Communication is the grease that makes things happen smoothly in contact centers. It is also an area in which there is often the greatest variance between management and agent perceptions. Managers sometimes feel they are doing a good job of communicating to agents who, instead, feel their superiors are doing a mediocre or poor job on this count.
Communication |
5. Strongly Agree |
4. Agree |
3. Neither |
2. Disagree |
1. Strongly Disagree |
Net Score low 2 |
|
We have a culture that encourages openness and the freedom to express your own thinking, even when it may be critical of existing practices. |
45.5% |
33.3% |
12.2% |
5.4% |
3.6% |
69.8% |
|
There is a formal process to provide upper management with first-hand information about what’s working and what’s not. |
25.8% |
43.0% |
18.4% |
9.4% |
3.5% |
55.9% |
|
When issues are raised, they are followed up on at least to acknowledge they've been considered. |
22.2% |
40.2% |
23.5% |
10.3% |
3.8% |
48.3% |
|
Changes that affect our customers are communicated to us before they affect the customer. |
23.3% |
43.5% |
21.5% |
8.6% |
3.1% |
55.1% |
|
Category Averages: |
29.2% |
40.0% |
18.9% |
8.4% |
3.5% |
57.3% |
The data show that agents feel they have the freedom to express themselves; the top two ratings together almost equal 79%. Reasonable processes to provide upward communication exist overall.
However, what is done with that information elicits lower ratings from the respondents -- in fact, the lowest scores of this category.
Slightly better marks are given to the "heads up" communications received from above - - i.e., information that is needed to stay a step ahead of customer requests.
Interpretation
Agents perceive a difference between being heard (which garners Net Score scores over 55%) and being taken seriously. Management follow-up to issues is the weak spot perceived by agent in this category.
This is a very important category and managers are well advised to periodically review their communications policies and ask their agents what can be improved.
|
Communication Impact: |
· Agent Satisfaction · First Call Resolution · Expert Help Processes |
My Agent Voices blog posts are the result of research on over 5,000 agent surveys conducted in North America. - - Bruce Belfiore