Briefings & Updates
We want to keep you in the loop on big news from Call Management Resources, industry trends and things to consider when launching your business forward with a 24/7 call center solution.
We want to keep you in the loop on big news from Call Management Resources, industry trends and things to consider when launching your business forward with a 24/7 call center solution.
February 23, 2022
My dad started Call Management Resources over 62 years ago and I have run the company since 1978. I can tell you, this is one of the tightest labor markets I’ve seen. It has been increasingly difficult for every industry to attract and retain quality employees.
At Call Management Resources, we are in the business of answering phone calls; a very people-intensive business. The call center industry is notorious for employee turnover. If new employees make it past their training period, most stay with my company an average of 4 to 5 years. That’s unheard of in my industry.
I thought I would share with you how we attract and retain employees and generally some of my philosophies on human resources management that have been successful for Call Management Resources.
Stay Ahead of Wages
It’s not all about the pay, but let’s be honest, sometimes it’s about the pay.
We are constantly monitoring how much competitors are paying for similar positions, as well as businesses recruiting the same skill level of workers. In order to attract the top talent, we must be at the top end of the pay scale. Do we have to pay the most? No. The rest of the items I mention below add to that, but we must be competitive.
Good Benefits Keep Great Employees
Great wages get your job posting noticed but benefits could close the deal and keep your staff happy and healthy.
Are you offering health insurance at a reasonable rate? In the past, I know staff decided to forgo health coverage in order to make ends meet. Since I view health insurance as important to both having healthy employees and retaining good staff, I decided to cover a majority of the premiums. This is certainly an added cost but it helps us with staff retention, reduces sick time and increases leverage when negotiating insurance rates with our provider.
Do you offer a 401K? A matching 401K program may not appeal to all employees, but do you know who it definitely appeals to? Smart employees who are interested in staying with your company for the long term. The money you put into the 401K match is really the money you aren’t spending on training a new employee.
Offer Work From Home Options (If Possible)
Herman Miller invented the cubicle in the 1960s and let’s face it, nobody’s dream career involves visions of life in a cubicle farm. 5 years ago we gave our staff the option to work from home and almost everyone did it. When Covid appeared, we decided to close our last call center because we found that we could attract a better call agent with the promise of work from home benefits. It saves the company money and gives the employee a better work/life balance.
Empower Workers
I have always empowered employees to make decisions and own the results. Because of this, my staff spends every day working in my business like they are the owners and that has made such a difference in the quality of our product and the lives of our customers. I hire experts in their field and their job is to know more than me about their expertise. I would be wasting my money and their talent by micromanaging.
People Remember the Little Things
When considering staying or leaving a job, it is my opinion that it is often the little things that matter a lot to people. Send flowers for a staff’s family member’s funeral. Give a surprise afternoon off. Leave a note or a phone call to let an employee know how much they are valued. Block out time in your week for praise and recognition. Work on spreading joy among your staff. The little things go a long way in making people feel like they work for a great company. (And the little things typically don’t cost a lot of money!)
My parents always taught me to live by the Golden Rule: Do Unto Others as You Would Have Them Do Unto You. I really think that is the foundation of my philosophy of attracting and retaining staff – How would I want to be treated by an employer? Since resources aren’t unlimited, it is a balancing game of what we can do for our employees with what we have. But I can tell you, the better we treat our staff, the higher quality staff we attract and retain.
In the service industry, attracting and retaining the best staff means having the best product, period.