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Improve agent performance with two-way feedback
How many of us have felt that workplace communications have been a little too heavy on the ‘top-down’ variety?
This can feel especially true in contact centers, particularly for agents, who are often on the receiving end of comms from management, team leaders and evaluators. It can make the employee experience feel rather one-sided and disengaging – something that can be easily avoided by introducing two-way communication.
The power of asking for feedback
Asking for feedback from your agents – and indeed, all employees throughout the contact center – has the potential to bring plenty of benefits.
1. Gain key customer insights direct from the frontlines
Whether you realize it or not, agents are the epitome of brand ambassadors. They are your customers’ interpersonal experience of your business, and often in key moments where they need support.
That brings with it a ton of potential insight. Are your agents spotting patterns of problems that could be solved in other parts of the business? Are customers regularly mentioning a particular issue? Ask them! You might be surprised just how much you learn.
2. Get a better understanding of employee experience
A disengaged workforce is a difficult challenge to overcome – particularly as ‘checked out’ staff are less likely to see the benefit in raising issues, or may not feel comfortable in face-to-face settings.
By opening feedback channels, you’ll get a greater insight into happiness levels simply by seeing the type of suggestions being made. Do agents want more training? More regular check-ins? Different benefits? The best way to make improvements to employee experience is by asking – if you’re not, you’re assuming.
3. Make your agents feel valued
By encouraging participation and giving agents the chance to be heard, you’re showing that you recognize they have valuable knowledge and experiences to share. Their opinions matter!
Remember though, it’s vital that you actually do something with the feedback you’re getting. A fast way to kill this hard-won engagement is to ignore it. Not only will you be potentially missing out on efficiencies and unique insights, your team can end up feeling frustrated by the lack of action.
That’s not to say you need to implement everything, but acknowledge the feedback and foster trust by being transparent when certain things aren’t practical or straightforward to do.
Ideas to launch your feedback program
You can, of course, take a general approach to crowdsourcing. That might be by categorizing suggestions according to whether it’s an idea, a concern, or a general comment. This is a good way to collect a variety of suggestions, without leading your staff down a particular path.
Alternatively, if opening the floodgates seems a little daunting, you can start with a small ‘pilot’ program. For example, you could start by asking specifically about incentives your team might like to see, ideas for socials, or the one thing that would improve their day-to-day experience.
Whether you want to go broad, or start small – the important thing is you start!
Introducing Suggestion Box from evaluagent
If you want to close the feedback loop, Suggestion Box is the perfect way to do it. Part of our Community product launch, it’s a simple, customizable interface designed to be used quickly and effortlessly.
With the option to submit anonymously, you can promote inclusivity and transparency in your contact center, ensuring you’re getting the real wants and needs from your team. Not only that, but you’ll also uncover the root causes of any disengagement and performance issues, helping you build a better employee experience and ultimately, a better customer experience too.
Opening yourself up for such direct feedback might feel a little unsettling to begin with, but we believe the benefits of engagement, transparency and insight are well worth it. Suggestion Box represents a small way to have a big impact.
PLATFORM
It's time to empower your agents
From crowdsourcing suggestions to gamification features, our Community product suite represents a huge step forward for agent empowerment.
Learn more about Community
