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Reducing the Risk of Call Centre Staff Burnout
Chapter 6 of the Telephone Staff Burnout Workbook
We have found that the answer to reducing the risks of agent burnout lies in longer term planning, where a structure is created that allows the agent to enjoy a sense of development.
Indeed, our own experience has shown our methodology can extend the pre-burnout period by up to 55%. We call our methodology "The Employee Value Chain," and it is a management tool specifically devised to keep telephone staff fresh.
By delivering added value to the employee's work experience, we can sometimes avoid and certainly delay burn-out.
The employee value chain seeks to develp the call centre agent for other roles within the organisation, even though there may not presently be a career move available to them.
In this way we keep the agent focussed on developing his or her skills for some future benefit. Reinforced with training and delivered at strategically allocated times, we are reducing the risk of burnout.
A similar methodology is used at McDonalds, where store staff earn stars on their name badges for various levels of achievement.
It works by progressing staff through various stages of empowerment. Let's take outbound telesales as our first example.
Out telesales business comprises seven separate types of offerings requiring progressively higher levels of skill or competence:
- Database cleaning at switchboard level
- Database building at departental or decision-maker level
- Seminar invitations
- Sales lead generation
- Market research
- Sales appointment selling
- Telesales
Our goal is to migrate call centre staff from easier tasks to the more difficult tasks through training, testing, on-the-job coaching and availability óf projects.
It is impotant to remember that each time the call centre agent receives trainng, it should be different - tougher to reflect the higher levels to which they aspire.
We encourage our staff to think in terms of working through the various levels to be in a state of readiness for the next challenge they will face.
Once a telemarketer has worked through all the levels, he or she may apply for the next vacant supervisor's position. We rely on an acceptable level of call centre staff turnover and business growth to provide opportunities for advancement.
Another example of the employee value chain would be in a purely telesales team.
You might join as a Level 1 agent, empowered to sell a limited product range at fixed prices.
You are required to contact xx prospects per day and close yy sales.
Having achieved your targets for eight weeks, you will be invited to join the next training workshop for Level 2 agents.
Provided you pass all the tests at the end of the workshop, you will be promoted to a Level 2 agent. Now you will be able to sell a wider range of products and may offer quantity discounts.
After twelve weeks of continuous success, you will be invited to join the next expert sales masterclass.
When you pass the exam for this, you will be entitled to negotiate deals on our full range of products.
Following a period of success, you will be invited to choose whether to become a telesales coach or whether to become a technical telesales representative.
Again, training and testing will take place before you enjoy the status conferred by your new knowledge.
Clearly some effort is required on the part of the telephone agent to work through the various levels, and as a sense of linear progression is achieved, the agent begins to see their job as a stepping stone to a higher plane, which goes some way to minimising the risk of burnout.
