Call Center Agent Shift Swapping

Shift swapping is an inevitable occurrence at every call center, and is one of the more significant agent staffing challenges that management must oversee.

In general, allowing agents to swap shifts solves more problems than it creates. With this arrangement, agents have more control over their working hours, and that flexibility can encourage employee loyalty.

However, if this privilege is abused, it can lead to staffing confusion, lower productivity, a shortage of agents for unpopular shifts, and inconsistent customer service.

Agent Staffing Solutions
While shift swapping should be offered as an option, some center without the right processes in place try to  discourage this. They achieve this by built-in incentives for agents to work the shifts to which they are assigned, and by limiting swaps to, say, three a month or five in each quarter.

Call centers should have a reliable process in place that tracks shifts and instances of shift swapping. This will not only make the process easier for agents and management, it provides managers with insight into which agents may be abusing this privilege, and how working different shifts impacts an agent’s job performance.

While some last-minute shift swaps are unavoidable, as emergencies do happen, a center should require that agents request swaps at least three or five days in advance. That way, managers can adjust schedules accordingly so productivity is not impacted. For example, if an agent who is particularly adept at handling customer complaints swaps shifts with an agent who is not as qualified in this situation, the call center may wish to bring in another agent from a different shift with that same specialty.

The ultimate objective is to satisfy the needs of the center and the needs of the employees, and to make any staffing changes as convenient as possible.

The Role of Workforce Management Software
Shift swaps are yet another function that should be handled through a workforce management solution - through a simple self-service tool that includes shift bidding. An effective system will allow agents to search for shifts to swap, and instantly know if there is a conflict with their arrangement. Supervisors will then have the ability to approve or reject the swap request, and find out if there are any issues with weekly minimum or maximum restrictions on work hours should the swap be approved. To learn more about agent shift swapping and supervisor collaboration, please follow this link to our main website.

With effective workforce management, the system that allows shift swaps should be efficient, transparent and controlled by management with the limitations necessary to maintain service standards. 

Important call center metrics: Agent turnover

Working in a call center is demanding due to the nature of fluctuating call volumes, emotions calls, and time pressure. As a result, many call centers experience a high turn-over. It's not uncommon that some centers experience 30% or more - meaning that 3 out of 10 people leave and need to get replaced and trained. A high turnover has a negative impact on costs, productivity and service quality of the center.

How can you reduce turnover in a call center? First, you need to measure your turnover, and try to identify and track the reasons for the turnover. Second, you need to find ways to improve working conditions - here is a list of tips and ideas where to start :

• Hire the "right" people - make sure you understand the challenges of your customer service or call center work and select people that can best deal with it
• Engage - make agents part of the team by listening, encouraging them to make improvements, etc.
• Flexibility - Providing more flexibility in their work schedule is a great way to motivate your team
• Schedule - Use good WFM tools to create an accurate forecast and optimal schedule resulting in less overworked (and happier) agents
  
• Adherence - Monitor and track schedule adherence to make sure that the call load is spread "fairly". A few agents that are not in their seats, will cause a lot of "pain" to the rest of the team.
  
• Create a positive work environment - culture, office space, equipment, etc.

For more ideas and tips on call center agent motivation, please read our previous blog post.

Motivation of call center agents, employees and workforce

Employee motivation is the most important and probably most challenging management task in a call center - and it has the biggest impact on the overall call center performance and success. There are no simple recipes or easy answers for this. Dependent on your industry, the size of your center, the culture of your company and the people in your company, you need to develop your own plan of action. Here are a few things to consider:

• Practice clear communication: What do you expect from agents, how is performance measured, etc.
• Include agents into problem solving: Share reports and metrics with employees and discuss issues/improvements
  
• Recognition of employees: Publicly and individually recognize employees as a valued member of the organization
  
• Make employees more knowledgeable: Develop your employees' skills through training and coaching
  
• Build confidence: Provide necessary training and coaching, give feedback that helps them grow
  
• Teams: Create teams that work "well" together
  
• Good infrastructure: Make sure that office, chairs, headsets, and other infrastructure etc. are functional and provide a positive experience
  
• Flexible schedules: Start- and end-time flexibility can be a win-win for the employees and the call center performance
  
• Good resource planning: Accurate forecasting and scheduling helps reduce stress
  
• Lead by example: Actions instead of words and mission statements
  

But how do you find out what's important for your call center? Just listen do your agents, ask specific questions, and listen again.