I am currently suffering very high agent attrition as a CSM with 300FTE. This is a particular problem with my telebooking teams where a dialler system is in operation.

I've tried to get to the bottom of it and it just seems to be low motivation, bordom with the somewhat tedious work and shift patterns.

I'm currently under pressure to cut support costs and so the constant turnover of staff is eating into my budget. I've tried accommodating shift requirements where possible but can't always do that.

Any low cost ideas on how I can reverse the trend and motivate the teams?

Many thanks

Hi Andy, I know these aren't necessarily specifics but if you look at most research on people engagement, they are likely to make a big difference!

Can you give the front line people more of a sense of the difference they make by doing a good job?
What is the 'state' of the TLs/management team. The biggest single impactor on the state of your people is the state of their managers.
Does how you measure your people help them to know when they are doing a great job? Many agents have measures that mean they know when they are doing 'ok' and when they are doing badly, and never when they've done great.

Hope this gives a little food for thought.

Richard

Hi Andy,

One of the things we keep hearing over and over again in this industry is this - "People join companies, and leave their managers" !

The people who directly manage your FTEs play a great role in their attrition. They not only need to be properly trained - they should have a professional and humane approach too.

Cheers!

Johnny

Hi guys,

Many thanks for taking the time to answer and apologies for the rather lengthy delay (I moved onto another challenge elsewhere). However, before I left, I did take your advice and looked at the TL's we had in place.

Fact is, they were just as demotivated as the team working with them! Of course, this feeling filtered down through the team and was a contributing factor to the problem.

Solution - I set up a series of motivational training sessions and exercises for the TL's. They had to provide regular updates on the tasks they'd been given and in turn received much more frequent feedback themselves. I made more time for them, listening to any concerns they had and ensured I always followed up on their issues. Fairly basic and simple measures but it did work.

One of the TL was promoted into my job when I left, the others were far more motivated and of course, this filtered down to the team members.

I'm still in touch with some of my ex colleagues and am informed that my replacement has continued where I left off, focusing on the TL's and always working to improve their motivation. This has in turn, led to them inspiring their team members and provided the desired outcome of reduced churn and higher output.