Constructing an Effective Incentive Program

Written by KOVA Corp

It’s been repeatedly said, the employees who act as agents within a contact center are one of the most important factors in its functioning and success.  It’s also been said that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to prevent turnover and sustain their satisfaction, motivation, and engagement.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released a finding that the average employee occupies a job for approximately 4.4 years.  For younger employees, that number is cut in half.  Not only is this a costly hardship for the Human Resource department, as it must repeatedly recruit, backfill, and repeat the process of hiring, it also makes it difficult for the organization to fulfill its mission.  How, then, can companies keep solid employees?  If incentivization is a critical element of retention, what makes for a good incentive program?

At the heart of incentivization is the power of recognition.  Though a “thank you” is valuable, what makes for a good long term incentive program is “employee buy-in,” “S.M.A.R.T.” goals, regular management of incentives, and clear comprehension of payoffs.

Let’s break it down a little more.  By “employee buy-in,” what is meant is that if the employees take part in setting goals and selecting their rewards, they are more likely to feel engaged and committed to the bigger picture of the company’s growth.

The acronym “S.M.A.R.T.” stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time based.  By choosing “S.M.A.R.T.” goals, you leverage specificity to not only track your progress but to create incremental and sustainable changes.

As for regular management of incentives, this feature really stresses follow through.  Rewards must be delivered as promised, calculations must proceed smoothly, and the goals should be reasonable.  It’s also important that the incentive program be relatively simple and explained properly so that agents know how exactly to earn awards, gain points, and share their accomplishments.

Finally, make the incentive program competitive and fun.  Decorating the contact center with pictures of pets, telling jokes, and throwing parties are all good ways to bring work and play together.

In addition to these key strategies, there are also a few other conceptual tools that can prove helpful in innovating attractive incentives.  Gamification and Performance Management are two kinds of solutions that are becoming popular with organizations aiming to keep employees for longer terms with higher morale.

Gamification works by allowing agents to compete against their peers or themselves to receive points by reaching particular goals, and can be implemented at a department, agent, or coaching level.  Performance Management often includes gamification, but its main focus is on providing continual feedback so that agents have dashboard views or weekly reports of how they are doing in relation to their peers and team vision.  Feedback is essential for mastery and can help agents acknowledge slumps early and recalibrate as well as feel proud for a job well done.

While there is no single answer for how to conduct an incentive program and every contact center will have its own unique dynamic, it’s worthwhile to plan ahead and take advantage of the resources available.  Kova Corp’s Workforce Management and Optimization Software can also be a great help for resolving scheduling conflicts, complying with state and federal regulations, and managing the logistics of coordinating multiple goals while creating a well organized, flexible and intelligent workflow.

 

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