A Human Touch to Technology
Although the underlying EWS technology is quite extraordinary, technology itself is not the whole story. The EWS technology needs to be fostered with a human element.

"The system is another technology toy. And it will not be effective unless we put in an emotional touch to it," says Nandita Gurjar, VP and head, HR, Infosys BPO. "The management should bond with their employees emotionally. And, that is why we have a Business HR team on every floor. It is a help and counseling desk where agents and team leads can come up any time, and discuss their issues."

Another program that touches the human quotient of an employee is the Performance-based Scheduling program. High performers are given the chance to choose a work schedule of their choice. This motivates agents to work hard and also helps reduce the numbers that leave because of odd-working schedules.

"A right work-flow design too helps bring down the turnover rate to even single digits by bringing down the stress level of the agents," adds Gurjar. "And thats why we have incorporated a right-skills (identification) project where we employ people with the right skills rather than the right people (people with high qualifications). This makes agents enjoy their work and feel less stressed, resulting in low attrition."

The EWS system encourages team leaders to meet regularly and build better relationships with the agents that report to them. The building of these relationships improves two-way communication between the agents and team leaders. These improved relationships also underscore to agents and managers alike that every employee is a valued company asset. But what if there is a problem between the team lead and an agent?

"At Convergys, we have introduced a "Team Leader Transformation" program with an emphasis on training the team leaders to improve their people-management skills. Agents with more effective managers have higher job satisfaction, and are thus less likely to leave," says Talwar of Convergys.

The Customers Role
Effectively managing agent turnover saves contact centers millions of dollars in recruiting, hiring and training costs, and any benefit derived due to reduction in annual attrition rates goes right to the customer. Conversely, high agent attrition rates degrade customer experience and customer satisfaction, which negatively impact the quality of customer care.

So, it is important for the customer to be involved in attrition reduction programsinvolvement in the working of EWS software being one of them.

The EWS not only predicts the number of agents who will quit, but also gives an indication of all those factors that will eventually lead to attrition. Yet the system alone cannot reduce the growing concern. A quick and effective human action by both the employer and the customer needs to be implemented to make the software work most effectively.

Adyasha Sinha
Republished with permission from Global Services
www.globalservicesmedia.com

Page(s)   1  2