As the name suggests, the customer experience space has a tendency to primarily focus on the customer.
This is particularly true in the contact center, where the latest enhancements and solutions are almost always designed to improve things for the customer, with agents often treated as an afterthought.
Failure to adequately consider agent satisfaction and experience can lead to higher turnover, absenteeism, and burnout.
But the tide does appear to be slowly turning, and more and more contact centers seem to be realizing that a happy agent = a happy customer.
Ironically, one of the key contributors to agent burnout can be the very tools that are supposed to make things easier for them.
While some of these AI-powered innovations and software advancements should theoretically improve the agent experience, the need to juggle multiple technologies can make things more complicated.
This topic was discussed during a recent conversation with Thor Mitskog, the CEO of Cyber Acoustics, a customer service and experience vendor specializing in contact center headsets.
For Mitskog, the technological advances that have occurred within the customer service and experience space in the past few years have led to a “very crowded tech stack.
“Gone are the days of a simple plug-and-play headset.
“These days, agents must deal with multiple cloud-based tools: softphones, analytics, noise reduction apps, time tracking, and client-specific systems.
“Each of these requires training and correct setup, which adds cognitive load and complexity.”
Comfort is Key
Away from the complexities of the actual role, Mitskog believes the work environment is another facet of the agent experience that is often overlooked.
The increased popularity of working from home that was popularized during the pandemic undoubtedly has its positives, from greater flexibility to time and money savings associated with commuting.
However, it has also resulted in agents missing out on daily interactions with team members, which affects morale.
Maintaining healthy remote working routines can be difficult. Although some agents prefer the freedom and are very disciplined, others struggle.
“When they burn out, they often blame the job and leave,” Mitskog explained.
“Small changes that reduce stress and create a more relaxing environment are key, but they're difficult to implement.
“Companies need to make sure they're providing what hybrid workers need to be comfortable.”
Prioritizing Your Agents
While it is always helpful to understand why the agent experience is important and recognize some of the causes and symptoms of burnout, this information is useless unless it can be applied to rectify the issues.