Why Gamification is more than just fun and games
The reality of positive ROI through gamification is being seen more and more across industries.
The initial hesitation from call center leaders — viewing gamification as a gimmicky attrition tool — now seems short sighted. Many call centers are driving legitimate returns on their investment by adding game-like elements to their call systems that affirm, reward and recognize top performers as they “level up” across their work tasks.
WHY GAMIFICATION IS A WIN FOR CALL CENTERS
With agent attrition still being one of the biggest challenges for call centers, gamification offers a fully integrated solution to keep your best employees engaged and showing up consistently.
Plus, embedding gamification across routine tasks can help boost agent performance, as incentives can be designed to target key success KPIs, such as rewarding the agent with the highest monthly number of dials.
In one case study, Objective Logistics, by motivating their agents through behavioral gamification, increased their profit margin by 40 percent.
Deciding to integrate gamification into your call center environment can lead to a number of positive benefits surrounding agent performance and lower attrition:
Breaking call center monotony – Work inevitably feels like work. Most jobs involve tedious daily tasks which can drag down agent morale.
But adding gamification systems that make work amusing (even enjoyable) will reduce agent anxiety caused by occasionally dull and repetitive tasks.
Boost productivity through incentives – Creating a call center environment that is entertaining will allow agents to sustain focus longer and produce at a higher rate.
Additionally, adding incentives to your call center processes empowers agents to achieve better personal outcomes while giving call center leaders a great way to reward activities that drive better business results.
Adding agent-focused improvements that make work lives more fulfilling and engaging will improve day-to-day agent morale, which will extend into higher rates of attendance. Gamification is really about driving proper behaviors in your agents. By providing integrated and visibly pleasing data to your agents’ daily routine in interactive and fun ways, you are more transparent in your expectations of what they have to do to be successful. This forces agents to self manage at some levels and gives your supervisory staff the ability to scale better to focus on what/who needs their most attention.
Model your success — Gamification systems can be integrated to achieve specific success metrics that drive positive business outcomes.
Whether it is setting a goal for a high volume of sales appointments or reducing the average time it takes agents to close open tickets, gamification puts you in control of the objectives – and the rewards.
Keep your best call center agents – The current job market is rich with opportunity, so keeping your best agents, and keeping them long term, is a challenge that impacts the overall quality of your customer service and the efficiency of your operation.
EDGE OUT YOUR INDUSTRY WITH CALL CENTER GAMIFICATION
Gamification is still a leading-edge trend in call center technology, with plenty of space remaining for early adopters to reap huge rewards within their call center environments.
As with any contact center technology, there’s no silver bullet solution that is a perfect fit for every environment. But if your goal is to improve your call center performance and reduce agent attrition, you should consider simplifying the search with a partner that understands your industry, your unique KPIs, and can connect you with a gamification provider that can take your call center to the next level.
Just like any game worth playing, you can’t win if you don’t have all the right pieces.
