3 Ways to Create a High-Performing Contact Center Team

An organization's culture reveals what it values — its customers, employees, community and other stakeholders. Today's contact centers serve as the frontline of customer experience.

Yet, few organizations effectively leverage culture as a competitive advantage. High-performing contact centers prioritize operational efficiency and the development and well-being of their staff — their most valuable asset.

When managers invest in their team's growth, employees become more engaged, finding meaning and motivation in their work. Here’s a look at three ways that high performing teams cultivate exceptional cultures.

1. Embracing Inclusive Leadership

According to Deloitte's (2018), organizations practicing inclusive leadership were twice as likely to meet or exceed financial targets; three times as likely to be high-performing; and six times more likely to be innovative and agile.

Inclusive leaders recognize that diversity of thought drives innovation and problem-solving. By creating a safe space where team members feel comfortable expressing different viewpoints, these leaders focus on their teams' collective intelligence.

The leader's response becomes even more critical during challenging volume spikes, system issues or organizational change. By modeling resilience, transparency and solution-focused thinking, managers can transform potential cultural threats into opportunities for team cohesion.

Your Turn: Actively solicit input from all team members at each level based on their unique customer insights. Value diverse perspectives and create an environment where employees feel safe to express ideas and concerns without fear of negative consequences. This can be especially powerful when the contact center faces a challenge requiring a multi-pronged solution approach.

2. Aligning Expectations with Organizational Mission and Values

Contact center employees who understand how their daily work connects to broader organizational goals demonstrate significantly higher levels of job satisfaction, engagement and performance.

Establishing a clear connection between individual roles and organizational mission fosters a sense of purpose among employees. Evans (2024) concluded that when employees perceive a strong alignment between their personal values and those of the organization, they experience higher job satisfaction and organizational commitment and are less likely to leave. Consequently, employees who find meaning in their work are more than three times as likely to stay on the job and report substantially higher job satisfaction.

Setting clear expectations from day one creates the essential foundation for this alignment. When new hires are onboarded, providing them with a comprehensive understanding of performance standards, cultural norms, and success metrics helps them to internalize what excellence looks like in your environment.

Your turn: Develop a comprehensive onboarding program communicating the organization's mission, values, and expectations. Regularly revisit these elements in team meetings and performance reviews to reinforce alignment and purpose.

3. Recognize Employees and Prioritize Well-Being

Recognition for excellent work speaks to the core of people’s needs and powerfully drives employee engagement and retention. According to Gallup (2024) employees who received high-quality recognition were 45% less likely to leave their positions.

Leadership IQ compared employees who spent one hour or less per week interacting with organizational leadership with employees who spent more than six hours per week interacting with leadership. The latter group demonstrated a 30% higher level of engagement; 15% more intrinsic motivation; and 16% more innovation.

Making time for meaningful connections with employees decreases the mattering deficit in the workplace (Ellington, 2023). People need to feel significant, and recognition affirms their value to the organization. Forward-thinking contact centers understand that employee appreciation improves staff well-being and customer experience, ultimately impacting the bottom line.

Your turn: Implement a structured recognition program that highlights employee achievements in timely, meaningful ways. Incorporate acknowledgements from colleagues and managers to create a culture of appreciation. Prioritize employee well-being by checking in with staff outside of scheduled one-on-one meetings and ensuring teams are aware of available mental and physical health resources.

Cultivating a high-performance contact center culture requires intentional efforts to embrace inclusive leadership practices, align individual roles with organizational values, and recognize and support employees' well-being. By implementing these strategies, organizations can enhance employee engagement, reduce turnover and deliver exceptional customer experiences, creating a sustainable competitive advantage where employees and customers can thrive.