In 2019, the average agent retention rate in the US was 21.1 percent. Fast forward two years, and it has increased to 22.4 percent – according to Benchmark Portal data.
While this may seem like a steady incline, the analyst’s “2022 agent experience trends report” suggests that almost two-thirds of contact centres (65.6 percent) reported increases in turnover since the start of 2020.
Yet, these statistics mask the issues that high agent attrition drives in the contact centre. Increased agent workloads, longer customer wait times, and increased costs cause real headaches that leaders must overcome.
A recent RingCentral webinar attempted to lift the lid on several solutions that may stop the rot and strengthen employee retention rates. Panellists included:
- Bruce Belfiore, CEO and Senior Research Executive at Benchmark Portal
- Josh Varela, Enterprise Sales Director at RingCentral
- Andy Watson, Product Marketing Manager at RingCentral
During their presentations and discussions, each pinpointed significant stumbling blocks along the path to increased employee retention.
Here are three particularly pertinent examples and possible solutions.
1. Agent Workload Woes
Increasing workloads undoubtedly play a part in low retention rates. Indeed, agents – on average – handled 7.07 calls per hour in 2021. Compare this to 6.07 just two years ago, and it signals a significant jump.
Often referred to as a “stress metric”, calls per hour soaring should set off alarm bells as it increases the likelihood of burnout and – consequently – agent turnover.
As such, it is little surprise that Benchmark Portal research pinpoints increasing workload as the most significant driver of attrition. Discussing how it is perhaps increasing stress, Belfiore adds:
Among our free agent coaching videos, available on our learning channel, handling stress is among the most watched and referred to by supervisors to their agents. So, something is going on here.
Moreover, as workload-related stress provides the catalyst for increased attrition, incoming calls are split between a smaller agent population, perpetuating the problem further.
The Solution
Reducing contact volumes is critical to lowering agent workloads. Understanding contact drivers and removing the upstream issues is perhaps the most powerful approach.
Conversation mining, with the help of speech analytics, is invaluable here to better understand demand and the route causes. Task mining may also help to automate many of the manual processes that slow agents down.
Finally, agent assist technologies that surface customer information and recommend next best actions may also provide a precious agent support mechanism.
2. Technology Aggravations
Employees often complain about system issues, slow speeds, and desktop navigation. Switching between too many apps is often a struggle with the latter, as limited integrations take their toll.
Highlighting the extent of these issues, Benchmark Portal reports that 51.5 percent of companies accept that agent struggles with software are significant obstacles in their attrition battles.
Yet, developing a new systems architecture – alongside securing the budget for it - is a long process. As such, contact centre leaders often feel as though their hands are tied.
Of course, the cloud and open marketplaces are helping provide the optimal environment for contact centre teams. Indeed, it is now simpler to integrate systems and identify solutions that will make agent work easier, less obstructed, and more likely to result in positive outcomes.
However, leaders must engage with agents first and follow them as they get to grips with the day-to-day reality of what is slowing them down.
