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Sorry to hear about your center. Unfortunately I have managed through quite a few closings in the last few years. In my cases, I had the ability to try and outplace some of the people to other groups in my company, so it was easier to keep them on task.
Some suggestions:
>Acknowledge that this is an awful situation, and ask for their support until the end of the contract. Explain why it's important to end with a bang, not a whimper. Yes, it's a bit of a rah-rah speech, but in your situation, sometimes people need to hear that along with acknowledgement that it's a bad situation.
>We did retention bonuses which really helped. In our case, we built them around metrics---both team and individual. We didn't build them too stringent so everyone knew they were within their grasp. Started out with team metrics---if the team hit their metrics, everyone got $50 for the month. Then, if the team hit the metrics, individuals were eligible to earn another $50 if they didn't call-in and met some individual goals. This was paid out at the end of the contract as long as they remained with the company. They met the team goals for the 6 months remaining on the contract, and over 90% of the team also received the individual bonuses. If you can afford it, it works well.
>Focus the last months on areas that will help your agents and managers after the center closes. Have resume writing classes, bring in someone from a local placement agency to talk about job searching, make contacts with a temp agency to talk to your team about working temp to bridge the gap between jobs, find out info on unemployment compensation, gather a list of local employers who may be hiring people with their skillset. Helping them with the transition will make them feel that they can focus on their job because you're helping them plan for their future.
>Try to do a fun thing each week. Food always goes over well in any center I've worked in. You're not going to get true motivation, but you can get the people to accept what is happening and do their job if they feel valued and that their needs are being met.
>Don't slack off on the discipline too much because that will eat away at your center. Discipline takes a different approach at this stage because you'll get the "what are you going to do, fire me?" attitude. If there is a severance involved (or retention bonuses) that makes the job easier because employees won't get the severance if they are let go.
>Is there any opportunity with the company that purchased you? Even if opportunities involve relocation, some of your managers may welcome that opportunity.
Hope this helps...Good luck
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