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From Resource,
July 2005
Copyright by LOMA
Curbing
Lost Call
Center
Productivity
MetLife’s
research on factors contributing to high rates of disability leave and
absenteeism helps to identify ways to alleviate the costs associated with these
issues.
By
Michelle R. Tiedeman,
FLMI, PCS, AIRC, ARA,
Senior Associate, LOMA
Call
centers represent a critical interface for retaining and developing loyal
customers. Call center agents are expected to take on the responsibility of
retaining customers, while they also up-sell and cross-sell additional products
and services and present a favorable image of the company’s overall brand.
That can be a tall order, given that in a typical organization, the call center
is afflicted by the most unscheduled employee absences.
A
recent study conducted by MetLife explored the current state of call center
productivity. They found that call centers are particularly vulnerable to
productivity challenges such as disability, unscheduled incidental absences,
intermittent family medical leave, presenteeism, and turnover. The primary
factors that contribute to these workforce management challenges include the
inherent stress that results from the continually changing work environment and
the demographic profile of call center workers.
These
factors are explored in greater detail as follows.
Absenteeism
The
main reasons for unplanned absences include personal or family illness, work
conditions and stress, and a sense of entitlement. Call centers typically have a
higher rate of unplanned absences to deal with, which increases workplace stress
and decreases morale as remaining employees are stretched thin to cover for
absent co-workers.
“Employees
who work in call center operations can be four times more likely than the other
employees to miss work for psychiatric conditions such as stress or
depression,” notes Dr. Ronald Leopold, vice president and national medical
director, MetLife Disability.
Presenteeism
An issue that has only recently been
studied and measured is presenteeism. Presenteeism is defined as the occurrence
of employees reporting to work when they are sick, and therefore unproductive
while they are there. In addition to their own issues, these employees also pose
a contagion risk to co-workers. Dealing with individuals performing at
less-than-optimal levels often comes second to dealing with unscheduled
absences, if any attention is paid to it at all.
High
Turnover
Call centers face staggering turnover
rates, and the most critical factor impacting turnover is the inability of the
current workforce to “fit” the demands of the job. Call center work requires
staff to have a unique blend of work-related preferences: working with a variety
of unfamiliar people who are trying to resolve multiple issues; using a number
of technologies and communication methods simultaneously; and performing routine
and competitive tasks within a prescribed set of rules and procedures.
“High
turnover impacts customer service delivery and profitability. As consumers, we
depend on call centers working efficiently to resolve our issues. Both consumers
and businesses benefit when turnover is minimized,” says Leopold.
Family and Medical Leave
MetLife data shows that the incidences
for Family and Medical Leave (FML) stand-alone claims (i.e., FML claims that do
not overlap with disability claims) among call center operations are three times
higher than MetLife’s book of business for FML in non-call centers.
Fifty-three to 60 percent of these claims are driven by the employee’s own
self-reported illness, and commonly include psychiatric problems, migraine
headaches and back problems. Other drivers of FML absence claims include the
following:
* Stress in the workplace, and family and personal illness.
* Provider communities often being misinformed about the definition of a
“serious health condition” and sometimes being too willing to complete the
certification form.
* Rigid time and attendance policies, inadequate vacation time, and the
lack of an available flexible work schedule can contribute to employees turning
to FML as a way to protect their jobs and meet personal obligations.
Disability
A review of short-term disability (STD)
claims found that leading disability conditions among call center workers
included digestive illness, musculoskeletal conditions, psychiatric illness and
respiratory illness, with stress cited as the single most common contributing
factor to these conditions.
High-volume
call centers (such as in the telecommunications industry) are characterized by
the most stress, short-term disability claims, FML absences and high turnover.
To deal with the volume of calls, agents in these centers are typically measured
on minimizing call time instead of the quality of the interaction with the
customer. The centers that experience lower amounts of stress and turnover are
those that provide full-service solutions to their customers.
Some Solutions
Some solutions were gleaned from
MetLife’s study to help address these factors head-on before they cause major
productivity issues for your call center.
* Assess the work environment.
Conduct an internal assessment of your center to determine stressors. Consider
the expectations of staff to work faster, meet high management expectations,
high call volume, low morale, inexperience, and other factors. Senior management
should include employees in the process, and they should be willing to invest in
appropriate measures to produce positive changes. In the short term, small
changes to the work environment can be implemented to help increase
productivity. Using proper lighting, ergonomic work stations and computer
monitors are important steps, and even the call center’s color scheme can
reduce stress and enhance productivity.
* Screen
potential employees for skill sets. Not all candidates have the skills
required for the job, and even if they do, they might not work well in a call
center environment. Identify core attributes of top performers in your
department and use these attributes as benchmarks for hiring new candidates
while deciphering which skills the candidates must have up-front from the skills
that can be taught on the job. Using a selection test can remove some of the
uncertainty associated with hiring for these positions.
* Allow
for growth. Provide employees with a defined career path and a comprehensive
training program that helps them to stay on track. They will recognize the
effort being made in them and will be more likely to stay.
*
Take advantage of technology. Look to employees to provide input
about cost-effective efficiencies that leverage technology and can make their
jobs easier. The focus should be on implementing processes that allow the call
center to work faster and more efficiently in the long term, not on small,
incremental gains.
* Involve
everyone in health and wellness. Programs should focus on motivating
employees to assume responsibility for their own health behaviors. Assessing
your employee population and their health concerns (i.e., stress, obesity,
allergies, etc.) will allow your company to develop a plan that will help your
employees to be more healthy and productive.
*Communicate
the company’s vision. Make sure that employees understand your company’s
guiding principles and how they fit into the plan, now and in the future.
Employers should develop and communicate a strategy for excellence, and provide
specific guidance to illustrate how an individual’s role contributes to making
the company’s vision a reality.
The absenteeism and productivity
challenges that call centers face greatly impact their ability to deliver
excellent service to retain customers and gain additional business. The effects
of these challenges can be addressed by taking an active role in creating a
positive work environment—one that is staffed with the right people, actively
promotes wellness, and provides room for growth.
A
complimentary copy of the MetLife report, The
Call
Center
: Absence, Lost Productivity and Seven Solutions, can be downloaded at www.metlifeiseasier.com/disabilityalmanac/archive.asp
Value of Selection
Tests
Selecting appropriate call center
employees from the start is one of the first steps in developing a strong work
environment. Utilizing selection tests can help to identify candidates who have
the appropriate skill set and the work preferences that are common among
successful call center superstars.
A
regular user of an interactive selection test designed specifically for hiring
customer contact positions for one of the top three
U.S.
health insurers shared his experience:
“We
have found that the use of LOMASelect™ REPeValuator allows us to ensure that
our call center applicants have the skills to do the job now and to learn new
systems as they become available. This selection test provides applicants with a
‘realistic job preview,’ in terms of the different types of calls they will
encounter. This has caused a small percentage of the candidates to ‘select
out’ of the position, even if they may have the skills to do the job. We are
confident that REPeValautor, especially the realistic preview aspect of the
test, has decreased our call center turnover and saved us money on training and
future recruitment.”
Skills
that LOMASelect™ REPeValuator measures include:
*
The ability to manage the customer relationship through good
communication and customer service;
*
The ability to provide accurate and thorough information by attending to
details and learning product information and procedures;
*
The ability to handle customer contacts efficiently by multi-tasking and
minimizing “dead air;”
*
Data entry speed and accuracy.
A complementary selection test, LOMASelect™ Service Index, measures the
applicant’s fit with call center job demands that frequently lead to stress
and turnover, including working with different types of customers, working in a
highly structured environment, and repeatedly performing routine tasks.
For
more information, see www.loma.org/empselect.asp.
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