How (and Why) to Help Your Agents Along Their Career Roadmap

Employee retention has always been a top priority for contact center leaders. One way to directly address retention and keep employees engaged is to develop a robust career advancement roadmap for your customer service agents. With the move by most brands to provide omnichannel experiences, agents are now able to develop a much wider skillset to prepare for their next move. 

What should leaders be thinking about when building out these roadmaps? The following post outlines:

• Two ways to help agents advance along their roadmap,
• One way to remove roadblocks on their path, and
• One critical outcome from putting your agents on their route to success.

Multi-Skilling Can Be a Win-Win

In most environments, including omnichannel environments, multi-skilling is the first course of action for advancing an agent’s career. Theoretically, the more skills, contact types, and channels an agent can be assigned, the more valuable that agent is to the organization because they afford the scheduling flexibility that leaders and workplace planners seek for optimal departmental efficiency.

Multi-skilling can be a win-win solution. When implemented well, multi-skilled agents can be plugged in wherever needed to fill in gaps created by no shows, peak timeframes and seasons, and other unexpected events. When not done well, agents will begin to feel like they are being taken for granted and productivity will likely decline. A good skilling strategy is imperative for implementing the right balance; however, multi-skilling is certainly an excellent opportunity for agents that want to expand their skillset and create options to expand their career.

Level Up with Cross-Training

In addition to contact types and channel specific training, cross-training is an excellent solution for agents that want to increase their competencies and cultivate the skills necessary to become excellent contact center agents and employees in general. With a myriad of tasks related to issue resolution, relationship building, and elevating the customer experience, there is usually plenty of opportunity for everyone. In the omnichannel environment, cross-training can be as simple as moving agents from one channel to the next.  
Cross-training can also extend to other departments within the organization. Although a formal job shadowing program is ideal, an informal program can be just as effective. Investing in cross-training, or job rotation programs, empowers agents and allows them to learn from a different vantage point. It also affords some team members a necessary break from some of the tedious work that is inherit in contact center environments.  

Clear the Path with Scorecard Flexibility

Most contact center agent scorecards include specific channel metrics like Hold Time, First Contact Resolution, or Occupancy. What many scorecards lack are KPIs that afford supervisors the ability and discretion to review agents for non-channel related activities that address leadership and development goals. Development KPIs encourage agents to volunteer to assist with special projects and/or other tasks that arise in the department. They also distinguish those agents and inspire them to go above and beyond answering phone calls, responding to chat messages, and manning social media posts. By incorporating flexible KPIs into your agent scorecards, you remove barriers to their continued career growth.  

Well-Crafted Roadmaps Lead to a Successful Resource Pool

There is no better place to source talent than directly from the contact center. Contact center agents house a gold mine of information. They are usually recruited for entry-level positions, and as they grow in knowledge, skills, and experience using their well-crafted roadmaps, the contact center becomes the perfect talent pool for other areas within the organization.  

Putting It All Together

If you want to reduce attrition, improve operational efficiency, and inspire your team members, create a career progression path that supports growth and development. Be sure to listen to your agents as they move through their roadmap and remove obstacles holding them back. Engaged employees on a clearly defined pathway are a strategic advantage and instrumental, and even imperative, for better productivity, increased retention, and improved customer satisfaction. 

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