Top 5 ways to show appreciation to your agents

It is Employee Appreciation Day in Canada and the US! Celebrate this special day by showing employees your appreciation. Keeping employees happy and motivated can be challenging for any employer, and contact centers are no exception. Continue reading to learn five effective ways to show appreciation to your agents today and beyond.

• Recognize their accomplishments: Remember to praise your agents if they have handled a task or project well this year. After all, who doesn’t like a compliment every now and then? According to a  Survey Monkey study, 82% of employees consider recognition an important part of their happiness at work. Supervisors can use real-time and historical reporting to analyze the performance of their teams and acknowledge high-performing agents. Additionally, contact centers have tools allowing customers to leave feedback through  surveys. Celebrate positive feedback with your agents to inspire and motivate them.
• Reward them: In addition to recognizing your employees’ efforts, show that you see their hard work and dedication by rewarding them. Agents can be rewarded for performing well or going the extra mile with tangible or intangible rewards. These rewards may be extra vacation days, gift cards, or even gym memberships.
• Create an exciting contest: Consider creating a fun contest to motivate and engage your agents for Employee Appreciation Day. Give your agents a heads up about a contest and choose a key performance indicator (KPI) without telling them which KPI will be selected. Then, at the end of the week, generate reports to announce who scored highest on that metric and reward your winner. These rewards can be small incentives like company swag, a free lunch, or even a Costco gift card. Gamification can boost employee morale by fostering a sense of belonging among your agents and making work more enjoyable.  
• Adopt a flexible work environment: We all have times when we can’t make it to work due to situations beyond our control, like bad weather or a flat tire. Thankfully, some contact centers can provide agents with the option to work remotely from home. Cloud contact centers can even support agents’ ability to work from anywhere and on any device, including desktop and mobile applications. You can make your agents feel valued and appreciated by fostering a flexible work environment. Having remote working options can significantly boost job satisfaction, increase agents’ work/life balance, and reduce contact center turnover.
• Welcome agents’ feedback: Show your employees that you are genuinely concerned with their well-being. Asking for feedback is an efficient way organizations can truly understand the employee experience. By actively listening to your employees, you can gain valuable insights your organization would not have known- even a simple check-in on how your agents are doing can increase their satisfaction.

Agents play a crucial role in delivering customer service, so it is important to show you appreciate them just as you would with customers. Making appreciation a habit with these ideas in mind can improve your contact center employees’ happiness, engagement, and overall productivity at your organization. When agents feel appreciated at work, they are more likely to provide excellent customer service. Read our previous blog to support contact center employees working from home!