Call Center Morale

[csrDave]

I am a customer service agent for a major call center that supports a major software company. I have been here for almost 6 years. I plan to eventually move on to bigger and better things, but for now, in the area I live in, this is the best wage and benefits available for me. I am able to pay my bills, and I feel that I have some job security. Like most people, I only work because I need the money to pay bills, and to live. I don’t love working at a call center, but I like the actual work I do. When I to provide a service to someone, and they are happy with what I was able to do, it feels good. But unfortunately it’s not this simple. There are many aspects of working at a call center other than taking calls, and helping people

For as long as I remember, we have been bewildered by how employee morale can be improved. The Management here has meetings every week, with intentions of improving moral. There have been some improvements over the years, but nothing substantial. Some managers try to encourage positive attitudes, and others try to bring a little fun to the workplace. We cannot seem to find a way out of this rut. We are aware of what morale is, and what factors contribute to low morale, but due to the nature of our business we are limited on things we can do.

It seems the agents, and managers alike are given a higher workload while privileges are taken away, more and more over time. When I first started here, we had our own seats, we could browse the internet (within reason), play cards at our desks, crochet or knit, draw, read, etc. Pretty much anything that was not offensive, and didn’t interfere with our work. Most of these privileges have been taken away, no reading, no browsing the internet, and so on. I think that these privileges are taken away for a couple of reason. Some people take advantage of them, doing things that are not related to work, then they are supposed to be working. Another reason being that there was an opportunity for immediate increase of production. But I am not sure if they took into consideration the affect this would have on overall production with its direct impact on employee morale. For an example, for someone who enjoys reading, having the opportunity to read a book between calls can improve their work day. Having this privilege to do something to take their mind of the time, or off their work when there is no work to be done can make them happier, which in turn can bring more quality to the work they do.

The amount of work required by agents and managers seems to always be increasing. As an agent (customer service rep), I am constantly being told that I need to meet a certain quality score, while maintaining a low average handle time. I understand that our client wants us to maintain a certain quality, and our company wants us to take as many calls as possible to increase profits. These are both valid facts of business, and these will not change, But I am caught between a rock and a hard place. I know that it’s like this in most call centers, most work places for that matter, but knowing that does not make it any better. It can be very overwhelming to deal with the stress of being pulled in both directions. It is best to not let ones emotions play a factor in dealing with these types of situations, but not everyone has this type of self discipline.

Most of the management staff wants to make things better, but they don’t really know how. There have been incentive programs for attendance and quality. There are events that take place, wearing silly hats or putting everyone’s name on the wall, but it does not improve the negativity in our workplace. I have seen people change over the years, I have seen people who would come to work genuinely happy everyday for years, and progressively they change into a resentful zombie. Nine out of Ten people are walking around like zombies now, constantly complaining about how much they hate this place and how they can’t wait for the end of the day. This constant negative atmosphere can be crippling even to the most positive people, this place can drain you in a matter of minutes. We had a health and wellness day here in the past year where we had visitors at our site, one of the visitors was from a local Fitness Center, he said that he could not believe the atmosphere. People walking around slouched over, pouting and complaining . He said that you could cut the negativity with a knife. This is mostly as a result of what is known as the “Burnout”, the stage where people just had enough and don’t care anymore.

So my question is, where do we go from here? Management says they want to make things better, we are aware of what causes low morale. There have been surveys to the employees on how they are feeling. Management has tried to introduce different types of small incentives. Our line of business does not seem to allow management to know when we did a good job on a constant basis. I could not guess at the percentage of calls that are monitored or that feedback is received from, but I am sure it is not a large percentage. Like most types of work, we only seem to hear about how we are doing when we something wrong, unless a customer or another agent specifically makes it a point to say something. But even in these situations it doesn’t seem to matter. I had a customer who was trying to do something for hours and hours, I spoke with them and not even 5 minutes later, the customer was happy, the issue was resolved, and they asked to speak with my manager to tell them what a good job I did. My manager took the call, and I never heard another word about it. When I have a call that the customer appreciates what I do for them, it really does make my day, I feel valued by that customer. I provided something that they wanted, and there day is going to be that much better because they talked to me. Unfortunately these calls are few and far between.

The agents and managers here do not feel valued. If we could find a way for people to not only FEEL valued but to actually BE valued consistently, I think that this would be a much better place to work. Not only for agents, but managers as well. The management can often be overlooked in employee morale conversations. A negative manager can affect a whole team of agents.

This leaves me where we have been for years, now what? If I was in a meeting talking about it, this is the point where we look around at each other waiting for someone else to come up with an idea to make things better. I try to think of what I can do as an agent to make things better, I try to leave work at work, and leave home at home. I come to work with a smile on most days. I try to treat other people with respect, and I try to show that I care about how they are doing. When I am having a bad day, I try to keep it to myself and not spread it to everyone around me. I don’t know what to suggest to management to make things better, it seems like it is how it is, and that is that. But I don’t want to accept that, and I hope the people I work with don’t want to accept it either.

Thanks for your time.

[swot_analyst1]

Sounds as if part of the problem is not management but the workers.

If people are unhappy then they can leave. As I read your post- it sounds as if at one time certain 'benefits' were allowed- such as playng cards- knitting... well a few bad apples ruins it for the bunch. I mean management enforces policies so that consistency is maintained and work is performed. If those policies were implemented to punish a few people then that is a point for discussion- however... if the policies were made to imrpove overall calls accepted and profits- then that is undrstandable.

As a manager in a call center for nearly 10 years.. usually when people are allowed certain privledges that prevent them from doing actual work (they tend to do those 'other' things). The same individuals that had the privledges- start abusing those privledges... so management has no choice but to clap down and take away those 'other' things to maintain productivity and competitive advantage for making money.

Any workplace is exactly what it means- WORK PLACE... granted there could be programs in place to promote morale- but if people are ' negative' they generally are negative towards anything -especially NEW things!

In my experience- call center work is generally a place where individuals can easily become stuck in a rut and given enough time- the work becomes - REPETATIVE- EASY and MUNDANE- regardless of managements morale attempts. Inorder to change a persons attitude a person has to be willing to change.. and the biggest oxymoron is having a person in a call center (doing the same job year after year) want to change! People want to collect a check but they dont want to change anything either... especially themselves or the level or work they complete. If they can get the same money for less- thats what will happen.

I think this is more of a personal issue for those in your call center than anything... no one forces anyone to stay at a job they are unhappy at... either provide change or accept the conditions as they are... it sounds harsh- but its reality. Same thing goes for the managers...

Hope things get better...

[swot_analyst1]

Perhaps just perhaps - you anonymously send your managers and/or coworkers thsi article.


It basically speaks of internal work relationships and the damage it can produce- sounds like you are already there...but maybe this will create a new perspective for others...

The article is called -Building the civilized workplace

link is here :
http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Str...workplace_1963

[Collector]

Hi Dave,
It seems like you are looking for some solutions, which is a giant leap ahead of most people. Lets look at a few factors that go with this Zombie infection and what may be some solutions.

Misery loves company. All too often, when a person is generally unhappy, they can focus that misery on the place where they spend the most time of their day. When they begin to share their bad attitude with others, the recruitment has begun; and with it, the Zombie infection.

If this goes unchecked, it can take over a large portion of the office within a few weeks or months.

Now comes the tough part....What is your part of your own unhappiness?

This infected pod of Zombies has been carefully cultivating their unhappyness, picking apart anythign that management does to combat it. If the Zombies can focus their dispair on the job, it keeps them from looking inward and asking them selves why they are unhappy to begin with. It may simply be easier for them to ignore or deny the fact that they are unhappy with another part of their lives that has nothing to do with the workplace. I am not denying that there are some crappy jobs out there. I know, because I have been there as well.

We are all adults. How can management ask an employee to look inward at them selves and ask if there is an issue at home that is the catalyst for their bad attitude? Most HR specalists would probably freak out to hear that.

So If management can't help employees look inward to fix their own unhappiness, then it must be up to the employee to do it themselves.

Honestly, if the negativity is as bad as you describe, the only tool that management has to really turn it around is to terminate the negative attitudes. It sounds harsh and it is harsh, but will also be the most effective.