification system to make work more enjoyable and motivate your agents to reach their goals.
- Automated dialing: An effective automated dialing system can increase agent efficiency and reduce time spent on manual dialing.
Tips for Call Center Workforce Management
Here are ten essential tips for effective call center workforce management:
- Determine your approach: Decide whether your call center will be 100% on-site, hybrid, or 100% remote.
- Set workforce goals: Create a list of your goals and align them with a solid hiring and retention plan.
- Create a candidate profile: Develop a profile of the ideal candidate, but remain flexible to accommodate different types of talent.
- Use attribution-based hiring: Look at the candidate’s past performance to assess their potential success in the role.
- Address logistical challenges: Pay attention to logistical problems, such as scheduling, equipment, or connectivity issues.
- Optimize your onboarding process: Continuously improve and refine your onboarding process to ensure new hires are integrated smoothly.
- Foster community among remote agents: Take steps to build a sense of belonging and community among remote agents.
- Balance technology and human touch: Deploy technology, but maintain a human element in the call center experience.
- Monitor onboarding metrics: Use the right tools to measure and track key onboarding metrics, such as training completion and time to proficiency.
- Consider outsourcing HR: If your in-house HR team is overburdened, consider outsourcing some HR functions to an external provider.
Salman is a prolific environmental writer, and has authored more than 500 articles in reputed journals, magazines and websites. He is proactively engaged in creating mass awareness on renewable energy, waste management, sustainability and conservation all over the world.
Salman can be reached on salman@cleantechloops.com
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