The physical characteristics of a contact center can have a big impact on your employees’ efficiency. These workplace features include moving space, office equipment, and even décor that, if carefully chosen and matched, can provide comfort and increase employees’ efficiency at work. However, if they are not selected with ergonomics in mind, they may create discomfort.
Do you have enough space to allow your call center agents to concentrate and work in peace? Is the gear they’re using up to snuff? Do the decorations detract or inspire you? Continue reading to find out if your contact center meets the criteria for a perfect workplace.
sufficient space
If there are any impending threats or health concerns in the office, your employee’s performance will undoubtedly suffer. As a result, regulatory, safety, health, and even comfort criteria must be met by your contact center facilities, which may differ from nation to country. Learn about the land and property laws in the area where you’ll be operating. Find out which government agencies are in charge of enforcing building codes. You should be aware of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board’s policies if you are outsourcing to a call center in the Philippines. If your site is located in India, for example, you should be aware of the country’s newly passed Real Estate Bill.
The space should be adequate for the anticipated number of people working in a given location, as well as the duties they will be performing in that space. According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, a call center agent’s optimum workstation should be 42-52 inches wide by 60-72 inches deep. Of course, if the workstation is shared by two or more individuals, the dimensions should be varied. Check to see if one cubicle is too small for three employees, or if they require walls for privacy and noise reduction.
Because call centers frequently have distinct campaigns and departments, it might be a good idea to divide agents into groups based on their responsibilities. Inbound customer support workers, for example, may sit together, while the lead generation team could work in a different area of the floor, and outbound sales agents could have their corner. The Wall Street Journal, on the other hand, recommends grouping workers with diverse tasks together and rearranging seating arrangements regularly to keep the office atmosphere cheerful.
Furthermore, according to a DDI study, having positive interactions between coworkers and their managers boosts productivity. So, regardless of how you design or fill your call center office space, make sure it stimulates interaction among coworkers.
Useful equipment
Each of your employees should be equipped with the necessary hardware and software to complete call center responsibilities like making and receiving calls, recording discussions, and documenting customer issues during each shift. As a result, it’s critical to keep all forms of technology in the office in good working order.
Regular maintenance, software updates, and database backups should all be handled by your IT staff.
Furthermore, make sure that your office seats, desks, and lighting fixtures are comfortable for your employees and that the environment is highly favorable to work because not only can discomfort cause delays in operations, but it may also detract from your employees’ attention.
In addition, make sure your call center complies with the FCC’s recently implemented guidelines. Several location-specific regulations are governing the usage of any call equipment and the frequency with which calls are made. Before you use autodialers or make “robocalls,” you should know the call recipient’s preferred calling time and consent to avoid breaking these guidelines and incurring costs.
Appropriate design
When building together a call center, color palettes should be taken seriously. Colors, according to numerous psychological studies, play a significant part in influencing an office’s attitude, performance, and overall productivity.
Because pleasant connection promotes productivity, bright hues like yellow, orange, and red, which stimulate sociability and cheerfulness, may be used to paint the lounge or lobby. Cool colors like green and blue are great for the shop floor since they help with concentration and production.
Your employees’ performance may be influenced by the decorations on their workstations. Images of celebrities or personal photos may serve as motivation for work, but they may also distract your employees from their responsibilities if they remind them of outside issues or responsibilities. Allowing your team to install plants, decorations, or other add-ons on their table to keep them from feeling repressed is entirely up to you. If you’re cool with it, make sure the decorations don’t get in the way of your workplace obligations.
To summarize, well-chosen and coupled call center space, equipment, and design can boost your staff’s productivity. There should be ample room to walk about and reduce noise, as well as the necessary equipment to do duties and a good overall ambiance. Your employees’ productivity speaks volumes about your leadership, and it may assist boost your company’s revenues, so provide them with the greatest working environment possible to help them perform at their best.
