Contact center agents have been under a lot of pressure since the pandemic began. They’ve had to deal with increasingly unruly customers, and most have been asked to adapt to virtual working environments. All of this has led to high rates of agent turnover, and as a result, many organizations are taking action to improve agent engagement and satisfaction.

Agent engagement can help businesses beyond easing high attrition rates, too. Happier agents make better brand representatives, enabling them to show customers more empathy and offer more effective, proactive service.

How can companies start to improve agent engagement? By investing in helpful contact center tools and technologies.

Using Technology to Drive Workforce Optimization

Technology has the power to help contact centers more effectively measure, monitor, and improve agent performance. Typically, it offers some type of quantitative scoring system based on anything from average call handle time to first call resolution percentage. While scorecards work, they’re mainly metrics-driven and don’t factor into the agent’s experience.

That’s the issue with quantitative monitoring. While it’s a mainstay in measuring agent performance, it doesn’t close the feedback loop because it doesn’t fold the agent’s point of view into the equation. But adopting the following workforce optimization technologies can elevate the agent’s voice and ensure an enhanced experience for all:

1. Post-Call Surveys Reinforced by AI

A post-call survey (given immediately after a call with a customer ends) can pinpoint agent issues in near real-time. It gives contact center managers a more comprehensive view of why a customer was dissatisfied, and it enables them to measure the results against other collateral, such as the call transcript.

AI software can also give agents a fair shake by contextualizing and interpreting specific customer interactions. For example, a transcript might show that an agent did everything correctly, despite the customer giving the experience low marks. Using all inputs in this way shows agents that their feedback isn’t being taken for granted.

2. AI-Enhanced Learning Management Systems

Traditional learning management systems can also get a boost from agent-supportive AI. An AI-driven system can make sense of where and why a call took a positive or negative turn. With that information, the system can suggest the agent look at specific training materials, like a short video on defusing angry callers.

By analyzing calls right away, AI software makes learning seem less punitive and more empowering. Agents can become defensive when they’re told during their monthly check-ins that they need to undergo extra training because of poor call interactions that happened weeks before. They’re more motivated to learn on the spot when they receive an AI-generated pop-up reminder to check out a short article on a product that they don’t know as well as they should. Pop-ups like these are typically viewed as nonjudgmental and helpful.

3. Competitive Shift Bidding Tools

In all industries, flexibility has become a priority. But with workforce management tools like shift bidding technology, contact center agents have even more ability to tailor their schedules to fit their needs.

Shift bidding lets agents bid not just on the times they want to work but for different hourly pay amounts. In some cases, only agents with certain track records, scores, or gamification-related badges can bid for coveted higher-priced time slots. Consequently, shift bidding can also be a way to further reward agents who are performing well.

Supporting employees should be a priority for organizations everywhere. Contact center agents deserve to feel empowered, supported, and engaged — and to know that they’re not just filling seats. To learn more about using technology to improve agent engagement in your contact center, get in touch with USAN today.