The Best Ways to Manage the Night Shift

For some contact centres – such as emergency services or those supporting global customers – the night shift is a critical part of their operation. However, it comes with unique challenges that need navigating carefully to get the best results.

To find out how best to support night-shift agents, our Editor – Megan Jones – spoke to Adrian Hawes, Dan Smitley, and Kim Ellis for their top tips and advice.

How Best to Support and Manage Night-Shift Workers

Ask “What Do You Need to Make the Night Shift Easier?”

A key way to look after your night-shift teams is to really get to know your agents.

“It’s about taking the time to ask them “what do you need to make the night shift easier for you?”, and also keeping in touch to know, for example, if they are facing additional challenges in their personal lives – such as roadworks outside their house that’s temporarily stopping them from getting the sleep they need in the day.

When you know about these things, you can flex and support them, such as shortening their shift pattern, or letting them leave a bit earlier in the morning so they can get some sleep before the roadworks start.” – Kim Ellis, Chief Learning Architect at Go Ginger Learning Solutions

Making sure your night shift have what they need to succeed also comes down to striking the right balance with workload and the number of workers on shift.

Keep a Consistent Routine to Help Night Agents Regulate Their Body Clock as Best They Can

Research has sadly shown that night shifts are not good for your health – such as this study showing that night shift work is linked to increased risk of heart problems – as anyone working through the night is constantly fighting against their natural circadian rhythms to stay awake.

One of the ways to help agents cope with this is to create a consistent routine in your shift patterns to help your night-shift teams regulate their altered body clocks as best as possible.

“The biggest challenge for night-shift workers is when they have mixed shifts to contend with, where they switch from days to nights in the same block of shifts.

This makes it so difficult to manage their body clocks. So, it’s typically best all round if you can have a dedicated night-shift team working to a set rota, so they at least have a chance to get into a good routine and offset some of the fatigue.” – Adrian Hawes

…And If You Really Can’t Offer Consistency, Block Night Shifts Together With More Rest Days

That being said, if your hands are truly tied and you can’t offer your agents more consistency with the night shift rota, consider other ways to ease the strain – for example, with more rest days in between allocated shifts.

“It’s important to think of night shifts differently and to give your team more rest days than you probably normally would (compared to blocks of day shifts) to help them reset their body clocks.

For example, try offering compressed hours with longer shifts across fewer days. In my experience, five night shifts in a row is too many. I’d say it should be three maximum before people really start to struggle. Rest time is really really important!” – Adrian Hawes

If You Ask Your Night Shift Workers to Come in in the Day for Training – Don’t Expect Them to Do Their Night Shift Too

You also have to think differently about training your night-shift agents. Yes, you should try and offer training during their regular night shift wherever possible, but sometimes it’s unavoidable to ask them to join their day-shift colleagues for a 9–5 training session (on a new system, for example), and when that happens, it’s important to be considerate to their change in routine.

Double-Check What the Parking and Canteen Situation Is Really Like at 2am

Don’t forget about the practical considerations of working a night shift too!

Everything from safety, security, public transport links and parking, right through to the catering facilities available throughout the night can make a big difference to those working these unsociable shifts.

However, one way to overcome these challenges is to allow the night shift to work from home, as we saw at WeAnswer, who successfully managed a 24/7 operation thanks to the creation of a dedicated out-of-hours team who worked permanently from home – eliminating the need to commute during unsociable hours.

If you are looking for more insights from WeAnswer, read our article: 15 Ideas We Picked Up at WeAnswer’s Contact Centre

Only Put Your Most Experienced Agents on a Night Shift

Typically, people working the night shift don’t have a manager in place and, as such, have a higher level of autonomy.

That’s why it’s important to make sure you only rota agents experienced enough to handle this type of working environment.

However, agents still need clear guidance on what an escalation looks like and how to handle it calmly and professionally when there are no senior leaders on hand – so make sure to include this in your training.

Schedule Your New Starter Training During Overnight Shifts to Prove Commitment

A good way to test agents to see if the night shift is really for them (and they are not just hoping to get their foot in the door and change to a day shift!) is to schedule your new starter training for your overnight shifts.

“Unfortunately there are people who sign up to a night shift with the aim to switch to a day shift as soon as possible, as it’s not really the right fit for them – they just want to get their foot in the door.

This is why induction training during the night shift helps to prove to everyone that the night shift is actually a good fit for them, showing they’ve got “skin in the game”, and are not wasting anyone’s time.

Yes, it’s harder on your trainers and supervisors, but worth the investment in the long run for working with people who are the right fit.” – Dan Smitley, Founder of 2:Three Consulting.

Let Agents Manage Their Tiredness in Whatever Way Works Best for Them

Middle-of-the-night tiredness is a far cry from the challenges of managing the “Friday Afternoon Slump”, so take a relaxed view on what’s allowed and let night-shift agents do whatever works best for them – whether that’s stocking up on energy drinks, reading books, or getting a takeaway.

These tactics are even known to include napping between calls on a quieter shift, as Kim Ellis shares,

Don’t Forget to Include Your Night-Shift Workers in Your Wider Company Initiatives

Sadly, people on the night shift are often forgotten – but just because they are out of sight, doesn’t mean they should be out of mind and viewed as any less important than your core day staff.

So, make sure you include them in everything – from shift reviews, wellbeing initiatives, and even games and incentives you’ve been running throughout the day (such as celebrating National Customer Service Week).

For top tips and advice on proactively tackling agent loneliness in the contact centre, read our article: 10 Strategies to Help Agents Feel Less Lonely

Give Your Night-Shift and Day-Shift Teams Opportunities to Meet

It’s not uncommon to have a lack of interaction between shifts and for these people to never meet face-to-face, but you can take proactive steps to help them get to know each other.

If you are looking for inspiration to improve your team engagement, read our article: Kick-Start Your Next Team Engagement Day

…And Always Ask for Volunteers for the Night Shift First

It can feel like a daunting prospect to get people to work the night shift but, believe it or not, there are people who prefer it as it suits their lifestyle and even childcare needs.

So always ask for volunteers in the first instance when looking for people to cover these shifts. You may be pleasantly surprised about what some people want to work!

What’s Been Your Experience of Managing the Night Shift?

Join our LinkedIn community group and share your thoughts.

With thanks to the following people for sharing their thoughts and experiences for this article:

• Adrian Hawes, Award Winning, Transformational Resource Planning & Contact Centre Professional
• Dan Smitley, Founder of 2:Three Consulting
• Kim Ellis, Chief Learning Architect at Go Ginger Learning Solutions

If you are looking for more advice on managing shift patterns and employees in your contact centre, read our articles:

• How to Change Your Shift Patterns – Without Losing Your Best Agents!
• Hit the Ground Running! How to Help Your Agents Be Shift Ready
• Proven Ways to Maintain Fairness in the Contact Centre

Author: Megan Jones
Reviewed by: Xander Freeman