How Engagement Is the Path to ROI Growth

Leading global college admissions agency CollegeWise has experienced an employee retention rate of nearly 100% in each of the past four years – a far cry from the average annual turnover rate of 19 percent, according to the Society for Human Resource Management. CollegeWise CEO Kevin McMullin credits the company’s employee engagement strategies for its low turnover rates. “We make it part of every manager’s responsibility to sit down and have one-to-ones with employees where the manager comes only with questions, and it’s the manager’s job to empathize and learn,” McMullin told Inc. 

CollegeWise and the other companies that score in the 99th percentile in Gallup engagement surveys can clearly see the value of their investment in employee engagement, but that’s not always the case. Increased employee satisfaction, driven by engagement, delivers significant financial benefits over various time periods. However, many organizations struggle to quantify the return on their investment in employee engagement, because it can be difficult to define and measure. Dissatisfied contact center employees either leave the organization or perform worse than their engaged peers, both of which leave leaders looking to improve employee satisfaction scores through employee management solutions and other engagement tools. Those tools deliver not only an immediate operational boost to the bottom line, but also a longer-range impact on ROI. 

By creating satisfied and engaged employees, employee management solutions can deliver ROI growth in three key areas:

• Employee retention: Reduce employee turnover through work-life balance. Most companies have room for improvement when it comes to employee satisfaction. In fact, 70 percent of employees are unhappy at their current workplace, according to a recent survey by Gallup. Employee happiness is strongly correlated with work-life balance, and research shows that employees who are able to manage their work schedules to fit their personal needs are more satisfied. By reducing friction in the scheduling process and empowering agents to take control of their schedule changes, leaders can reduce employee burnout and help agents find a work-life balance that best suits them.
• Hiring and development: Recruit, onboard and develop the best and brightest. Contact centers that adopt a flexible scheduling mindset and a focus on employee development can stand apart from competitors in the war for talent. In a recent survey by Hart Research Associates, more than 80 percent of workers said they want control of their work schedules, including predictability, flexibility, and the ability to add extra shifts as desired. Prospective employees are also looking for companies that provide opportunities for professional growth; 45% of employees in a Gallup survey said that career development opportunities are very important. By creating growth opportunities for employees, contact centers show they are willing to invest in their employees and can stand out from the crowd when hiring. 
• Customer satisfaction and sales: Drive revenue with happier, more engaged employees. The research is clear: employee satisfaction is tied directly to positive financial results. Companies with high levels of employee engagement are more than 20 percent more profitable than their competitors. Employees who love their job return dividends through improved performance, which in turn increases customer satisfaction scores. Simply put, happier agents drive higher customer satisfaction, decrease customer churn and increase sales, impacting retained annual revenue.

Employee satisfaction has been proven to have a measurable effect on employee retention, performance, service levels, and revenue. Your employees are a valuable resource, and contact centers are finding that proactive staffing saves money and delivers tangible ROI and by creating satisfied and engaged employees.