Simple Ideas to Keep Up Morale at Your Contact Center

How is it February 2023 already? End-of-year evaluations are hopefully finished for your contact center reporting, and you have jumped into the thick of 2023. Whether you are in the cold and snowy Midwest or sunny south, the festive, fun-filled holiday initiatives are over. What can you do to ensure that your staff stays engaged and upbeat for the rest of the year?

The first quarter of the year is a great time to plan your agent culture initiatives. Get a calendar and set aside some time for your staff to have fun. Every contact center is different, so all initiatives will look different. You may do something daily, each month, or each quarter, as time and resources permit. You will be able to best determine the cadence that makes sense for your team.

When planning these activities, the goal is not to take up a ton of time, as we all know nobody has that. However, you do want to preplan things. You can assign the planning of this project to other staff or create a committee. The most important things to keep in mind are to plan, and to be prepared to adjust those plans because contact center life happens.

You don’t need to be a creative genius or a master party planner. In fact, you can “borrow” liberally from others. You can source your ideas for activities from others who already have blazed the trail for you. Pinterest, Facebook and TikTok are your friends. I have found many ideas of games or contests that we could use from social media “out of the box,” or that we could change slightly to fit our contact center.

Here are some ideas of simple activities that have been a big hit at our contact center and may be fun for your team to try:

Toilet Paper Game

Set prizes up on a table spaced apart evenly. The agent is then given a roll of toilet paper that has already been rolled out to go past the table with the prizes. Start with the lower value prizes first. Next, place a glass with water on the end of the toilet paper. The agent must then roll the toilet paper up while carefully pulling the glass toward them. If they pass a prize, they get it. If the toilet paper breaks, they are out.

Ping Pong Roll

The next game that we like to do at our contact center involves Solo cups taped to the side of the base of the desk. Each cup has info for a corresponding prize. You take a set number of ping pong or bouncy balls and have the agent roll them towards the cups. The number of balls is completely up to you. If they get a ball in the cup, they get the prize that is in there.

The Classics

Don’t overlook the value of a classic childhood board game. If you want a group game, you can play Yahtzee or Farkle. We keep the rules for these games roughly the same, but to get turns, each player must achieve something. Managers set the goal for the achievement. Whomever gets the highest score at the end of the game wins. You set the time frame for the length of the game.

The Way to a Teammember’s Heart…

We have talked about games to raise your culture, but don’t forget about the comfort of food. This is where Pinterest will come in handy. You can search for baby showers, birthday parties, or giveaways to get great ideas. It doesn’t have to be a big meal, either - last year we gave away lollipops that had a tag on them saying, “For days that suck, just know we appreciate you.” We leave them in a basket for anyone to grab.

Food bars are always an easy and a well-received initiative. You can have a waffle bar with frozen waffles, fruit, candy, Nutella, whip cream. Or A taco bar with all the fixings. We have even done an ice cream sundae bar.

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I hope that I have provided you with some ways to easily elevate the team culture. These are not groundbreaking trends, just little things to say to your staff that you appreciate them.