36 Ways to Boost Contact Centre Productivity

Our panel offer their advice on quick wins for agent productivity.

1. Free cereal and snacks helps to keep energy levels up

We offer free cereal, breakfast, chilled drinks, crisps and chocolate which agents can tuck into at all times.

We find that this is greatly appreciated by staff, as it saves them the hassle of bringing in their own snacks and ensures that they are well fed throughout the day.

With thanks to Steven

2. Up-skill your agents so they can cover more areas in the department

We encourage the staff to identify areas where they can be up-skilled.

This allows them to develop by learning new skills, and enables us to increase their productivity as they can cover more subject areas in the department.

They feel like this benefits them as they get to develop more, and it helps us as they are then able to handle more, and varied, queries.

With thanks to Kay Leigh

3. Constantly coach and praise your agents

Incorporate weekly coaching and praise into your office routine.

With thanks to Erika

4. Offer your agents head and shoulder massages

We have a visit once a month from a therapist who gives our agents head and shoulder massages.

It is subsidised by the company and the staff love it.

With thanks to Sue

5. Encourage your agents to do exercises at their desks

We brought a personal trainer into our call centre and have developed a stretching programme for our staff that they can do even while at their desk.

The stretches we do are very specific to the areas needed for those of us who sit most of our day at work.

With thanks to Matthew

6. Always make sure your agents identify with your values

In the training process, we concentrate on how agents bond with the supervisors and identify with our core values.

If we identify someone who does not share our values during the training process, we let the agent go right away.

We can train for skills, but we can’t change values.

With thanks to Liz

7. Spend time with your agents and get to know them

Spend time with your agents and get to know them.

Just a few minutes with them each day can make a world of difference to morale and engagement.

With thanks to Ryan

8. Catch them doing something right

Be sure to catch them doing something right.

With thanks to Mike

9. Concentrate on your colleagues and the rest will follow

We work on 4 Cs: Colleague, Customer, Company and Community.

If you concentrate on the colleagues, they then provide a great service to the customers, who then drive the company and that then enables you to help the local community.

With thanks to Danny

10. Counteract signs of stress before your agents go off sick

Act before your agents go off sick with stress.

Talk to them in 1-2-1’s and ask them how they are finding the workload. Make subtle changes and offer support where someone is struggling.

As managers we should be able to identify signs of stress within our staff.

With thanks to Ryan

11. Focus on making your staff happy

We strive for happy staff. This ensures a better service for our customers, as happy staff are naturally more willing to help and resolve the customer’s query.

With thanks to Kay Leigh

12. Buddy-up your new starters with your best performers

Use your best agents to support the training of new starters.

Building relationships early with the top performers makes new agents want to be like them – rather than copying the worst performers!

With thanks to Sue

13. Allocate time in the schedule for offline tasks

One way we have improved productivity in our contact centre is through allocating dedicated scheduled times for specific offline tasks.

We’ve tried having agents do offline tasks between calls in the past but have found this to be very inefficient.

By providing dedicated log-out time, they are more efficient on those offline tasks and get more completed.

With thanks to Claire

14. Allow competent agents more flexibility

Allowing competent agents more flexibility and responsibility increases morale, engagement and productivity.

It also frees up resources for team leaders and managers.

With thanks to Gareth

15. Play knock-out competitions to encourage high levels of performance

We have created an agent-based knock-out game which replicates the FA Cup.

The atmosphere in the call centre on the day of the final is comparable only to Wembley itself.

With thanks to Steven

16. Don’t underestimate the importance of proper planning

Our workforce management team tracks occupancy rates and Average Handling Time, which, in addition to call trends, allows us to plan effectively.

This makes a big difference to day-to-day productivity.

With thanks to Claire

17. Listen to and action agent feedback

Our agents have access to an “enhancements screen”.

They enter ideas to improve our programme/product based on customer responses they get during calls, as well as ideas they come up with based on the amount of repeat customer questions we get.

Then our development team works to make the improvements for us.

With thanks to another one of Call Centre Helper’s readers

18. Encourage good rapport between staff and team leaders

We have found that having good rapport between staff and team leaders makes it easier to coordinate things when you need “all hands on deck”.

We have created this rapport through regular team games, daily briefs, weekly coaching sessions and by having an open and honest atmosphere.

With thanks to Anna

19. Encourage agents to socialise outside of work

We’ve found that encouraging agents to socialise outside of work helps to build good relationships within the team.

This helps to boost morale – and productivity – across the company.

With thanks to Danny

20. Identify where agents are more available

We measure productivity by trending Occupancy and Availability. This has helped us identify where our agents are more available.

We then try to either shift schedules or add e-contacts to our more available timeframes, such as out of hours.

With thanks to Christina

21. Play team games such as snakes and ladders

We regularly run fun incentives in our contact centre, such as playing snakes and ladders.

We use a visual on the wall, and every time the agent makes a sale or pleases a customer they move along one space.

It’s cheap and simple – and our staff get quite competitive!

With thanks to Anna

[Editor’s note: Rules and a template for playing snakes and ladders in the contact centre can be found here.]

22. Continuous training has a positive impact on all areas of the business

We have found that continuous training and coaching is a great way to boost agent productivity.

For us, this approach has improved First Call Resolution, Customer Satisfaction and Employee Engagement.

With thanks to Claire

23. Don’t underestimate the impact of your company culture

We find that the best thing for improving employee engagement and productivity is focusing on the company culture.

With thanks to Danny

24. Give top performers preferential treatment

We measure several different items at the agent level, including AHT, schedule adherence and absences per year. We also make note of nominations from other employees.

The top performers may then move up on the schedule bid, receive a monetary prize and a recognition lunch with management.

With thanks to Mike

25. Set clear expectations

A really simple way to improve agent productivity is to set clear expectations and create a great working environment.

With thanks to Noelia

26. Keep track of agents with monthly scorecard evaluations

Filling out monthly scorecards, including phone evaluations, works well for us.

With thanks to Liz

27. Make sure agents have all the information they require

Proactively coordinate with other departments to ensure agents have all the information they require.

With thanks to Robin

28. Offer incentives for achieving team goals

We offer incentives each month to our agents who successfully meet their team goals.

For example, handing out tokens for prize draws.

With thanks to Liz

29. Free tea and coffee is an easy way to help reduce stress

We currently offer free tea and coffee, as well as massages, to the call centre staff to help them cope with stress.

With thanks to Emma

30. Showing sales figures on a board makes them more competitive

I find that having sales figures on a board for them all to see helps to make the agents more competitive.

With thanks to Anna

31. Run a “team of the month” competition

We run a “team of the month” competition based on what the key focuses are for the business at that time.

With thanks to Debbie

32. Show your agents stats relating to their individual productivity

Every day we give all our agents a view of their productivity, showing what they achieved the day before.

This report shows them how many emails they have done, as well as their satisfaction score.

This drives them to improve in any areas needed.

With thanks to Lucy

33. Involve your agents in the plans for the business

We have found that involving employees in the plans for the business is great for boosting engagement and overall productivity.

With thanks to Emma

34. Increasing commission is a great “quick win” for productivity

We have found that commission increases are always useful in improving performance.

With thanks to Steven

35. Low productivity can be nipped in the bud with a pat on the back

Low productivity must be dealt with immediately – and usually a bit of reassurance or a pat on the back can solve it.

With thanks to Gareth

36. Offer subsidised membership to the local gym

We now offer our agents a subsidised membership to the local gym.

This perk makes staff feel appreciated, while also offering them the opportunity to get fitter – both of which have a positive impact on mood and behaviour.

With thanks to Steven

For more insights into increasing productivity across the contact centre, read our articles:

• How to Calculate Productivity in the Contact Centre
• Top Tips to Make Your Team Leaders More Productive
• 4 Customer Service Objectives That Will Improve Productivity and Customer Experience