4 Reasons to Implement Incentive Programs for your Call Center Employees

Having a tight-knit, motivated team of employees is a crucial element in running a successful business. A great way to achieve this is by implementing a call center incentive for your staff. 

A customer service job can sometimes be very taxing, leaving your staff exhausted, and unmotivated. Offering an incentive can increase individual work performance, attract high-quality experienced candidates and improve the overall work atmosphere. Having unmotivated and dissatisfied staff can have a negative impact on the reputation of your business. 

Read on to learn more about how an incentive program could boost your businesses success.

To Keep Employees Motivated

Call center incentive programs have been proven to have a positive impact on work performance and motivation. However, the study conducted by the International Society of Performance Improvement showed the majority of companies lack the capacity and will to create effective incentive programs that truly address the range of issues that impact work performance and motivation. 

When designing an incentive program, quota-based incentives are more effective than a tournament-style model, so opt for a program that rewards all workers. Having an incentive where your staff members have to meet or exceed a particular goal is much more attractive to employees compared to a program that rewards a previously determined number of winners. The quota-based programs are more effective in helping to build a team of motivated employees and overall work performance.

Having effective call center incentives is also a great way of attracting talented, high-quality applicants. This improves the overall pool of employees which leads to a more motivating work environment. Call center agents can often be vulnerable to experiencing burnout, lack of motivation, and exhaustion due to constantly dealing with frustrated customers. Incentive programs are a great way to reward their hard work and patience whilst also improving your company’s work performance, team morale, and motivation.

To Make Your Employees Feel Respected

An effective call center incentive program is a great way to make your employees feel respected. It gives them an achievable goal to strive for, and also a sense of recognition for their hard work. Whilst a lot of the agents in your team won’t be looking for a future career in your company, it is still important they feel they have opportunities to grow and learn. 

Another routine worth implementing is regular goal-setting meetings. This gives all employees the opportunity to openly discuss the goals they are striving towards which can have a positive impact on their motivation and how respected they feel. 

Another important factor in gaining your employee’s respect is to create a healthier, happier workplace. This all starts with the physical space that your call center operates. No one is going to feel respected or happy while working inside a cramped, miserable, or depressing office space. So, ensure that you always have a clean and comfortable office space for your staff.

You also need to create a space that workers can relax during their breaks. This makes for a more positive work environment, as well as increased work productivity. The more respected your staff feel, the more respect they will return to you in their work, which is why we strongly encourage companies to implement incentives.

To Retain Employees in the Workplace

We mentioned above how taxing call center work can be. It can leave staff feeling exhausted, burnt out, and unmotivated. Dealing with angry customers on a daily basis is a job that gets old fast, and is one of the major contributing factors in the high employee churn rate at call centers.  To retain more employees in your workplace, it is crucial you implement incentives programs. 

When your staff members have to deal with issues between client and business managing with limited information and almost no power in decision making. This can lead to a mental and emotional distance from the job as well as limit work productivity and effectiveness. Thankfully, implementing incentives can help staff overcome feelings of frustration that their hard work is going unrecognized or isn’t being acknowledged enough. This creates a positive work atmosphere where agents feel happy and respected, meaning you will have more reliable, long-term employees. 

Another great element to include in your incentive is training sessions where staff can develop and pick up new skills. This means they will feel they have opportunities to grow and improve if they are wishing to stay in the job. It also brings the possibility of moving up within the company, meaning you can retain more hard-working employees in your workplace.

To Increase Your Sales

Research has shown that incentives that effectively address the range of issues impacting team performance and motivation can have a very positive impact on work performance. Key findings in a study showed that team incentives can increase workplace performance by up to 44%. Increased work performance means an increase in productivity, which in turn has a positive impact on your company’s sales. Implementing a call center incentive is a key part of building a tight-knit, motivated, and successful team. Customer service work often leads to agents feeling dissatisfied and exhausted, this can have a negative impact on work performance and productivity. This is why offering incentive programs are a great way to motivate staff and give them achievable goals to strive for. In turn, increasing company sales and profit. 

Incentives are also a great way to increase positivity in your workplace, this will lead to increased productivity from your staff, meaning greater profits. Creating an incentive program can help reduce the risk of your employees feeling burnt out, underappreciated, and unmotivated. This, in turn, will have a positive impact on your workplace atmosphere as well as increase your company profits. If you feel your business isn’t as successful as you would like it to be, an incentive program is a great way to improve it. 

Conclusion

Implementing an incentive program in your call center company is a great way to ensure your staff feels rewarded for their hard work. Doing this increases motivation within the workplace and creates a happier, more enjoyable work environment. This means employees won’t be heading straight for the door after 2 days and will help you build a more successful call center business.