For example, agents get “reward points” if they get positive customer satisfaction ratings, good sales results, good quality control ratings, or a good evaluation by peers or team leaders. They can “spend” the points by choosing one of the available rewards.
Empowering agents to choose from a series of rewards increases employee motivation. It also shows them that the work done exceptionally is recognized.
Despite this, there are a number of challenges in managing this type of reward program internally. Tracking points, updating agents on the status of their points or the distribution of prizes, can be time consuming and would be better spent training your agents, managing incidents or managing the same contact center.
But there is a better way to do it . There are several products on the market that offer rewards programs for sales and customer service teams. These portals interface with your contact center’s performance meters and automatically calculate reward points, allowing agents to instantly check their points and manage the reward request.
They do the hard and heavy work and you can focus on leading and training your team.
For example, a leading telecommunications service provider in your industry recently introduced one of these systems. Employees are now motivated through an incentive program, measuring their sales results and customer satisfaction goals. These increases in sales and satisfaction are more than enough to cover the cost of the program.
And what if you can’t afford one of these products to manage your incentive programs?
Smaller contact centers can simplify the process and track results on a whiteboard or Excel sheet. Tighter budget rewards can be used to motivate teams. In employee motivation, any change, no matter how small, can have a big impact.
10 ways to motivate call center agents with low-cost or free rewards:
- The possibility of choosing a better shift (if allowed in your contact center).
- To be able to leave 15 minutes earlier a day.
- Have a Manager taking calls by the agent for an hour.
- Have a reserved parking space near the entrance for a week.
- Receive recognition during a team meeting for doing an excellent job.
- Have a photo of the best agent on a wall of fame in the employee lounge.
- Receive free time to be able to do volunteer work.
- Access to additional online training courses .
- Opportunities to be able to observe work in other departments to which the agent wants to change.
- Being able to attend events outside the company to take ideas and then present them internally.
No matter what type of rewards program you use, the key is to offer agents your contact center a range of possible rewards. Even better, engage them in designing the rewards process by asking them what they would prefer as incentives.
Use that information to create the right program that motivates your employees and improves the results of your contact center.