3 expert strategies to engage employees in contact centers

In high-pressure contact centers, customer satisfaction is often directly linked to the success of applied strategies to engage employees. The more engaged your employees are, the more productive they will be in providing better-quality service to your customers.

According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace report, employee engagement has declined to 21% in 2024. This is a worrying sign for contact centers already struggling with productivity, turnover, and low customer satisfaction scores.

Employee engagement can make or break service outcomes in an environment where customer satisfaction depends on resolving real-time issues, consistently meeting demand, and dealing with high uncertainty.

In this blog, we’ll explore:

• Impact of employee engagement on customer satisfaction
• Common pitfalls to avoid when trying to engage employees
• Successful strategies to engage employees in contact centers

Impact of employee engagement on customer satisfaction

For contact centers, employee engagement is a critical business driver. Disengaged employees often display minimal effort, are prone to making errors, and lack the energy to go the extra mile. Here are 6 signs that your employees are disengaged.

On the other hand, when employees feel motivated, valued, and connected to their work, they’re more likely to:

• Deliver high-quality work
• Resolve customer issues in the first call
• Stay loyal to the company

Let’s consider an example of ^*Albridge Solutions (an affiliate of Bank of New York, Pershing LLC). In an interview with Peopleware, Jeff Doran, founder and President of CCEOC Inc., discussed how his organization certified Albridge Solutions as a Contact Center Employer of Choice. As a result of their ongoing work to help them engage employees in their contact center, Albrige was able to:

• Improve employee satisfaction scores by 85% (annually from 47% to 67% to 87%)
• Improve employee engagement scores by 36% (annually from 64% to 69% to 87%)
• Improve customer satisfaction scores by 4% (annually from 82% to 84% to 85%)

He also mentioned another client that tracked their employee attrition rates over two years and experienced zero turnover. They attributed this reduced agent turnover primarily to their focus on engagement, which included a strong commitment to career development.

Common pitfalls to avoid when trying to engage employees

Contact center leaders often fall into the trap of recycling outdated programs and tweaking old strategies that failed in the past. Holding on to these habits under the mindset of ‘that’s how we’ve always done it’ mentality, can undermine both your WFM strategies and employee engagement.

In contact centers, some of these common pitfalls include:

• “It will take care of itself” – Believing that time heals all wounds
  Your employees will not magically become engaged once the peak period is over or turnover slows down. Intentional effort is required to engage employees in contact centers and ensure that the level of engagement doesn’t decrease.
• “One size fits all” – Assuming standard software is enough
  Another common mistake contact center leaders make is failing to equip the workforce with the right tools to do their job, while still expecting high engagement and motivation. Providing any tool is not the same as providing the right tool. When tools or processes hinder work rather than easing it, it can create frustration, stress, and demotivation, ultimately leading to disengagement.
  

• “Our leaders know it all“ – The “That’s why we hired them” mentality
  Assuming that leadership alone can resolve engagement issues simply by implementing strategies, without listening to frontline employees, is a risky mistake. This mindset isolates leaders from the realities their employees face and weakens employee trust and buy-in.

Successful strategies to engage employees in  contact centers 

Start by defining and understanding your organizational culture. Ask yourself: What type of culture do we have or want to build? Is it one centered on “service”, “collaboration”, “innovation”, “risk and reward”, “employee first”, “community/charity”, “employer of choice”, or maybe something completely different? In most cases, it is a combination of values that reflect what matters most to your organization.

Once you have a clear understanding of culture, establish engagement objectives and develop strategies to meet those goals. From our research, successful strategies focus on:

1. Giving employees a voice through regular feedback
   
   Securing employee buy-in greatly increases the chance of success. Use current, relevant, and accurate data when defining engagement strategies and campaigns. Conducting regular employee engagement surveys provides valuable insight that helps you make an informed, data-driven decision.
   
   Any initiatives to engage employees will be more successful and sustainable when employees are given the opportunity to share input, take ownership of the process, have authority to make meaningful decisions, and are held accountable for outcomes.
   
   
2. Reducing stress by using the right tools
   
   Whether it's overworked agents due to inflexible schedules, planners overwhelmed by repeatedly missing service levels, or friction between managers and employees caused by undefined or unclear processes, such as shift bidding, shift swapping, or time off approvals, stress can directly affect engagement levels.
   
   Employees with low engagement levels are more likely to deliver poor service quality, increase turnover, and have a higher rate of absenteeism.
   
   Implementing advanced WFM software and enabling self-service options can alleviate these pressures and empower your employees to perform at their best. Learn more about why prioritizing mental wellness for your employees is important.
   
   
3. Building trust and respect by improving communication
   

Defining culture, setting objectives, developing strategies, and implementing initiatives are all essential, but the cornerstones for building an effective engagement culture lie in trust and respect. To engage employees effectively, leaders must ensure that their teams feel heard and supported. And often, it's the small things that make the biggest impact.

Jeff Doran shares a great example of how acting on these little things can make a big difference. In a client survey, they determined “convenience amenities” were lacking in the contact center. This was the lowest-scoring item on the survey. Specifically, employees did not like walking to the other end of the building to get hot water for tea, soup, etc. So, management replaced the water cooler with a Hot/Cold water dispenser. Employees were grateful. They no longer had to use their break time to get a cup of hot water.

By letting employees know the management listened to their concerns, they were able to:

• Reduce employee stress
• Increase employee productivity 
• Improved employee and management relations
  
  By continuously building trust and respect amongst peers and subordinates, you can make your engagement strategies easier to implement and produce better results.

Summary and key takeaways

Employee engagement in contact centers is a critical factor that directly affects business outcomes. When employees become disengaged, organizations often experience declines in service levels, higher attrition, and high absenteeism.

By understanding the connection between employee engagement and customer satisfaction, avoiding common mistakes, and adopting modern employee-centered strategies tailored to the needs of the employees, contact center leaders can effectively engage employees, enhance service quality, improve customer satisfaction, and reduce attrition.

Here are the key takeaways: 

• Engagement matters deeply in contact centers as it drives agents’ behavior, which drives customer outcomes.
• Engagement isn’t a “one-and-done” campaign. It requires continuous effort from leadership and feedback from the employees to keep the cycle moving.
• An engaged workforce is one that feels ‘seen and heard’. In this regard, small, practical acts (like the hot/cold water dispenser) can have a big impact and signal that you genuinely care.