Do your goals and metrics foster employee engagement?

This has been a brutal few years for many contact centers. Supply chain problems and the Great Resignation have caused challenges on every aspect of customer care. The work we’re handling has surged and become more complex, while the employees we need to handle it have become harder to find and keep.

What do organizations with the most engaged employees have in common? I’ve observed some principles that, without fail, are at work, like vision, values, communication, and collaboration. The key is to live those principles, not just give them lip service—in good times and bad.

A key to ensuring that engagement is having the right goals and metrics. You can do a lot of things right, but if the goals and metrics being emphasized day to day are getting in the way—well, good luck.

"You can do a lot of things right, but if the goals and metrics being emphasized day to day are getting in the way—well, good luck.”

I remember a consulting assignment in which I was given a list of team members ranked by their “productivity.” The person at the bottom of the list was helping fewer customers and more of her cases were still open, waiting for resolution. Her manager was concerned. But as I looked further, the facts emerged. She was one of the team’s most capable troubleshooters. The toughest customer problems were sent to her by her teammates. Those were the cases that needed more time and research.

Of course, even the most enlightened organizations set expectations. Getting things done right and on time are not bygone ideas. We need to establish expectations that make sense and that our team inherently understands and supports...Read more