Overcoming Intention to Quit

[sky_lennard]

Has anyone had any success in overcoming (to a degree) agent-level employees' intention to quit?

What I mean is, what ideas do you have to assess how high an agent's intention to quit level is, and how do you handle that?

Our call center is a small (<20 agents) environment, and while the general morale is good, some of the agents have been expressing an intention to quit the job (and thus bringing down other's morale) but they have not done it. Obviously this is harmful to our environment, but I don't necessarily want to turn these employees over if I can change their perception or intent to stay on the job.

I know what some of the root factors are for this, but has anyone had the opportunity to enact a plan from the management pier to overcome this?

Thanks!

-nate

[Michcall]

Nate,

This happens at every call center I've ever been involved with. These employees are either 1) truly intending to find a new job 2) trying to send a message to their managers 3) trying to stir up the rest of the team for a "strength in numbers" approach or 4) some combination of the above. Based on percentages, I've found that those that talk about quitting the loudest are the least motivated to actually do something about it.

Here's what I would do:

Root causes: You stated you know the root causes of dissatisfaction. If they are things you can fix, start the process now. If they aren't (like hrs of operations, shifts, etc.), explain to your team the business reasons behind the issues and why it is like it is. Once they know the groundrules, be open to any suggestions that come from it. With a team that size, they may work together to come up with solutions you never thought of.

Individuals: If you know who these people are, I would bring them in individually and lay it on the table. "I've heard it through the grapevine that you've been talking about quitting. That tells me we've got some issues to get out on the table. This is a great team, and talking about leaving is demotivating and a drain on the team's morale. Let's talk about what's going on with you and see what we can do to work together on this." Be careful about letting them be the spokeperson for the group "Everyone feels...." because it could just be them and their buddy. Keep it to the indivdual's issues. When they give you the problems, also ask them for ideas about resolving those issues. If it's things you can't fix---they hate talking to customers, they don't want to work weekends---talk it through to see what's really behind it. You might find that they really are in the wrong job or they just don't feel like they get enough feedback and/or acknowledgement of their contributions. If it's a bad job fit, you can acknowledge that their expectations don't match what your job has to offer, but you can reiterate that they can't let their personal dissatisfaction be a drain on the team.

Teams: Give your teams an outlet for telling you their thoughts in a more formal way. We do employee satisfaction surveys at least annually where employees are able to give feedback anonymously on all different areas of the company, the managers, and the job. The scores and comments are compiled, and we review the top and bottom scoring areas. Once the results are shared with the teams, we get volunteer employee groups to work on ideas to keep the good things going and make the bad things better. A member of the management team is assigned to give guidelines to the teams so they don't attempt to change things that aren't within our scope (move the center, close on Monday's, changing the compensation policy, etc.). This process involves the agents in a very real way in making improvements which will help combat those who are complaining, but not working to change things.

Hope this helps.

[sky_lennard]

Yes, that is very helpful.

Thanks!!

[thetuan]

Michcall

These are great tips that you have given out and I am sure it will help some of us with issues similar to the one raised.

Thanks, Tuan

[Inesr]

Your response can definitively help some us identify the story behind the rumor. Thank you for input.

Ines

[DonFreeman]

We have had a lot of success using employee satisfaction surveys. An important part of this program is getting the employees involved in the solutions. I also feel monthly roundtable feedback meetings are a proactive process to get a feel for issues and problems that need worked on. Knowing someone is listening and cares is half of it.

[n_meghanath]

If someone wants to quit he can have two options either he quits or negotiate on what he wants. Now you can't do much about his first option because its him who decide, coming to the later part you have 3 options one is to let him have what he wants 2ndly to negotiate and bring up something which is ok to both, and the third one is to help him speed up his decision because its not good for both the party to work together for a longer time with a pending decision on hand.

Regards
Meghanath

[n_meghanath]

If someone wants to quit he can have two options either he quits or negotiate on what he wants. Now you can't do much about his first option because its him who decide, coming to the later part you have 3 options one is to let him have what he wants 2ndly to negotiate and bring up something which is ok to both, and the third one is to help him speed up his decision because its not good for both the party to work together for a longer time with a pending decision on hand.

Regards
Meghanath

[BankingGM]

I work in a large call center and we have a number of things we do to try to curb people quitting. One thing is something called our C.A.R.E. form. Whenever a manager even hears someone talking about quitting or getting another job, they are to meet with the person and find out what is going on. Basically, we are trying to curb their intention before it is finalized. If the manager cannot stop the attrit, it goes to the next level for a meeting. There are often times things that can be done that the employee never thought about - transferring to another department, rearranging hours, etc.

Another thing we have is a program that start in the beginning during their training. It is called the M&M program - with our tenured employees being the "Big M's" and the new employees are the "Little M's". It is the job of the big M to make this person feel welcome and get acclimated to their new position. They often stop by during the week to check up on them, bring them small little gifts (even just a balloon or candy bar) and follow them through their first six months. The program then recognizes the most successful Big M's and/or the Little M's can nominate their mentor to be the Big M of the month. After a few months you often hear the newbies talking about what they are going to do when they become a Big M.

Hope these ideas are useful to some of you.

[kuhtet]

Hi My name is Rhea. I work in a call center too I have been with the company for 3 years. and with those years it was good and bad but lately things arent so fun anymore. Most of agents are resigning and more to come and they are serious and company didnt do anything about it. I love my job inspite of its own difficulties but there are times when the management fails to recognized hardwork... How do you bring this attention to the managment, what ways can you make them listen or see.