How Are Companies Keeping Call Center Agents?

How Are Companies Keeping Call Center Agents ?
	What best practices do today's top organizations use to retain their call/contact center staff? —Calls Keep Coming, health, Jacksonville, Florida
	There are numerous best practices that companies are undertaking to retain their top contact center staff. Lately, companies have begun placing more emphasis on better hiring practices, coaching and training (for both agents and supervisors). They've also begun clarifying career paths for their employees, along with giving customers an opportunity to evaluate their experiences with call center staff. The feedback from this latter initiative is then shared with call center agents to help them build an emotional connection to both the company and its customers. Companies are adopting approaches that give them more direct and immediate feedback from customers . Not only does this provide positive reinforcement from customers, but it also enables companies to pinpoint improvements that create job validation and satisfaction for employees. Historically, contact centers have been viewed as production facilities and cost operations. This view is changing, and more companies are focusing on customers and on retention efforts. At the heart of these efforts is a solidly working contact center. SOURCE: Jim Rembach, Metrics , Sterling, Virginia, December 14, 2005.