Call center agents feel the pressure from the moment they clock in to the moment they pull out of the parking lot at the end of their shift. One of the reasons why turnover is so high in the customer service industry is burnout from long, stressful hours that include regularly dealing with difficult people who blame them for problems, all while having to meet high goals. In order to prevent burnout and increase retention of high-performing agents, call centers are starting to offer perks specifically designed to help manage stress.
“We are thrilled to represent call centers that have retention averages of three years and longer! The common denominator is usually a strong “work-life” balance right in the office, which means they can take breaks and decompress in some way – like play a game on their phone, or go to the break area for four square! As long as you’re hitting your metrics and getting rave reviews, these perks bring balance and long-term employees! Says Evan Violette, National Sales Manager, Contemporary Staffing Solutions.
Child Care Credit
Burnout isn’t just about stress at work. When employees feel like they aren’t balancing work and life, it compounds their anxiety and feelings of dread. One way to help parents ease stress while also reducing absenteeism is to offer child care onsite or to provide credit for employees to use for child care expenses. There are special savings accounts that can be created for employees that both employer and employee can contribute to for child care, and credit can be used as prizes in contests or incentives for hitting goals. Helping ease the financial burden of child care costs will help employees find more balance and can ease a great deal of pressure.
Flexible Scheduling
Scheduling in call centers is a very delicate balance and many call center managers might think it’s impossible to offer flexible scheduling while ensuring coverage. With a little bit of work, managers really can work flexible scheduling. Ask the team to submit their ideal working hours. You may find that you have a good mix of people wanting to work earlier, later, or even a wider variety of shifts. You may find that staggering start times by one hour throughout the day or swapping a few shifts around is enough to give your team the feeling of more flexibility.
Remote Work
Lots of great companies hire remote call center agents like 1-800-Flowers, Amazon, American Express, Apple, JetBlue, U-Haul, and more. Allowing your team to work from home a few days a month or even permanently, can be an effective way to help employees manage extreme stress and prevent burnout. Working from home eliminates commuting, which can be a significant source of stress and allows people more time with their families before and after work.
Onsite Massage
Call centers are fast-paced work environments. Agents are under pressure to meet their KPIs, and they must do it by fielding frequent calls from extremely unpleasant people. Reward them by bringing spa services into the office once per month or even once a week. For a nominal fee, local trade schools will send their massage students in to help them get their required hours working with clients. Few things break up a stressful day and bust stress like a professional massage.
If you are looking for talented agents for your customer call center, the expert recruiters at Contemporary Staffing Solutions are ready to help. We specialize in connecting call centers with fully-vetted, highly-skilled and motivated call center talent. Contact CSS today to start filling your customer service center with the best and brightest. Our King of Prussia, PA and Mt. Laurel, NJ offices have tremendous job opportunities for administrative, office support and call center talent!