Motivating call center agents is important to keeping them happy and productive. After all, your brand’s customer service success relies heavily upon the performance of your agents, so any tools or practices that keep them empowered benefit your company and your customers alike. One such tool is gamification, a popular trend in call centers that uses game-like processes to drive, assess, and reward agents based on their performance. Here are six tips for using gamification in the call center to drive agent motivation and success for the whole team.
Before using gamification, make sure you set clear goals with your call center team to determine what the agents are striving for. What motivates your agents to do their best? Are there specific goals the team as a whole should be aiming for, such as first contact resolution or handling a certain number of cases in a day? Understanding motivation factors and setting clear goals are essential to designing meaningful gamification practices with a clear purpose.
One popular use for gamification is assessing individual agent performance. Call center managers may measure agent progress on metrics such as average handling time and first contact resolution rates, for example. As agents strive to meet specific goals, managers may evaluate their motivation and progress levels to determine what improvements, if any, need to be made. High-performing agents may then be rewarded for their achievements.
Another fun and efficient strategy is to use gamification for encouraging healthy competition among peers.For example, call center managers may provide incentives such as rewards for agents who get the most new subscriptions to a service or handle the most cases in a single day. Call center teams may also compete against each other to achieve similar goals, motivated by a fun team atmosphere and a collective desire to succeed.
Learning is always better when it’s fun! So why not turn agent training sessions into games that test agent skills? Integrating gamification into training sessions is a meaningful but also lighthearted way to motivate employees and encourage participation across teams and individuals.
Monetary rewards like bonuses may certainly be welcome and appropriate for top-performing agents, but agents may also prefer other ways of being recognized for their success. Offering incentives such as special off-site retreats, parties, or perks within the call center (such as extra breaks or leadership opportunities) also work well to foster a team spirit and boost agent morale.
When all the games are done, take the time to reflect on what everyone has learned. Encourage employees to share their best practices with each other and provide feedback on how gamification strategies may be improved for even greater motivation and call center success.Gamification brings energy, focus, and motivation to the call center, eventually empowering agents to deliver greater customer service with boosted confidence. The happier your customer service staff, the stronger your brand!
