Next-Generation Mechanisms of Agent Empowerment

As we look towards new ideas and initiatives that we hope will inspire progress in 2025, one of the biggest sources of untapped potential is right in front of us. The abundance of data now captured and analyzed within the contact center provides a wealth of information about what customers want and need, but even the most advanced feedback programs have their gaps. These gaps often sit within the agent experience, and while Voice of the Employee programs have gained popularity recently, there is still a long way to go. 

Measuring and assessing agent feedback on their work, their level of engagement, and their ideas will be a mainstay in the next-generation contact center. But even more critical is digesting this information into actions that will heighten employee satisfaction, decrease churn, and improve business outcomes. 

Using whatever information that has already been collected from your employees, there are a number of tactics leaders can take today to start seeing positive results. 

For companies early in their journey with Voice of the Employee programs, smaller initiatives can be great leverage to secure buy-in for larger projects. And for companies with more bandwidth to invest in their employees, these tactics can be scaled up as needed. In any case, failure to treat employee engagement as a top priority in the contact center is often an indicator of looming increase in churn. Correcting these pain points now will be critical to keep employees engaged over the long term. 

Increase the scope of decisions agents can make

Workforce trends in customer contact are pointing to a future of more dynamic agents, with multiple skill sets and aptitude in working collaboratively with technology. The sun is setting on the stereotypical agent role of a call center worker reading off of a script. Trustworthiness is an essential quality in the agents hired today, as our traditional measures of productivity have proven less useful in an AI-augmented contact center. Knowing this, contact center leaders should lean in and take chances on agents they believe can go above and beyond.

With each new process and technology you bring into your contact center, look for opportunities to allow agents the flexibility to make dynamic decisions and handle difficult situations on their own. Rather than becoming fully reliant on AI or the exciting new agent-assist platform you’re piloting, demonstrate that these systems are here to serve your agents and not the other way around. Successful long-term implementation of these powerful systems is reliant on thoughtful use by agents. Without their commitment to going above and beyond, new tools can only go so far.

A few places to start: agents handling tickets that previously would’ve been escalations, inventing new paths to resolution, and demoting average handle time as your primary metric in favor of more qualitative measures. Actions that will give agents more responsibility open opportunities to make them feel empowered and connected to their work. Of course, there is risk involved with any level of decision making, but there is also considerable risk in treating human agents like robots while introducing actual robots into their team. 

Level up your gamification

Gamification is an excellent mechanism to strengthen the level of engagement agents feel and to demonstrate benefits in team building and overall demeanor. For many employees, even basic levels of gamification can add excitement and brightness to work that some may consider repetitive or tedious, and the inherent value is proven. However, there is still a great deal of opportunity in supplementing gamification with tangible rewards and prizes: money, gift cards, PTO, and even just more significant forms of acknowledgement, like awards or certificates. 

Many contact center leaders write these add-ons off as superfluous, making the argument, “if we had money for prizes and gift cards, why wouldn’t we just pay our agents more?” The truth is, there is an enormous difference in the way buy-in is secured for things like prizes versus things like raises, and contact center leaders who aren’t familiar with the intricacies of human resources may not understand this. Prizes, even large costly prizes, have far fewer barriers to purchase and can still make a significant impact on the way agents are motivated. Assuming managers have already exhausted every possible request to get their agents paid more (no amount of gamification will ensure long term retention of employees being paid below market rates, no matter where they are in the world) prize-based gamification is an excellent booster for both performance and engagement. 

Similarly, formal acknowledgement (beyond a Slack message, or an office leaderboard) demonstrates progress in one’s career that can be captured on LinkedIn or on a resume. When leaders oversee dozens, or hundreds, of agents, it’s easy to get caught up in the numbers and forget that each of these individuals has aspirations and goals that go beyond their current role. Particularly for those who have an interest in remaining in customer service, leaders should make sure the company they grow their career in is the one they’re at right now, and not a competitor. 

Collaborate, listen, learn, repeat

Agent empowerment projects sit at an exciting intersection between all of the teams that touch customer experience, and empowerment remains a multidimensional goal. There is so much room for creativity in the blending of technology and psychological principles when it comes to motivating workers, and future-oriented contact center leaders should look to their peers to learn about the types of initiatives that are proving successful. Ritz Carlton, renowned hospitality giant, famously allows their customer facing staff to spend up to $2000 without prior authorization in order to delight or ameliorate a concern. Rather than looking at cases like this with the cynicism of “only Ritz Carlton could afford a silly policy like that” consider that bold policies and high-trust dynamics like Ritz Carlton’s are what make a brand so successful.

Thinking beyond technology is critical—while it can certainly make your agents' lives easier, it is not a cure-all for lacking culture. Ensuring that your agents both feel prepared and empowered in their role is critical to foster engagement and satisfaction over the long term. Thinking about new strategies and initiatives that can enhance agent buy-in while supporting organizational and performance goals will be a necessary next step in 2025.

Image by Yan Krukau on Pexels.