{"id":32602,"date":"2022-06-28T10:00:31","date_gmt":"2022-06-28T00:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rcblogau.wpengine.com\/au\/en\/blog\/?p=32602"},"modified":"2022-06-28T00:24:51","modified_gmt":"2022-06-27T14:24:51","slug":"flexibility-the-key-to-agent-retention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/au\/en\/blog\/flexibility-the-key-to-agent-retention\/","title":{"rendered":"Flexibility: the key to agent retention"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Highlights:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A hybrid work environment offers more flexibility to employees.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Giving agents the flexibility to choose between working in-house or at home can boost engagement and reduce agent turnover rates.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">RingCentral offers digital solutions that give remote workers what they need to remain highly productive from home.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many contact centre businesses have experienced higher-than-normal staff turnover rates since the beginning of the pandemic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With agent turnover rates on the rise since the health crisis began, it became more difficult and costly for managers to operate their call or contact centres.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But thankfully, there are measures managers can adopt to rejuvenate their talent, keep them engaged at work, reduce agent effort, and boost motivation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Building a hybrid team may provide just the right amount of flexibility to help improve agent retention in your contact centre.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>How to create a hybrid contact centre<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To ensure a successful hybrid work environment, consider the following.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Create an inclusive environment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s easy for remote workers to feel left out since they\u2019re not physically present in the contact centre. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to support all employees in a hybrid work environment and offer them opportunities to voice their opinions and concerns.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Always include remote workers in meetings, ask questions, get their opinions, and allow them to provide feedback on various issues. Collect as much information from remote employees about their experiences as possible. The more agents feel like they belong, the higher the chances that they will remain long-term employees.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Create a schedule that works for everyone<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No matter what type of schedule a contact centre keeps, the key is to ensure that there is adequate coverage to field customer calls at all times. When establishing work schedules for both in-house and at-home workers, consider all needs. Flexibility is important, but different workers may have different outlooks on what a flexible schedule looks like based on their own experiences and lifestyle.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The levels of flexibility will vary for every employee, so it\u2019s important to find out what each team member needs when creating a schedule for a hybrid workforce. <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/au\/en\/contact-centre\/products\/workforce-optimisation.html\">RingCentral\u2019s workforce optimisation tools <\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with automatic, AI-driven scheduling tools across channels can help you get the job done efficiently.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Keep technology needs in mind<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Digital technology is a staple for the modern contact centre. It\u2019s helpful to consider what both new and veteran agents need to perform optimally in terms of technology, tools, solutions, and support. Technology for the purpose of meetings is also important to consider, as such tools are essential in communicating with all employees, whether in-house or remote.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-32604 size-large\" src=\"\/au\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/happy-woman-working-at-th-desk-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"Happy Woman Working From Home\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Tips to keep agent turnover rates low<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contact centre management can adopt several tactics to ensure high agent retention rates with their hybrid workforce.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Open opportunities for remote workers<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2021 alone, the rate of agent turnover was 30.5%. This not only sacrifices the efficiency of a contact centre but also compromises customer experiences. Having a remote workforce, however, can help counter such a situation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to Frost &amp; Sullivan, the <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/ww2.frost.com\/files\/7314\/0985\/8803\/At-Home_Agents_A_Model_for_the_Future.pdf\">retention rate for remote workers<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a healthy 80%, compared to an abysmal 25% for in-house agents. That\u2019s a significant difference that contact centre managers should note. Simply redistributing agents and allowing many to work from home may help to reduce turnover rates. Again, flexibility is key.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Invest in agent training<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contact centre software is a crucial tool for managing and organizing customer calls. With the right digital solutions in place, agents can better handle a large influx of calls and customers will be left with a more successful and satisfying experience. However, without proper and personalized training, agents may find all these digital tools more of a burden than a blessing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Comprehensive technical onboarding and ongoing training will ensure that agents are better equipped to use the tools available to them. In turn, agents will feel much more comfortable using these solutions to do their jobs and will help deliver a positive experience to customers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Training needs to not be regimented. Consider offering flexible training programs and self-led training that fits into the agent\u2019s personal circumstances and needs. It\u2019s also important to compare performance before and after training to measure effectiveness and make changes as needed<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Communicate appreciation to the staff<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Showing your appreciation for agents, particularly those who are top performers, can do wonders for improving contact centre agent retention. According to Gallup Research, workers who feel they are not recognised or appreciated for their efforts are <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gallup.com\/workplace\/358082\/struggling-suffering-employees-twice-likely-leave.aspx\">twice as likely<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to leave their current position and seek out new work. That leaves contact centres constantly having to recruit new talent and fill vacant roles, which takes up a lot of time, effort, and money.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instead, contact centres can show their appreciation for their talent through measures such as public and private recognition, rewards, and pay promotions. Morale can also be boosted with fair and consistent feedback via\u00a0 <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/au\/en\/contact-centre\/features.html#analytics\">RingCentral\u2019s Quality Management tool. <\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Studies have shown that <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tinypulse.com\/blog\/sk-employee-recognition-stats\">69% of workers<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong> w<\/strong>ould put more effort into their work if they felt that they were better appreciated. Not only will these efforts help agents feel like more valued team players, but it can also foster a little healthy competition among agents that may help to encourage more productivity.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Implement gamification<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who doesn\u2019t love to play games? Better yet, who doesn\u2019t enjoy getting rewarded for reaching certain levels or achieving specific goals during a game? In a work setting, \u201cgamification\u201d can be implemented to make the work environment seem a little more fun and help agents enjoy their time spent on the clock.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gamification uses game elements and principles that are applied to employee training, evaluation, and productivity. Leaderboards can also be used to encourage friendly competition. The goal of this strategy is to boost engagement, happiness, satisfaction, and loyalty. When agents are happy and satisfied at work, they\u2019re more likely to stick around for the long haul.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>RingCentral: the flexible contact centre best tech friend<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With a remote team, digital technology is key. RingCentral offers cloud-based solutions for contact centres designed with both an in-house and hybrid workforce in mind. No matter what your contact centre is looking for, RingCentral has what you need. Call and speak with a representative today to <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/au\/en\/effortless-customer-engagement.html\">request your free demo<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Highlights: A hybrid work environment offers more flexibility to employees. Giving agents the flexibility to choose between working in-house or at home can boost engagement and reduce agent turnover rates. RingCentral offers digital solutions that give remote workers what they need to remain highly productive from home. Many contact centre businesses have experienced higher-than-normal staff &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":32603,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-employee-experience"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Flexibility: The Key to Agent Retention | RingCentral AU Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Giving agents the flexibility to choose between working in-house or at home can boost engagement and reduce agent turnover rates. Learn more!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/au\/en\/blog\/flexibility-the-key-to-agent-retention\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Flexibility: The Key to Agent Retention | RingCentral AU Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Giving agents the flexibility to choose between working in-house or at home can boost engagement and reduce agent turnover rates. Learn more!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/au\/en\/blog\/flexibility-the-key-to-agent-retention\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"RingCentral Australian Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-06-28T00:00:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/au\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/man-attending-online-meeting-on-his-desk.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"930\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"RingCentral Team\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"RingCentral Team\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Flexibility: The Key to Agent Retention | RingCentral AU Blog","description":"Giving agents the flexibility to choose between working in-house or at home can boost engagement and reduce agent turnover rates. Learn more!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/au\/en\/blog\/flexibility-the-key-to-agent-retention\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Flexibility: The Key to Agent Retention | RingCentral AU Blog","og_description":"Giving agents the flexibility to choose between working in-house or at home can boost engagement and reduce agent turnover rates. Learn more!","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/au\/en\/blog\/flexibility-the-key-to-agent-retention\/","og_site_name":"RingCentral Australian Blog","article_published_time":"2022-06-28T00:00:31+00:00","og_image":[{"width":930,"height":700,"url":"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/au\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/man-attending-online-meeting-on-his-desk.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"RingCentral Team","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"RingCentral Team","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/rcblogau.wpengine.com\/au\/en\/blog\/flexibility-the-key-to-agent-retention\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"\/au\/en\/blog\/flexibility-the-key-to-agent-retention\/"},"author":{"name":"RingCentral Team","@id":"https:\/\/rcblogau.wpengine.com\/au\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/eecf34bbf3d95321a36af1d3cca76cd8"},"headline":"Flexibility: the key to agent retention","datePublished":"2022-06-28T00:00:31+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"\/au\/en\/blog\/flexibility-the-key-to-agent-retention\/"},"wordCount":1045,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/rcblogau.wpengine.com\/au\/en\/blog\/flexibility-the-key-to-agent-retention\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"\/au\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/man-attending-online-meeting-on-his-desk.jpg","articleSection":["Employee Experience"],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"\/au\/en\/blog\/flexibility-the-key-to-agent-retention\/","url":"https:\/\/rcblogau.wpengine.com\/au\/en\/blog\/flexibility-the-key-to-agent-retention\/","name":"Flexibility: The Key to Agent Retention | RingCentral AU Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/rcblogau.wpengine.com\/au\/en\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/rcblogau.wpengine.com\/au\/en\/blog\/flexibility-the-key-to-agent-retention\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/rcblogau.wpengine.com\/au\/en\/blog\/flexibility-the-key-to-agent-retention\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"\/au\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/man-attending-online-meeting-on-his-desk.jpg","datePublished":"2022-06-28T00:00:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/rcblogau.wpengine.com\/au\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/eecf34bbf3d95321a36af1d3cca76cd8"},"description":"Giving agents the flexibility to choose between working in-house or at home can boost engagement and reduce agent turnover rates. Learn more!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/rcblogau.wpengine.com\/au\/en\/blog\/flexibility-the-key-to-agent-retention\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/rcblogau.wpengine.com\/au\/en\/blog\/flexibility-the-key-to-agent-retention\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/rcblogau.wpengine.com\/au\/en\/blog\/flexibility-the-key-to-agent-retention\/#primaryimage","url":"\/au\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/man-attending-online-meeting-on-his-desk.jpg","contentUrl":"\/au\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/man-attending-online-meeting-on-his-desk.jpg","width":930,"height":700,"caption":"A Man Attending Online Meeting on His Desk"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/rcblogau.wpengine.com\/au\/en\/blog\/flexibility-the-key-to-agent-retention\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/rcblogau.wpengine.com\/au\/en\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Flexibility: the key to agent retention"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/rcblogau.wpengine.com\/au\/en\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/rcblogau.wpengine.com\/au\/en\/blog\/","name":"RingCentral Australian Blog","description":"RingCentral Australia News and Tips","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/rcblogau.wpengine.com\/au\/en\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/rcblogau.wpengine.com\/au\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/eecf34bbf3d95321a36af1d3cca76cd8","name":"RingCentral Team","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/653ced44b45dcc318ea2c525fb1adfcbd3f949ac02b7029f4df68f6d79aab27f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/653ced44b45dcc318ea2c525fb1adfcbd3f949ac02b7029f4df68f6d79aab27f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/653ced44b45dcc318ea2c525fb1adfcbd3f949ac02b7029f4df68f6d79aab27f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"RingCentral Team"},"url":"\/au\/en\/blog\/author\/rcteam\/"}]}},"rc_img_url":"\/au\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/man-attending-online-meeting-on-his-desk.jpg","rcblog_by_author":"<a href=\"\/au\/en\/blog\/author\/rcteam\/amp\" data-dl-events-click=\"true\" data-dl-element=\"link\"><span class=\"image\"><img src=\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/653ced44b45dcc318ea2c525fb1adfcbd3f949ac02b7029f4df68f6d79aab27f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\" alt=\"\" width=\"30\" height=\"30\" layout=\"fixed\"><\/img><\/span><span class=\"by-author-name\">RingCentral Team<\/span><\/a>","rc_author_full_name":"RingCentral Team","rc_author_avatar":"\/au\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/21.jpg","rc_author_link":"\/au\/en\/blog\/author\/rcteam\/amp","rc_post_categories":"<a href=\"\/au\/en\/blog\/category\/employee-experience\/amp\">Employee Experience<\/a>","amp_link":"\/au\/en\/blog\/flexibility-the-key-to-agent-retention\/amp","excerpt_title":"Flexibility: the key to agent retention","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rcblogau.wpengine.com\/au\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rcblogau.wpengine.com\/au\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rcblogau.wpengine.com\/au\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rcblogau.wpengine.com\/au\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rcblogau.wpengine.com\/au\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rcblogau.wpengine.com\/au\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rcblogau.wpengine.com\/au\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rcblogau.wpengine.com\/au\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rcblogau.wpengine.com\/au\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rcblogau.wpengine.com\/au\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}