Workforce Engagement Management

Leverage analytics to shorten employee feedback loop

Traditionally, only flagged contact center interactions and a handful of at-random interactions were reviewed as part of agent evaluations. But evaluating an agent based solely on their worst calls paints an incomplete picture. It also leads to a heavy focus on the weakest agents, leaving stronger agents—those most valuable to the contact center—with little to no feedback on their own opportunities for improvement.

Modern analytics tools support employee engagement by digesting data from all of an agent’s interactions, revealing comprehensive trends that provide more accurate insights into the agent’s strengths and weaknesses. Managers can provide ongoing feedback to every agent—including top performers—to help ensure all contact center agents move forward in their skill development and performance.

In addition, WEM makes timely feedback a reality. Agents crave feedback, and research shows consistent performance reviews increase agent engagement. With WEM, agents see evaluations soon after managers complete them— much sooner than with legacy WFO offerings. By receiving timely feedback, agents feel a greater sense of pride over their daily performance; they also can assume more ownership for their ongoing improvement by proactively reviewing daily performance reports and using this information for effective self-coaching. At the same time, the short, continuous feedback loop enabled by WEM lets managers quickly address concerns before they blossom into customer issues, and drives an ongoing cycle of agent engagement and improvement.

Additionally, WEM analytics can instill a greater sense of purpose in agents. By connecting contact center performance data with other business metrics, agents can instantaneously receive feedback on how their performance directly impacts business outcomes.

Evolve scheduling and at-home agent philosophies

Companies embracing WEM balance employee input against business needs when setting schedules and reviewing paid time off (PTO) requests. Interactive, technology-based scheduling allows agents to view and select their shifts, giving them more control over their work-life balance. Workforce engagement management also leverages company policy to let agents select their PTO and automatically offers alternatives—such as trading shifts or working an alternate schedule—if the request can’t be approved.

A move to WEM also helps companies re-think their at-home agent policies. Until recently, most companies didn’t trust agents to work full shifts when working from home, so many businesses instituted policies banning any kind of at-home agent flexibility. These same companies now find that, deployed against the right strategy, some at-home agent scenarios actually are more productive for both the agent and the business—and the flexibility it allows strengthens the engagement between them.

Involve agents in more business decisions

In addition to allowing agents to have a voice when it comes to shifts they work, companies shifting to WEM solicit feedback from agents on other important topics, to help them feel a greater sense of ownership and pride in their company. For instance, they might allow agents to help determine by which performance metrics they’re measured or request agent input on new business policies under consideration.