According to Gallup, one in five employees report experiencing loneliness. It’s a global issue! So, what can be done to help your agents feel less lonely?
Our Editor, Megan Jones, spoke to Alan Mullen, Brittany Hodak, Julie Mordue, Justin Robbins, and Nate Brown for their top tips and advice on proactively tackling agent loneliness in the contact centre.
How to Help Agents Feel Less Lonely
1. Make Sure to Say “Good Morning” to Everyone in Your Team, Every Day
Make the effort to say “good morning” to everyone in your team, every day, to start each working day off on a positive note. This helps to make sure no one feels left out or unnoticed as they arrive at work.
“To maintain a sense of togetherness for our remote team, every morning begins with a collective “good morning,” and every evening ends with expressions of thanks and goodnight, as well as the sharing of what everyone is having for dinner and the plans for after work.” – Alan Mullen, Senior Customer Services Manager, Superdry Plc
2. Make Sure Your Company Values Are Tangible So Agents Feel Part of Something That Matters
If you want your agents to feel less lonely, they must feel a part of something bigger than themselves. One way to do this is to make sure your company values are tangible!
“Make sure that everyone has regular conversations around what the company values are and what they mean for them in their day-to-day work, being sure to tie their efforts and achievements back to specific values, so it all becomes more meaningful and interconnected.
People really need to see that the company values are more than just words on a page!” – Justin Robbins, Founder & Principal Analyst at Metric Sherpa
For advice on creating truly impactful customer service mantras and vision statements, read our article: Getting Started With Customer Service Mantras and Vision Statements
3. Create Structured Opportunities to Get to Know the Person – Not Just the Position
Have a formalized process in place for sharing personal news and updates, so that everyone really gets to know the people on their team – not just who they are in their work capacity.
“Why not start every meeting by asking people to share one great (or challenging) thing that’s happening in their life right now to help created structured opportunities to share personal anecdotes and build connection?
And make sure managers take part too, because if you have a manager who says, “We’ve got to get through all this so we can get to the real part of the meeting,” it undermines the psychological safety the initiative is trying to promote.
The manager needs to set the tone of what the expectations are, and show that this isn’t superfluous. This is part of how we become a stronger team and make sure no one feels left behind or forgotten.” – Brittany Hodak, Keynote Speaker & Author of Creating Superfans
You could also set up a dedicated place for your team members to share and celebrate their achievements – both personal and professional – all in one place.
“Our intranet features a dedicated #iamremarkable page where team members can celebrate their achievements, both personal and professional.
It’s a space for sharing successes, receiving kudos from colleagues, and recognizing milestones – whether it’s brilliant customer feedback or completing a 10k run. This helps nurture a culture of encouragement, recognition, and camaraderie.” – Alan Mullen
4. Celebrate the Impact That Individuals Have – Not Just Teams
As a leader, you need to invest time in celebrating the impact individuals have, not just the outcomes that the whole business is driving!
“It’s easy to go down the path of “Hey, everybody, we reduced hold time!” or “Hey, everybody, we hit this target on customer satisfaction!” but that can leave individuals feeling isolated and disconnected from the impact they are having.
It’s about making a habit of small, intentional acts as leaders to acknowledge their hard work and personal contribution to team goals too.” – Justin Robbins
5. Encourage Peer-to-Peer Recognition to Build a Sense of Community
It’s not just a leader’s job either! Give your teams permission and a mechanism to celebrate each other and put it front and centre of your culture – not just as a nice to have!
“One cheap and cheerful idea is to give everyone a small stack of paper on their desk and encourage everyone to write a handwritten note such as “I really appreciate how you encouraged me this morning”.
It’s about creating the right mechanism for employees to capture the little things that matter, to nurture a culture where you recognize and celebrate each other.” – Justin Robbins
It’s all about fostering a sense of community, as Nate Brown, Head of CX Advisory for Metric Sherpa and Co-Founder of CX Accelerator, adds:
“Peer-to-peer connections are so essential. There’s even been research that shows the number one reason that people love their job is because of their peers, so be a great leader by nurturing those great peer-to-peer dynamics, where they are not only excited to serve together, but hold one another accountable in healthy, positive ways.”
6. Make Mental Health Resources Available for Those Who Are Struggling With Loneliness
Make sure people know it’s ok not to be ok!
Whether you are putting more formal initiatives in place, such as Mental Health First Aiders or counselling sessions, or even making some self-help books readily available in the breakout room, be open about mental health challenges around loneliness and promote the support that’s available.
7. Encourage the Use of GIFs, Emojis, and Humour Online
Another way to address loneliness, particularly for remote workers, is to recreate the lively atmosphere of an office to help them feel part of an office-based team.
“With 90% of our team working remotely from various locations across the country, having a team intranet and live chat function is essential.
Our live chat mainly serves as a space for support and assistance, but we also encourage the use of GIFs, emojis, and humour to ensure that we also have fun.” – Alan Mullen
8. Give Agents a Warm Welcome Into Your Contact Centre
A great way to make new starters feel part of something special and excited to join your business is by designing an engaging recruitment and pre-boarding experience.
“An engaging pre-boarding experience could include familiarization visits, a first-week preview session, short and fun team introduction videos, or incorporating learning opportunities into the pre-boarding phase to demonstrate your commitment to their development.
By creating a seamless and welcoming process, you’ll ensure new starters feel confident, valued, and eager to become part of your team.” – Julie Mordue, Associate Director of Marketing & Partnerships at Greenbean
This mindset extends to your onboarding process too. For example, creating a buddy system so each new starter has an instant friend to ask questions of as they learn the ropes.
“Having regular and scheduled 15-mintue check-ins with a peer is an initiative I’ve personally benefited from during my onboarding in a previous role.
It was nice because I could ask the fun questions (that I’d never ask my boss) as I learnt more about the team and company culture, such as “Are those two people dating?” or “Where’s the best place for lunch?”.
Just having someone there to support you makes a big difference to how connected you feel to your new colleagues!” – Brittany Hodak
For great expert advice to improve your agent onboarding, read our article: 21 Top Tips to Improve Your Agent Onboarding
9. Celebrate Agent Departures Too (Don’t Just Shut Them Out)
It’s not just about welcoming people to the business, it’s about giving them a nice send-off too!
Working your notice period can be a very isolating experience, so take proactive steps to manage a nice offboarding process – so agents don’t feel lonely as they prepare for their next adventure.
“Create an offboarding process and communication strategy. Even if it’s just a shared Slack channel message to say “Hey guys, this week Dylan and Beth are both graduating to their next opportunity.
Let’s all celebrate what amazing colleagues they’ve been and wish them well on their next adventure” – instead of just shutting them out of meetings and pretending like they don’t exist any more.” – Brittany Hodak
10. And Never Refer to Your Team as a Family!
Even though it can be tempting, never make the mistake of referring to your team as a family in an effort to create a sense of belonging! It can blur professional boundaries and make it more challenging to manage performance when things don’t go so well.
“Denise Lee Yohn has a great article about this! Don’t create family connections – you never fire your family!
Instead, think about your colleagues as a high-performing, professional sports team and how meaningful that is when you’re winning together. It’s a far healthier, professional mindset to nurture that still builds connection and inclusion.” – Nate Brown
What Have You Tried to Make Sure People Aren’t Lonely at Work?
Join our LinkedIn community to share your ideas and let us know.
With thanks to the following people for sharing their ideas and experiences for this article:
- Alan Mullen, Senior Customer Services Manager, Superdry Plc
- Brittany Hodak, Keynote Speaker & Author of Creating Superfans
- Julie Mordue, Associate Director of Marketing & Partnerships at Greenbean
- Justin Robbins, Founder & Principal Analyst at Metric Sherpa
- Nate Brown, Head of CX Advisory for Metric Sherpa and Co-Founder of CX Accelerator
If you are looking for more great articles to improve your employee experience and engagement, read these articles next:
- 21 Signs You Need to Better Support Your Contact Centre Teams
- How to Ensure Agents Love Your Products and Services
- Hit the Ground Running! How to Help Your Agents Be Shift Ready
Author: Megan Jones
Reviewed by: Xander Freeman
Published On: 20th Jan 2025
Read more about - Call Centre Management, Alan Mullen, Brittany Hodak, Employee Engagement, Julie Mordue, Justin Robbins, Nate Brown, Team Building, Team Management, Top Story, Well Being
