“Lack of recognition, coupled with the stressful nature of customer service,” Roy Saunderson advises in his article on IncentiveMag.com, “is one of the main reasons for the low job satisfaction among call center representatives.” Saunderson lists out ten ways to recognize call center employees in order to combat the affects of working in a call center or customer service environment. The full article is well worth reading and I would like to share some of his points with readers this week along with practical ways to apply these to your call center recognition program.
Planning a Call Center Recognition Strategy
Developing a written employee recognition strategy is at the top of Saunderson’s list and should be a top priority if you do not already have one in place. Your call center employees need a formal way to not only receive recognition but also give recognition. In my experience, recognition programs targeted towards a call center environment need to have a designated person or website to submit feedback and recognition. If an individual is responsible for each shift, then call center employees know to approach a single person and fill out a recognition form. If a website is set up for the recognition program, then individuals should know they can visit the website anytime to submit recognition and nominations.
Executing a Recognition Strategy
Saunderson recommends that organizations clearly define what behaviors supervisors and employees should be giving recognition for. For the first six months of the program, and maybe longer depending on therecognition culture of your company, you will need to communicate and coach people on the targeted behaviors and following through with the recognition process in place. Another important point is that the call center recognition program should be celebrated as a group. If your call center reaches an important goal, remember to recognize and congratulate all of the team members who made this achievement possible.
If you are planning a recognition program that will take place for a year or longer and you have a range of reasons for giving recognition, then it might be best for you to launch the recognition program in phases. When you have a lot of core objectives to work towards, bombarding your call center team with all the goals at once can leave them disinterested and overwhelmed. Using phases to introduce the recognition program will keep it fresh and top of mind to call center employees.
Providing Recognition Consistently
Recognition should be given instantly in some circumstances while other times it should be given after some kind of formal submission or approval process. Usually instant recognition can be accomplished by either immediately thanking a person for a job well done or by sending an e-Card or note to the person with your thanks. Peer to peer recognition programs often have some sort of an approval process depending on the level of the award a person receives for the nomination. Saunderson also supports the idea of giving recognition “just because” and cites perfect attendance and steady performance as a reason for a small reward.
Recognizing call center employees helps to increase job satisfaction and can directly affect customer satisfaction rates, as Saunderson points out. By planning recognition, executing a strategy and providing consistent recognition, you can effectively create a recognition culture in your call center.