How Call Center Employee Attrition Eats Away Your Profit

Faith Ocampo Published on May 30, 2016 Last updated on July 7, 2022

Sure, you can hire to replace resigning call center agents, but the truth is that employee attrition can cause deeper dents in your profit than you can imagine.

Call centers have started to deliver more value, especially as brands realized that what pulls in customers is good service. Call centers directly contribute to total business revenues, and they do so in huge chunks. As the frontline organization responsible for customer satisfaction and retention, the link between high-performing contact centers and rocketing profits is very much apparent.

employee attrition depiction call center agent resignation resigning leaving office with box

It’s also precisely why every company that provides outsourcing services must bolster their internal structure, particularly in terms of staffing. Staff engagement determines the customer experience.

When agents are happy, they make customers happy. But when they’re not, they’ll walk out the door. This leads to poor performance, lower productivity, and customer churn.

This is one of the crucial things most managers, particularly those new to the outsourcing sector, fail to anticipate when employee attrition shoots up without warning. They may think it’s easy to replace agents or that they’ll find more competent ones. In reality, however, this is not always the case.

The True Cost of Call Center Attrition

Data from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that agents aged 20 to 24 stay in their company for an average of 1.1 years. Fifteen years ago, the estimate was 1.5 years. On the other hand, those in the 25 to 34-age bracket stay for about 2.7 years, compared with more than three years in the 1980s.

employee attrition depiction call center agent submitting giving handing in resignation letter

Call centers, in general, see a 30% to 45% employee attrition rate, while some are having a harder time, as they deal with three-digit churn rates.

These figures tell us that call centers almost never stop hiring, turning over tasks, and training new staff. In fact, 53% of contact centers believe that attrition barricades them from their goals.

But what’s alarming in this scenario is that the little, if not the total lack of, progress in the war against attrition has humongous costs. We could break these down into three categories.

  1. First, the Easily Quantifiable

    employee attrition depiction unused call center earphones

    When call centers deal with the horror that’s employee attrition, they do so pragmatically. The first-aid solution is to recruit new agents, train them, and proceed with turnover. All these are activities are accounted for in a call center’s operating budget.

    According to the Human Resource Institute, it costs $10,000 to $15,000 to replace a frontline call center agent.

    Not too alarming, you say? In a way, it’s something that most organizations don’t worry too much about. But you do need to invest more intensely on staff engagement if the outflow of agents is significantly greater than the inflow of new hires. Often, this happens as the reputation of your call center suffers because of successive resignations.

  2. Then, the Not-So-Obvious Ones

    employee attrition call center team resignation

    When a person joins your company, it’s not just a person walking in. It’s an employee capable of solving complex problems and hatching creative ideas. It’s someone who has trained for years to gain knowledge and professional skills—assets that are much more difficult to quantify, if at all quantifiable.

    And as they grow within your company, they amass organizational knowledge. They absorb and imbibe the culture of their workplace so they can operate more effectively within it. They gain new skills through your training programs so they can better reach out to customers

    The moment they leave, therefore, they’ve already become a more valuable asset than when they first came in. They take with them everything they’ve learned from your call center, as well as the unique experiences that allowed them to be efficient agents. These are intangible assets that are impossible to duplicate or re-create.

  3. And Last, the Biggest Trade-Offs

    employee attrition piggybank drowning

    This is where the figures escalate to insane amounts.

    Customer churn and dissatisfaction, missed opportunities for sales, unsolved problems, and staffing gaps may be classified as indirect costs of employee attrition and turnover.

    The impacts of these, however, are the most distressing. In fact, the costs may amount to hundreds of thousand, and even millions of dollars, depending on how many agents are leaving and what positions are being emptied.

 
The bottom line is that call center managers and brand owners need to stop attrition. By not implementing robust agent retention strategies, you’re allowing resignations to corrode the internal structure of the entire organization. Focusing on the happiness and growth of your employees will allow you to provide a much better customer service.

Open Access BPO’s various people-first policies and culture help ensure employees are taken care of, keeping out employee attrition rates low. These, along with our employee engagement programs and various skills and career development opportunities.

Call us today and we’ll build your program and cast highly capable agents to help your brand thrive.

 

Read More

Faith is a digital media enthusiast aiming to become an active part of the tech world by sharing her insights. She likes to blog about everything digimarketing, technology, and social media.
Join us on facebook
Open Access BPO 6 days ago
The holiday season is a double-edged sword for businesses. On one hand, it’s a golden opportunity to boost sales. On the other, it’s a daunting challenge to maintain exceptional #CustomerService amid the surge in inquiries and heightened expectations.

But fear not, brands, big or small! We know how to elevate your customer service game this holiday season: https://buff.ly/3OreCax

----------
You don't have to face the holiday rush alone.
Partner with a trusted #CustomerSupport call center that's powered the success of industry giants: https://buff.ly/40NMcP9

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#CustomerSupport #CX #CSat
#CustomerSatisfaction #CustomerExperience
Open Access BPO 6 days ago
𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗼 is one of today's leading #BPO destinations, contributing to the #𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬' distinction as a premier player in the global #outsourcing scene. The city's economic strength proves its capacity to host rich #offshoring investments.

Its provincial rates, coupled with a population of highly skilled professionals make #Davao an ideal budget-friendly option for English language #BackOffice solutions.

Fuel your 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 with 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 delivered from 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐁𝐏𝐎 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐨: https://buff.ly/3AMLpDq

----------
𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐁𝐏𝐎
• Our Solutions: https://buff.ly/3YMscKj
• Our Other Locations: https://buff.ly/4evCh41

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
Open Access BPO 6 days ago
𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 $𝟰𝟴 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿.
And this loss is expected to grow annually unless online retailers make a significant move to strengthen their #DataSecurity strategies.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁?

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀:
https://buff.ly/4hOEN8y

---------
For secure #outsourcing services trusted by global brands, elevate your business.
Contact us today: https://buff.ly/4fKNQpa

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#InformationSecurity #InfoSec
#InternationalFraudAwarenessWeek
#FraudDetection #FraudAwarenessWeek
Open Access BPO 8 days ago
𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗱𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀. 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲!

While internal security measures are crucial, there's strength in numbers.
Luckily, you don't have to face them alone.

#CallCenter outsourcing can be your secret weapon in the fight against these criminals.

Here's how #CallCenter outsourcing can be your reinforcement against these criminals: https://buff.ly/3Z0GZCa

----------
Partner with an #outsourcing partner that keeps #InfoSec a top priority alongside great #CustomerExperience: https://buff.ly/3YYV970

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#InformationSecurity #InfoSec
#InternationalFraudAwarenessWeek
#FraudDetection #FraudAwarenessWeek
Open Access BPO 9 days ago
It's crucial to meet your customers' expectations, but sometimes unforeseen circumstances can get in the way.

Here's a quick guide on how to handle those challenging moments and come out stronger with our #CustomerSupport strategy: https://buff.ly/3O7gYLa

----------
Let's turn mishaps into opportunities: https://buff.ly/3O26Bsc

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#CustomerExperience #CX #CSat
Open Access BPO 9 days ago
A positive word-of-mouth isn't the only benefit that #CustomerService has with your marketing.

It's a bit more complex than that, to be honest, but our blog can guide you through it all: https://buff.ly/3YZom1B

----------
Entrust your #outsourcing needs to a company that not only upholds your brand's message but propels you towards success.

Discover how we align with your vision: https://buff.ly/3UKZHLC

#WeSpeakYourLanguage