15 Ways to Bring in the Feel-Good Factor

Here are some ideas to help make every day a great day in your contact centre.

1. Publish positive customer feedback

Sharing the good stories can help agents to see what really matters to customers. It also puts the tougher calls into perspective. Otherwise it can be the tough calls that they go home thinking about.

“Every month I publish appreciative comments from customers about our service and our agents on our staff intranet. Quite a big hit.” – Shoan

“So simple yet so effective: hearing positive feedback can be a great motivator.” – Alex

2. Encourage staff to celebrate one another

It’s great to give both front-line staff and management a chance to thank those who give the most.

Agents might not ever get an award or a promotion for being helpful, and this gives you a way to value their contribution.

“We run a scheme where a manager or any staff member can recognise a colleague for working above and beyond. Those selected win extra holiday and the recognition of being a ‘Pioneer of the Company’.” – Denise

3. Run an ‘Agent of the Month’ programme

Your team pull together to deliver the best results, but they can also enjoy competition. Recognising landmark achievements with a regular award is one way to get your top-dogs to really test themselves.

“Our department has an agent of the month scheme. The winning agent gets a trophy and a gift. The trophy stays on their desk for a month until the next winner gets announced.” – Alex

4. Creative prize giving

There are a lot of creative and original ways to reward staff. By mixing up your approach you can keep agents interested.

“We are currently running a game where every positive result for an agent gets them a prize. We have a wall of balloons with notes inside naming a prize- motivational cards, cash, toys, etc.- and the agent takes one. They then display the balloon at their desks for the entire week and we pop them on Friday.” – Dwight

5. Tiered prizes maximise celebrations

The more prizes you hand out, the happier agents you will have. Another benefit is that you can recognise agents who are working hard to improve. It’s important to recognise not only the best agents, but also the most improved.

“We offer gift cards for weekly or daily spot prizes, based on top metrics, choosing one to focus on. We also run a monthly contest for larger prizes, with a $500 gift card for highest sales.” – Stephanie

6. Wheel of fortune

Much as you might like to hand out cash bonuses and half-days, there are limits to what is affordable. One solution is to enter agents into a prize draw. This way you can show that you recognise their work without breaking the bank.

“We give out tickets for excellent work. If your ticket is chosen you can spin the wheel for an extra hour of lunch, 4 hours of paid time off, or a free ‘jeans for a week’ pass.” – Les

7. Start a ‘best call’ contest

Asking agents to submit their best work is a quick way to find out their top level of performance. It encourages them to reflect on their style too, which is always a plus.

“We have a quality competition where agents submit calls where they WOWed a customer. We then select the best call and that agent is recognised by senior management, taken to lunch, and gets a paid half-day. They also get their picture taken, and it’s posted on the ‘WOW call’ leader board in the break room. We do this every month.” – Jennifer

8. Pay extra for expertise

This is great way to build a career framework in situations where full promotions may not be available. It highlights those people who might be up for promotions in future, and gives agents solid targets to aim for.

“We will shortly be introducing a Bronze, Silver, Gold approach where staff can receive extra money by demonstrating next-level skills in relation to targets and behaviours.” – Janice

9. Provide cooked meals

“In winter, we provide warm cooked meals to agents every day. It helps with adherence and motivates staff, which in return increases productivity. The feedback from agents is that they love it because they save money.” – Ryan

10. Support local charity

“We give to charity, providing blankets for the homeless in winter and generally giving back to the community. We all bring in food and each team takes 20 minutes out of their day to make sandwiches. At lunchtime we go to a shelter and hand them out. Staff feel great about this as well.” – Les

“We give staff two volunteer days a year and help charities by clearing gardens or painting, etc. This always goes down really well.” – Janice

11. Make management accessible at every level

“Our director has an open-door policy, and believes that we all work with each other, not for him. Agents feel recognised because they get to sit and have lunch with the director on certain days, and he makes his presence felt in the call centre.” – Ryan

12. Weight-loss club

“We run a weight-loss club called the Hunger Games. Everyone taking part pays £5 and does weigh-ins for 8 weeks. We encourage healthy eating, set up an online forum, and send twice-weekly motivational updates. It includes agents, support staff and senior managers.” – Shona

13. Outdoor cinema

“We do an outdoor cinema after working hours and also offer “It’s a Knockout” on the field with inflatables. It really works and everyone loves working here.” – Connor

14. Call centre “Bake-Off”

“We have challenges where the department is divided into 3 teams for an Amazing Race and cook off. Each team has a budget and needs to buy the ingredients for a perfect lunch. The team that wins the race and cooks the best meal wins.” – Ryan

15. Subsidise food and snacks

“We bulk-buy items like soda, candy and potato chips and charge £1 for everything. The profit is used for after-work outings, like a round at a local bar.” – Colisha