welcome to managing metrics a series of videos highlighting contact center metrics
that matter to managers i'm bruce belfiore ceo of benchmark portal here to talk to you
about agent satisfaction in this video we will define agent satisfaction talk about
why it's important how it's determined mention industry averages for the metric
and explain impacts that agent satisfaction rates can have on your operations this video is
brought to you by benchmark portal the source for contact center training certification
benchmarking and consulting if you like this video please subscribe and hit the like button
which will allow us to continue providing you with valuable free educational content just like this
agent satisfaction is a key performance metric that has become a standard component of contact
center benchmarking unlike some other metrics it is much more than a number it reveals a lot
about the morale and loyalty of the individuals employed in your center and can have a close
relationship to some other important metrics like agent turnover adherence and customer satisfaction
since happy agents make for happy customers so how is agent satisfaction measured obviously
there's not just one methodology for measuring the satisfaction of agents however the industry has
coalesced around the definition proposed by purdue university researchers over two decades ago that
is now widely used for benchmarking purposes the question posed for agents to rank is this
overall i'm satisfied with my job this is scored by the agent on a scale of one to five
in which five is strongly agree four is agree three is neutral two is disagree and one is
strongly disagree typically this question is included in a longer survey that asks agents a
broad range of questions about how they feel about their work relationships leadership work schedule
and work environment training and evaluation recognition and appreciation etc however overall
satisfaction is the boiled down keystone question where focus is put on the so-called top box agent
satisfaction the concept is that centers should be striving for a level of satisfaction which
reflects true loyalty to and engagement with the center which is the strongly agree top box level
now of equal concern on the other side are those who strongly disagree and represent the bottom
box for this metric these very dissatisfied people can really undermine your operations poison morale
increase turnover and [ __ ] recruiting efforts if we look at benchmark portals agent voices report
which includes results from over 10 000 agent satisfaction surveys across all industries
the results are shown here we can see from this that the majority of agents surveyed are satisfied
with their jobs however keep in mind that these averages vary markedly from one industry to
another i note that many contact center managers have determined that generic feedback surveys
aimed at all company employees do not give them the specific information they need to identify and
remedy issues with their contact center employees they prefer an agent satisfaction survey that is
tailored for the contact center as mentioned earlier while the high level overall rating
is the keystone query drilling down through questions about teamwork coaching quality of
service resources and technology corporate culture career growth etc provide the information needed
to improve including some open-ended questions that solicit verbatim comments will provide you
with greater insights and suggestions agent surveys must be anonymous to provide you with
the level of honest input you need categorization questions such as length of tenure in the center
allow for cross analyses that will give you insights you can use in selecting improvement
initiatives questions about professional growth can help you boost performance for the long haul
many centers also have separate special purpose surveys such as those for
new agents focused on onboarding initial training and nesting centers wanting to optimize agent sat
and minimize turnover will often ask us to conduct a feedback survey of their agents
which only takes about 15 minutes of each agent's time and can yield valuable actionable information
that can improve your agent's metrics as well as other key performance indicators
and now a couple of questions for you on agent satisfaction when was the last time you conducted
an agent satisfaction survey how did you use the results please write your answer and any other
comments below we'd love for you to share your thoughts and ideas with the community of contact
center experts who regularly visit us here you can also find links to some of our other valuable
resources in the description below also please leverage our certificated training to achieve
your agent set goals employees appreciate it when their employers provide them with
quality training and certification in addition to the agent course which includes a module on
at-home agents the courses aimed at supervisors and coaches are designed to help these key staff
improve agent satisfaction by giving them the tools and concepts needed to expertly lead
their agent teams finally don't forget to like and subscribe to our channel
to get great content delivered to you good luck maximizing your agent satisfaction