High employee turnover rates plague the call center environment. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, workers aged 20-24 stay with an organization only 1.1 years on average (compared to 1.5 years just 15 years ago). In comparison, call center workers aged 20-34 stay only about one year. This high turnover rate has a huge impact on recruitment and training costs, as well as quality of service. Therefore, finding and retaining qualified staff is essential for a thriving call center. (Exploring Call Center Turnover Numbers, 2015)

Being able to use a telephone does not qualify a call center job candidate. Recruiters and team leads need to weed out individuals that do not possess the skillsets, personality and work ethic to be a master agent who will collaborate in the building of a prosperous call center team. In addition, employers need to fill supervisor and mentor roles with team members who not only oversee the everyday operations of the team, but who motivate their team, provide coaching and give performance feedback. Supervisors and mentors that interact with their team members at a higher level create a more friendly team environment, improve employee satisfaction,often lower employee retention rates and increase call center profits.

The price a call center pays for losing an employee is not economical. Turnover costs, including recruitment and training, range between $10-15,000 per employee according to the Human Resources Institute. Employers that are able to retain valuable call center supervisors and team members are more profitable, but determining what factors will make an employee stay is not an easy task.

Strategically fulfilling your call center employees’ wants and needs may be challenging, but in the long run, it is worth the effort. Team building, career assessments and mentoring are as important as call center statistics. Employees need to feel needed, as well as empowered and capable of finding solutions to customer problems. Setting career goals and achieving them is one way to build an employee’s feeling of worth within the organization. In addition, team building events, especially activities held outside of the office, create cohesiveness and increase the energy level amongst employees. When in a stress-free environment, individuals are able to relax and have discussions unrelated to their work. This type of team building creates a deeper relationship and bond between employees and increases their likelihood of staying with the call center.

Other factors that have a major effect on employee retention are on-going training and support, as well as rewards and flexibility. With any job, there are skills and knowledge that only come with experience. As a new call center employee, finding resolutions to difficult clientele issues can become frustrating , and eventually lead to one feeling stressed out , uncaring and fatigued. On going training and support is crucial at this stage to build employee skill and confidence levels creating a stronger team with the purpose and motivation to solve client problems.

As call center employees improve and become more knowledgable about solving problems, they do not need as much support. Instead, leaders need to focus more on rewarding skilled workers and assist in developing career paths for employees with high potential for building the team. Staying motivated might become an issue if employees feel like they have hit a “glass ceiling” and there is no path for promotion or career development. Reinforcing potential career paths and opportunities for promotion to a special team, such as Quality Assurance or Level 2 Support, motivates employees to establish future goals as a call center team member. In addition, rewarding individuals for a job well done increases morale, energizes the team, and fosters a greater sense of workplace belonging

In comparison to the high cost of a low retention rate, on-going training and support , although costly as well, is the more appealing choice in the long term. Training and support not only strengthens your teams skills, but creates camaraderie. In addition, as members of the team become more empowered and confident at their job, the quality of service provided by a call center increases . And as quality of service increases, clientele’s trust in and reliance on the call center team increases leading to long term profitability rates.

In sum, although employee investment may require much effort by senior management and team leads, the long term effects on retention and profitability rates outweigh the costs. In addition, a healthy environment for your employees to succeed is priceless. Employees needs go well beyond the financial and health benefits that come along with having a job, and strategically fulfilling these needs will determine the overall success of your organization. Afterall, happy employees lead to happy clientele.

Resources:
Exploring Call Center Turnover Numbers. http://www.qatc.org/winter-2015-connection/exploring-call-center-turnover-numbers/. Winter 2015.

Standard Employee Turnover in the Call Center Industry. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/standard-employee-turnover-call-center-industry-36185.html. 2015.

Why Do Your Call Center Agents Quit? https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140518182546-3995896-why-do-your-call-center-agents-quit. May 18, 2014.

What Are the Causes of Call Center Attrition? http://smallbusiness.chron.com/causes-call-center-attrition-62266.html. 2015.