breaks Schechule problem

[bearpride]

Hi

Actually we are having this issue at lunch time. We have 2 shifts in which we give 10 min break in a 6 hr shift, and all the agents are arriving late. We try warning's, oral and written.

We also implemented a check in/out board and we reduced it up to 30%, but we're still having the same problems.

All the supervisors in the call center had an avarage of 6 months experience in call center. What can you recommend for me to do, before I take several measures.

[felix]

It sounds to me that you need to act.
Some people might get dismissed on the process, but you need to commit to the warnings you have already made.

If you specify in your internal working policies that (for example) 10 tardies equal dismissal, you actually have to comply to it.

If you have a disciplinary guideline and this guideline is for everyone to see, you need to act accordingly to it. Otherwise you will lose credibility.

Credibility and respect are of the upmost importance when driving a group of people that don't necessariliy have as much love for their jobs as you might. You might need to impose external pressure and set and follow some rules.
They don't have to be the hardest rules. Simply be sure that they are aligned with your business needs and make sure you and your management team followup on these rules and commit to these rules, but you have to start by yourself.

Hopefully that would help a little bit.

Best regards.

[NBosch]

Punctuality at work is in the interest of everybody, not just the management and planning department.
Make it very clear to your agents, that when they arrive late, or take longer breaks then permitted, that they are hurting not only the overall results, but doing this at the expense of the guy/girl sitting next to him.
If you feedback this well, you should be able to increase punctuality to at least 50-60%.

Second is, as Felix mentioned, get a corrective action program and clear guidelines for all your staff. Act accordingly, otherwise you loose credibility.

Thirth thing to consider: Rolemodels !
Check on your teamleaders how they handle punctuality issues. If they are late on a regular basis themselves, than this will cause your agents to come late to.
If your middle management staff has punctuality issues, than don't hesitate to act. You will gain agent respect when you enforce the rules on their teamleaders faster, then when you only go after them.

Good luck.

[Contestboy]

You didn't specify whether you made consequenses clear in your warnings or not but if you did then by all means you need to stick to them. If you should not be true to your word, you run the risk of the bad behavior extending to others in the room who do not have this problem yet. This is because your credibility as a manager will be weakened.

I'm the night shift lead in a call center and when I first got the job I noticed that the reps seemed to stray from their break schedules as soon as the rest of the management left for the day. I assumed they thought since I was new that I wouldn't say anytrhing. Well, I needed to say something right away or they'd continue to do this and worse over time. To fix this, I did one on one meetings with each of them and told them why it was important to stay on their scheduled times. Toward the end of the conversation I made it clear what the consequenses to their actions were should they choose to ignore me.

You'll see the results right away but then typically over time you see them start slacking again. This is where it's important to give them reminders so they know you haven't forgotten what you talked about. Should you get blatent refusals to follow breaks after that, it's time to start the process with oral and written warnings followed by suspensions and then dismissal.

It's been said that it takes 21 days to form a habit so give it enough time to set in that you're serious about changing the way things work before you get to that point.

One thing you can do during that period are praises to the whole crew even if a few ocassionally come in late. It will not only serve to give positive reinforcement to those who have changed for the better, but give the reminder to those who continue the bad behavior that you are still watching.

[Tron Jordheim]

You might try a flexible pay option. People who clock in at their appointed time receive 100% of wage. People who clock in late are paid a different and lesser scale. This will quickly motivate people to get to work a minute or two early. Then if you have any habitual tardy people, you know you have people who are not serious and may need to be freed up to pursue other employment opportunities.