Enforcing Policies

It is difficult to envision a successful call center operation without associating it with stringent requirements for call handle time, attendance, up-sell/cross-sell quotas, quality scores, etc. In addition, it would seem implausible for a call center to reach any level of consistent achievement without the presence of competent management.

A hallmark of proficient supervisors and managers is their consistent enforcement of the policies and guidelines established to ensure the smooth running of their businesses. Without this quality, supervisor's actions can undermine a key component of employee motivation, clear expectations.

Call center representatives who don't have a clear understanding of what is expected of them cannot perform to their full potential. To illustrate the point, let's look at a fictional character we'll call "John". Imagine that John is the type of agent that never misses a day of work. Although he has never received any recognition for his attendance record, John feels that being a reliable employee will eventually differentiate him from other representatives who may be in line for promotions. Now imagine what would happen to John's attendance if he found out that his supervisor only followed the attendance policy when it didn't affect his best sales people? Given John's work ethic he may not change his attendance habits, but he may begin working less diligently in order to restore equity.

One reason why supervisors may not enforce current policies is that they may want to be perceived as being on the agent's side. However, such an approach would probably do more to foster mediocrity and lower morale than to benefit the team. People need to know the repercussions of their actions, positive and negative, if they are to work to the best of their ability. As a call center representative, it would be difficult to remain positive about the daily challenges of the job, while knowing that coworkers who don't do their part are treated the same as those who do.

The result of not enforcing exiting policies may best be highlighted by the remarks that agents make after being transferred to a new team. When new supervisors inherit what we'll call "Trained Poor Performers" they often encounter comments like "I know I have 25 occurrences, but that was never a problem before", or "My old supervisor said that QA scores didn't matter as long as I met my quota".

Instituting appropriate reward systems

A final tenet of call center motivation is the implementation of appropriate reward systems. While the definition of what is appropriate can vary from one call center to the next, the basic characteristics of a good reward system remain constant. In order to achieve their objective, rewards must appeal to various motivators, encourage only desired behaviors, and have incentives that are of value to the agents.

Successful reward systems begin by appealing to the various motivators that impel people to action. Employees may be motivated by money, recognition, job flexibility, a sense of accomplishment, and many other intrinsic and extrinsic factors. In addition, things that motivate some people to excel can just as easily discourage others. That is why it is important for call center managers to identify and consider the most prevalent motivators within their groups before finalizing any type of incentive program. Assuming that money is the best, or only, way to motivate call center representatives can prove to be a very expensive and counterproductive proposition.

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