You can't go a day without seeing at least one story in the media about The Great Resignation, as Americans continue to leave their jobs at a record pace. Whatever the reasons for the mass resignations, one thing is clear: a lot of the American workforce is not happy; they want their voices heard, and they're making a change.
One industry that’s felt the impact particularly hard is the contact center. Already plagued by high turnover rates, contact centers have been devastated by the pandemic while trying to staff their traditional call centers. With call volumes on a sharp incline and fewer workers to handle them, some analysts say the industry has reached a breaking point that cannot be solved with antiquated contact center technologies.
Below, we'll look at labor statistics, some current employment trends, and how one solution—a cloud-based contact center platform—can help so that The Great Resignation doesn't gut your contact center.
The Great Resignation Statistics
Recent labor statistics are telling. Job openings far outpace separations and hiring. The data clearly points to a shift in how we think about work and how challenging it is to attract and retain qualified workers.
As of this writing, here are the numbers for the past three months of data. Please note, the DOL has separate statistics for resignations and quits:
| | Job Openings | Hires | Quits |
| September 2021 | 10.4M | 6.5M | 4.4M |
| October 2021 | 11.0M | 6.5M | 4.2M |
| November 2021 | 10.6M | 6.7M | 4.5M |
The Great Resignation Spurs New Employment Trends
Companies are responding to the shift in current employment expectations. Some are offering expanded benefit options, while others are shifting hiring practices.
The following strategies are customizable to fit any type of business, including contact centers. Here are some of the companies spurring new employment trends:
The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has changed how they conduct onboarding, making it a journey instead of referring to it as training. They've revamped the experience, so some of the materials are self-paced, and some are web-based. Employees have thus far responded positively to the new curriculum and are enthusiastic about the flexibility it offers.
Goldman Sachs is beefing up employee benefits to counteract burnout and address needs-based objectives built around self and family care. Increased paid leave and higher retirement match contributions are among the new perks.
Companies like U.S. Foods, Dollar General, Wegman's, and Amazon are offering sign-on bonuses from $2,000 to $20,000. Hospitals and school districts looking for healthcare personnel and teachers are doing the same.
Smaller companies are getting in on the trend, too. IDG and EBM are spending time with employees at work where they talk about anything but the job. Employees at Kech earn prizes for the cutest pet photo or who comes up with the best strategy to survive a zombie apocalypse, and the team-building is paying off. Kech's turnover is trending downward, and employee retention is up.
How a Cloud-Based Contact Center Can Help Employee Retention
The companies above realized it's essential that your organization has the flexibility to operate no matter where your team works. Most used technology as part of their employee retention strategy to engage both customers and employees at a higher level.
That's where a cloud-based contact center system comes in. This type of platform helps your employees do their jobs better, improves productivity, efficiency, engagement, and collaboration while lowering burnout.
Here are some of the ways this technology makes work more engaging:
Work From Anywhere - access business communications from one app on any device anywhere there's internet service.
Collaborate - interact with teammates and management through various channels in real-time so answers are quicker and everyone feels connected.
Skills-based Training & Scheduling - know your team's strengths and build upon them with customized analytics. Manage schedules and call routing based on current data.
As a trusted communications partner, we work with top-rated cloud providers like 8x8, Talkdesk, and RingCentral. Wherever you are in your communications strategy, we can simplify your experience and help
guide your journey. From needs analysis to implementation and post-adoption support, we've assisted
many large businesses and enterprises on cloud communications migrations and we are always glad to help.
Would you like to learn more? Contact us here.
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