[titled_box title=”Top Ten Adherence Ideas” bgColor=”##DFD9E4″ textColor=”#000000″]These ideas were submitted by the attendees at an Idea Swap at a recent SWPP Annual Conference, and were voted as the top ideas in the session.

  1. Motivate agents to exceed the adherence goal. After setting an attainable (but higher than current) adherence goal, you need to motivate call center agents to exceed the goal. This can be done through small awards and recognition when performance exceeds expectations. For example, the adherence goal might be 95%, and 97% would be an “exceeds performance” level, while 99% would be “among the best” award for increased recognition. It is important to communicate daily and weekly with the agents so they can monitor and control their numbers.
  2. Use creative rewards for good adherence. For example, those that surpass the adherence percentage goal go into a drawing for a prize at the end of the week. Or the top three best adherence numbers for the week get an extra hour of paid time off the following week during an overstaffed time.
  3. Create a “Best Seat in the House” award to reward adherence. The rep with the best adherence numbers for the week wins the use of a plush leather chair for use the following week. Not only is it more comfortable, it serves as a “trophy” to show off for the week. By staying in their seat, they get a better seat for the following week. You can do this by having one or two chairs per team.
  4. Train regularly on value of adherence. Have regular reminders about the need for schedule adherence and why it matters. A WFM team member might just pop in to do a Power of One activity during team meetings – it doesn’t need to be a long session — just a 10-15 minute reminder activity and share of statistics from previous week.
  5. Give award for most improved adherence. So the same people don’t always win, consider giving a “most improved” award as well as a top adherence award for the month. This gives people at the bottom of the chart some incentive to move up the ladder, even though they may not be at the very top. Vary the rewards. You might also do the “best adherence on Mondays” award or “best weekend adherence” to make sure difficult adherence periods are covered.
  6. Create an adherence rewards incentive program. If your call center supports various community activities, see if you can get other local merchants to donate prizes for use in your cente10r. For example, one center got local merchants and vendors to donate restaurant discounts, local sports team tickets, etc to use as gifts and prizes in their center.
  7. Earn tickets to buy vacation time. Score daily adherence on a scale from 1-5, with 5 being a score that exceeds expectations. If the rep gets a 5 then they earn a daily adherence ticket. After 25 tickets are earned, they can use their tickets to buy an extra 2.5 hours of vacation time. These can be accumulated for extra planned days off or can be used to buy extra break time, lunch time, etc when needed.
  8. Implement a bonus program for supervisors for team adherence. Create a system where the frontline supervisors get a bonus for hitting team adherence goals. When team goals are exceeded, the supervisors can earn anywhere from $100 to $400 per month. This improved adherence in one center dramatically, resulting in a $27,000 lost time gain and only cost $200 per month on average per supervisor so it easily paid for itself.
  9. Educate agents on adherence. Include things like why adherence is important for them as individuals such as more even workload as well as more opportunities for each person to be off the phones for coaching, education breaks, etc. Include tips and suggestions on how to improve adherence which may not be obvious to them such as “If your average handle time is 5 minutes and it’s 2 minutes until your break, your adherence will be better if you go ahead and take the break. You’ll be 2 minutes off now, but would be 3 minutes off if you wait.”
  10. Assign someone to manage shrinkage. Dedicate a staff member to manage adherence throughout the day. Monitor unplanned exceptions and build that time back into the system so they are noted and reported immediately. This method keeps shrinkage levels lower and eliminates spikes or shortages in coverage at the interval level. It also improves awareness of shrinkage to the supervisors on the floor.[/titled_box]