{"id":48819,"date":"2023-05-08T14:26:51","date_gmt":"2023-05-08T13:26:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cxtoday.com\/?p=48819"},"modified":"2023-06-19T12:59:43","modified_gmt":"2023-06-19T11:59:43","slug":"burnout-in-contact-centres-theres-a-better-way-to-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cxtoday.com\/contact-center\/burnout-in-contact-centres-theres-a-better-way-to-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Burnout In Contact Centres. There’s a Better Way to Work"},"content":{"rendered":"

Burnout. We’ve all been there.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It can feel a bit like the lyrics from the Simon and Garfunkel song, \u201cThe Sound of Silence.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHello darkness my old friend, <\/span>
\nI’ve come to talk with you again, <\/span>
\nBecause a vision softly creeping, <\/span>
\nLeft its seeds while I was sleeping, <\/span>
\nAnd the vision that was planted in my brain, <\/span>
\nStill remains.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Live long enough, and one day you might feel like getting out of bed is a bridge too far.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Work is no longer fun. Inspiration has become desperation. And no matter how bright the sunshine, burnout overrides joy.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It creeps in, not unlike the line from T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Hollow Men.”\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“Between the idea, and the reality, between the motion, and the act, falls the Shadow.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Eliot’s line “Falls the Shadow” feels like a snapshot of burnout; that creeping in of doubt, fear, or uncertainty preventing us from acting on our ideas or intentions.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Just ask a contact centre agent who’s been in the trenches a while. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to a <\/span>study conducted by <\/span>ContactBabel<\/span><\/a>, a contact centre research firm, the average annual agent turnover rate in the contact centre industry was 29 percent, which is higher than the average turnover rate for all industries.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

More pressingly, it also uncovered that burnout was one of the top reasons for agent turnover.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These statistics suggest that burnout is a significant issue for contact centre agents and can negatively impact their well-being and job satisfaction.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Indeed, with attrition rates some of the highest in any profession, it\u2019s no exaggeration to say that agent burnout is at a crisis level. And the negative consequences for businesses can be irreparable.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Happy Agents Make Happy Customers. Unhappy Agents Don’t.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Agents are brand ambassadors on the front line of every customer interaction. That’s a big ask in the service industry, where agents represent a brand, try to create empathy and listen to customer problems while trying to solve them eight hours a day.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When agent burnout is pervasive, <\/span>providing<\/span> positive customer experiences is almost impossible<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“Many of us (in management) are guilty of running our people into the ground,” said <\/span>Dr <\/span><\/b>Phoebe Asquith<\/span><\/b>, Lead Psychologist for Wellbeing Solutions and Senior Business Consultant<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/b> at Sabio Group<\/span><\/b>. “It’s not intentional, but ultimately we don’t fully develop our people talent because of burnout.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Technology and our always-on world have created a life of bedevilling complexity. Most of us don’t know when – or how – to unplug for the day. For agents that\u2019s a particularly acute problem.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“We’re hardwired to care about the social and emotional interactions with others. We’re social beings,” Dr Asquith said. But for agents, the common result of caring is exhaustion and loneliness, Asquith explained.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“It takes a lot of energy to show up and deliver great service. You put on your game face. You smile and you have to be friendly and react professionally when someone is venting, or even shouting<\/span> at you,” Dr Asquith explained.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Burnout is a severe problem with tell-tale signs including:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n