By Patrick Gilbert
The phrase “attitude is everything” is vital for telemarketing companies. Those working in telemarketing face unique challenges every day. Aside from the abundance of factors that affect call center agents both personally and professionally, telemarketers face the exact thing that makes this line of work interesting and unique: every call is different.
Call center agents aren’t just the face but the heart and soul of your company. They’re the first—and last—voice customers hear and have a massive influence on customer experience. A cheerful call center agent versus a crabby short-fused agent provides a distinct experience.
Happier employees mean happier customers, and what business doesn’t want that? Here are four ways to cultivate a culture of happy employees.
1. Open Communication
How do you know if your employees are happy? You may think the pizza Friday you just provided communicated you are pleased with them, but have you considered not all may see it that way? Perhaps you have a perception of your employees’ overall mood because none of them have brought their concerns to you.
It’s a common misconception that discussing workplace issues in the breakroom is the fastest way to see change. Are you part of those breakroom discussions? The only way to know how they feel or what they need is to have regular, individual communication with your team members.
2. Access to Tools and Training
There’s nothing worse than setting call center agents’ expectations without providing the proper tools or training to help achieve them. State-of-the-art technology is great only if it facilitates appropriate training. Ordinary soft skills training like sales or customer service skills will demonstrate that their long-term success is a priority.
Training promotes autonomy. Increased autonomy produces more engagement, pride, and ownership in call center agent’s work.
3. Employee Engagement
Engaging in your work is a clear indication that satisfaction exists. Telemarketing companies have an excellent opportunity to have their employees involved in the overall big picture. Your agents have more interactions with your customers than all other areas of your business.
Gathering insight they have acquired, asking their opinion, and implementing changes based on their recommendations is the fastest way to ensure they are engaged. Involvement in the day-to-day operations and the respect given to the knowledge they contribute leads to a significant cultural development. They begin to care.
4. Rewarding Performance
Most people respond well to praise. They will also give up on trying when they receive none. Having initiatives in place to ensure a consistent flow of praise is vital. Programs such as employee of the month or recognition of your team on your company website are great ways to ensure the regular delivery of praise.
Incentive programs that offer financial gain are always welcome but not always in the budget. Often the increased incentive given to high performers, however, is much less than the cost of onboarding replacements for those who left due to a lack of recognition.
For telemarketing companies, it’s essential never to lose sight of the work your employees do for you. They spend the entirety of their workday on back-to-back phone calls with your customers, all while juggling maintaining performance, call quality, problem-solving new questions, ideas, personal issues, and so forth. Talk to your employees, get them involved, provide training, and reward them when they perform.
Focus on making employees happy, and in turn, they will make your customers happy. What occurs on the inside of your business will certainly be felt on the outside by your customers.
Patrick Gilbert is an operations manager for Quality Contact Solutions. With over twenty-five years of leading call center operations, Patrick brings a refined yet refreshing approach to the sales and service environment. His breadth of experience makes him an adept problem solver who expertly crafts creative solutions, implements best practices, and develops winning strategies for his clients.