Closing Down

[Samuel]

I am the Director of Operations for a call center that has recently been bought out and is being shut down in December.

My problem (other than being out of a Job in a couple months) is I have not managed a center through this type situation before.

I am struggling with keeping agent and manager moral up, maintaining quality levels and my absenteeism has rose since the announcement.

I am looking for others who have managed through this type of situation, what advice do you have on keeping agents and managers engaged in the business.

I am also looking for feed back from an agent perspective, what as worked well for you, what has not worked well for you in what management has done in these types of transitions.

Thanks

[Michcall]

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

[Jay Allen]

It is always a difficult situation when you close a center. First and fore most I recommend intense communication with everyone involved, keep them involved in the process, let there be no surprises. Nothing will make a bad situation worse then rumor which go unaddressed.

Second, help you employees make the transition. There are usually resources that will help dislocated employees. Check the Department of Labor, and State and Local unempoyment services. We brought them on-site so that employees could sign-up for assistance and have benefits explained to them.

Finally, if it is possible, create a severence packege which incents attendance etc .

Hope that helps. Good Luck

[Samuel]

Thank you Michall and Jay, some useful information here.

[Inesr]

You're all going through a difficult time, but I can only imagine what it means to somebody assigned to handle Operations.

It's SOP for people who are advised that they will lose their job in a predetermined date, to start marketing themselves, having families to support, bills to pay, etc. It does not mean that they are not loyal to the company or that they wouldn't do something if they could to stop this event, but, being above and beyond them, they have to plan on their future, especially because that time of year your center is closing down, is also a very stressful time, financially speaking, for most people.

You might consider offering help with outplacement; this can be done through your HR department of through outsourcing.

It is important for these people to believe that there is indeed a chance at the end of the road, and that the company is doing the best to help them with outplacement efforts. There is a flip side to this coin: through this outplacement effort, they might find the need to attend interviews with possible future employers, and this would involve time out from work. This is where you show your good will, granting them the time they will need, without taking it off from their vacation.

Hang in there, just make sure they know you care!

[ctaylor]

Since this business has been made and you have been charged with managing it all you can do is try to work through the process in a business-like and compassionate way.

My suggestions are;
1- be diect with the staff. This is a business decision and did not have to do with them as individuals ( many people who go through this type of downsizing experience a loss of self-esteem, so tell them its not personal, but business)
2- Let them know that you expect them to be marketing themselves to secure future positions, and that must schedule this time off and you will do everything in your power to give them this time.
3- Offer them out placement services and or counselling.
4- Contact other call centers in your area and inform them of what is happening and try to set up an open house, mini-job fair or block of interviews. Once you have set at least one of these up tell your staff what you have done. You don't want to make commitments you can't deliver and what if none of the other centers are hiring...If you are successful in doing this it show yours ( and the companies interest in their well being)
5- Ask for their help help to make it to the end date.Appeal to them to be professional ( a little rah rah speach about going out fighting may help).
6-Secure additional funds from your boss to pay a 'survivors' bonus to all staff who complete the time till the end date without unscheduled and/or unplanned absences. You will need to inform you superiors that you are allowing them to look for other jobs and yes the Service Level will take a hit. But that if you can manage th absences and incent those who stay on till the end, you can deliver a consistent level of service all the way out.


I hope that I have added some value to this discussion. If I can be of any further assistance you can contact me at ctaylor@thetaylorreachgroup.com

Colin