Guest Post: Customer Contact Agent Satisfaction in a Flexible World

This week, we feature an article by Nicole Kyle, Managing Director and Co-Founder of CMP Research. She shares how leaders can keep contact center agents happy and engaged in the changing work environment that now includes hybrid and remote work setups.

Customer contact agents hold one of the most important keys to the success of any business in the palms of their hands – customer satisfaction. However, with the shift to hybrid and remote work environments, how do contact center leaders keep their agents happy and engaged?

CMP Research shows that by addressing the most pressing concerns in this flexible workplace, not only can leaders boost job satisfaction, but they can also reduce attrition costs, which on average costs customer contact organizations nearly $600,000 annually – more than twice as much as organizations with strong agent retention strategies. Plus, it’s been proven in recent studies that 59% of satisfied agents are overperforming on CSAT and are also 2.5 times more likely to stay in their roles.

Let’s explore the key factors that are necessary to improve agent experiences and create a satisfying flexible work environment that motivates agents as well as creates a sense of community:

The Growing Challenge of Agent Engagement and Retention

Almost half of customer contact agents report not feeling satisfied in their current positions. And even more than that – 65% of customer service agents plan on leaving their roles in the next two years.

Bye Bye Bye: Poor Managers, Lack of Flexibility, and Lack of Career Development are the Three Leading Reasons Agents Leave Their Jobs

In a flexible and sometimes remote workforce, managers are challenged now more than ever to help their agents find satisfaction in their jobs. They need to create a successful manager-direct report dynamic to make that happen and encourage employees to find happiness in their roles. After all, agents who are satisfied with their managers are 2.3 times more likely to be satisfied with their position and experience overall.

Agents Want Flexibility that Works

Agents overwhelmingly want flexibility and are seeking it in the following areas:

1. Where agents work (in-office or at home)
2. The day’s agents work
3. The hours agents work
4. Work type

While flexible scheduling is an amazing perk for customer agents, it can cause headaches for some companies. However, by not embracing flexibility, agents can be deterred from joining new companies, as only 17% of agents prefer to work on-site every day, while 44% prefer some variation of hybrid work.

Minding the Manager Agent Trust Gap

How can you build trust with co-workers you may have never met in person? Gaining visibility into individual agent working patterns is critical to establishing trust, and there are certain strategies managers can employ to enhance this across a flexible team.

Career Development Can Happen Anywhere

It’s no longer the case that contact agents have to be on-site to better support agent development. 71% of work-from-home agents are equally or more engaged in their workspace, while on the opposite side of the spectrum, fully on-site agents have the lowest satisfaction when it comes to career development.

Giving managers the support they need to lead flexible teams, creating a flexible work environment that works for agents, and giving them the opportunity for career development are necessary to empower today’s customer contact professionals, boost customer satisfaction, and enable long-term success for companies across industries. For more insights and solutions to these pressing issues, work with CMP Research, and consider attending Customer Contact Week Las Vegas from June 19 -22. Celebrating 25 years of connecting CX leaders, CCW is the premier customer contact event of 2023, featuring cutting-edge content, expert insights, and innovative solutions that will elevate your customer strategy.

Nicole Kyle is CMP’s Managing Director and Co-Founder of CMP Research. She is named as LinkedIn’s Top Voice in Gender Equity and the co-creator and co-host of the I Also Want Money podcast.

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