Your sales agents have had an unusual and difficult year. To keep morale high over the holidays, you may need some creative ideas. As the weather changes and things become more dreary, brightening up the office spirit is important to keep your agents motivated day after day.
Play Pass the Tip
One of the more fun games in a sales team or call center is when something fun gets passed around depending on the goal. Maybe it’s $20 or a $10 Starbucks card in a mug. Whatever it is will physically change desks as the game goes on. You can set an upsell goal, highest number of calls in the hour or a customer satisfaction goal (a review of all 5-stars) that triggers an earn. Every time that goal is hit by a rep, they get to grab the prize from whoever was holding it last. You can set the end of the game for the end of the day, but it might be more fun and less of a rush-to-the-finish if you have the time be an unknown random number in the second half of the day.
Games can help make the atmosphere more fun, while adding a little pressure to hit specific goals that are important to the company.
Recognize Your Reps
Recognition is a huge part of most jobs. Employees are there for the salary, but there are other things that incentivize them to work hard. Bringing a successful agent’s activity to light can make them feel seen and help their peers to take note. A “thankful” wall, for example, could be created to highlight the top work attributes of each agent. Use colorful leaves or silly turkeys they take home and decorate themselves to make the wall fun and festive as well. It might seem silly, but these are the kinds of memorable things that give people a break from feeling like they are working. Keeping spirits high will directly impact your call center productivity.
Decorate the Center
One of the easiest ways to decorate the call center is to have a contest for employees. You could encourage a desk competition for each holiday if they keep a consistent workspace. A prize might go to most creative and another prize to best decorated. If you have office décor already, you can give each of your agents a short break spaced out throughout the day to go hang or set up a décor item wherever they want. This can be an opportunity for them to get off the calls and stretch their legs.
Don’t Nix Celebrations
Your reps need some time off without time away. Holiday gatherings are a team-building experience and COVID-19 threatens to change that this year. While the office party might not be the same, you can still bring in packaged snacks or catering and play fun music. You could host a secret Santa or put the rest of the party money into gift cards for your employees. You could have an ugly sweater contest too.
Even if you’ve never had a strong office culture before, you can get the party started this year with socially distanced party plans and festivities. You don’t want work to become a place of drudgery.
Jump Into the Trenches
Help lighten the load during the busiest call times of the holiday season by participating in answering phone calls. This will help employees feel like you are part of the team, but it also helps you stay familiar with their pains. If you are taking calls and there is a snag in the process, it will be easier for you to catch and fix. If you never take calls, then you will be less sensitive to the needs and struggles of your team. This may not be specific to the holiday season, but it is a great way to help keep morale high.
Provide Top-Notch Equipment
During the holiday call influx, it’s important to make sure your employees have the very best equipment. From headsets that are comfortable to excellent office lighting, the little things matter. Your reps are spending all day at their desk, so faster call capabilities and high internet speeds are the kinds of things they will appreciate to cut unnecessary lag time. With the end of the year taxes just around the corner, it might be the best time to splurge a bit and deplete the company budget on something that benefits all employees and present it as a holiday gift for the office.
Ask for Customer Feedback
Another gift you can give your employees is the gift of recognition from your customers. Most agents want to know they are doing a great job. You can request customers leave feedback after the call and then compile the best feedback into a document or email for your agent. Or, use follow-up email surveys to check in on agent activity and get customer feedback instead.
Looking for more call center insight? Keep following our blog for tips and tricks to improve workplace culture and efficiency.
