Ask the Experts Experts Library Motivation

Topic: Motivation

Question:
What is the best way to motivate call centre customer service representatives?

CCCAG:
Let us offer some insight and the CCCAG perspective on the question of motivation for Customer Service Professionals (CSPs). We would suggest you ask CSPs two questions:
1. "Do you feel the work you do in the call centre is important?"
and
2. "Are you personally able to make a difference in your job in this call centre?"

Work with the answers to these questions and make it a personal commitment to improve what you can, especially in aligning behaviours you desire with those that you actually motivate. For example, what behaviours does your call centre value and what behaviours does your call centre motivate? Are these in sync? Our experience shows that often they are not. Some call centres say they value performance but the behaviour they motivate is attendance. Other call centres say they value a learning organization but the behaviour they motivate is scheduled adherence. You get the picture? Disconnects are not motivators, they are de-motivators.

Our perspective is that as a call centre industry, we are in danger of creating machine-like environments that are too rigid, at times too isolated and in danger of becoming mechanized to the point of extinction. Sound a little strong? Well, just examine closely what is happening to the explosion of e-commerce and ask yourself what jobs are most e-commerce applications displacing? We don't mean to sound like it is hopeless—it is not. However, as an industry, we need to explore your question in detail because some of the changes that are needed will come about when call centre professionals believe that the work they do is important and that they personally can make a difference in their job in the call centre.

When we achieve improvements here, we will be well on our way to enabling a call centre environment that is kind, respectful and motivating to work in and which can never be duplicated by technology or Web sites.

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