Looking to Reduce Call Center Agent Stress? Be in Their Corner!

In a recent article, Steve Kraus addresses a common, but major, problem in the call center industry: agent attrition. Customers are often frustrated and angry by the time they reach a call center agent, which means the agents should be upbeat with a fresh mind to engage the customer and make them happy. The issue with this scenario is that agents get burned out from the grind of a stressful call center environment, which means that some calls are going to go badly.

The big issue call center agents face, according to Kraus, is cognitive load. This happens when the fatigue of providing empathy combines with the mental drain of the constant menial job tasks, which causes the gradual agent burnout no matter how naturally inclined towards customer service they are. Kraus’s article goes on to discuss potential ways call centers can help reduce cognitive load, which includes utilizing technology and providing positive feedback to agents. You can read more about these approaches in the original article.

Looking to Reduce Call Center Agent Stress? Be in Their Corner!

If your call center is having a problem with agent attrition, you might be searching for any answers to solve the issue. The Kraus article provides some great advice on how to reduce cognitive load, but for this blog post we want to emphasize the significance in simply being in your employees’ corner. While there are a myriad of efforts companies can do to improve employee satisfaction, providing an environment where they know their supervisors are on their side can go a long way to ensuring happiness and stability.

People like to feel like they’re a part of a team and they’re valuable. If they’re working in a toxic environment where their leaders are constantly on their backs and taking the side of the customers in every call, the agents are going to be more likely to lose steam. Once a person loses motivation and accepts that their supervisors don’t have their back, they’ll lose interest in helping customers. The stress and negative calls are going to compound and the employees will inevitably quit if they don’t have a solid support system.

It’s critical that call center leaders give their agents a positive workplace. They must show their appreciation for their call center agents and encourage an open environment where their input is valued. When stressful calls occur, supervisors need to be there to provide encouragement and, if necessary, listen to the agents vent their frustrations. This type of family environment will foster an upbeat mindset among all employees and help to gradually reduce attrition rate over time.

This blog post is based on an article from CustomerThink. To read the original article, please click the link below:

Combatting Burnout in the Contact Center – Steve Kraus