USE CASE

Reduce Contact Center Turnover Once and For All

Contact center turnover remains a persistent challenge averaging 30% – 45%, with each new hire costing more than 50% of first year productivity. There is a way to permanently reduce excessive turnover and save money.

A 1,000-seat contact center with a 45% annual turnover rate can cost the enterprise an additional $187 million in lost revenue—or a $23.4 million direct hit to the budget.

To say the least, it’s a serious problem worth reducing.

How are these numbers so big?

First,most new agents get one week PTO, six weeks of training, nine weeks of recruitment time, and two weeks of national holidays, leaving just 34 work weeks in year one. When you factor in mentoring and operational inefficiencies, onboarding a new agent consumes over 50% of the time typically spent on direct customer engagement.

Second, tenured agents receive benefits—including at least four weeks PTO after holidays. Even with more time at work compared to new agents, it still takes the equivalent of 1.33 new agents to fully cover their time off. And that doesn’t guarantee equally positive CX outcomes.

Why Turnover Runs High

While there are well-known symptoms of turnover, the root cause is the helpless frustration felt by agents and managers when they’re evaluated with metrics that don’t equitably evaluate performance.

The primary cause is your top-down financial metrics can’t explain the value of your bottom-up Contact Center and CX performance that begin with each agent and bot. And because these opposing approaches yield unequal answers, they lead to inaccurate cost efficiency and ROI results.

Most CX metrics contain uncontrollable variables, the most common being the customer, who can ruin a flawless agent’s AHT, CSAT, and adherence.

Metrics based on averages ignore nuances that erroneously undervalue hard workers while simultaneously allowing others to escape accountability.

Combining bottom-up performance metrics with top-down costs creates a wild west approach to evaluating performance that offers zero transparency.

A Simpler Approach Using Familiar Terms

Reducing turnover requires a fair, equitable, and transparent approach to performance evaluation that is easy to understand and trust. It must be easy to manage, be fully transparent and equitable, and include day-to-day performance nuances.

Just two answers have proven to work.

They use your existing raw data to measure actions 100% within the control of each agent and manager

Agent Engagement Index (AEI)

AEI compares how much money was spent on customer engagement to what should have been spent, based on each individual agent and managers unique workload and pay.

This approach to performance evaluation is fully transparent because it focuses exclusively on actual and expected customer journey times for the contacts handled by each unique agent, based on their unque compensation.

For instance, a new agent earning $19/hour and a seasoned agent earning $23/hour both spent 64% of their controlled pay on customer engagement (AEI).

However, the new hire handled contacts that should have had an AEI of 70%, and the seasoned agents mix of work should have generated an AEI of 62%.

Total Cost Efficiency (TCE)

TCE compares how much money an agent spends overall to handle their workload vs. what they were expected to spend, based on workload. A score of 100% means the agent is delivering a perfect financial ROI.

For example, a new employee has a TCE of 80%, meaning it cost more money than expected for them to handle their unique workload. As the new hire improves their skills, their TCE should approach 100%. Their supervisor leverages existing scorecards and handle time expectations to pinpoint where to offer support.

CX Decision Intelligence Reduces Turnover

CX Decision Intelligence reduces turnover by valuing agent performance on a fair and equitable playing field that begins with measuring both your financial and CX performance from the bottom-up. This alignment means that every agent and manager in the world can prove they’re working hard and making good decisions without fear of any misunderstanding.

Individualized Measurement

CX Decision Intelligence measures agent performance from the ground up, removing “luck” factors hidden in traditional top-down metrics.

Fair and Transparent

Both metrics are 100% controlled by agent decisions focused on their unique salary, workload, work type, customer journey times, and geographic location.

Transparent and Infallible

Results are impossible to manipulate and provide managers with a direct line of sight to the truth.

For example, if an agent has both a high AEI and TCE, it means they are: A) overworked OR B) outperforming

A high AEI and low TCE means they are: A) taking longer than expected to help customers OR B) hiding in a work state.

And a low AEI and high TCE means they are: A) highly efficient OR B) speeding through engagements.

Reduced Stress and Burnout

Managers will know agents’ productivity every day. They can offer proactive adjustments, prevent burnout, reduce stress, and avoid lost productivity.

Increased Job Satisfaction

Agents feel more empowered when they’re recognized for hard work and commitment based on fair and transparent measures they can 100% understand and control.

How It Works

Reducing turnover permanently requires regular generation of AEI and TCE measures.

To learn how to get started reducing turnover with WiserOwl, visit Get Started to learn which approach fits best with your contact center and CX operational needs.

Data Capture

Integrate time tracking, transaction logs, CRM, ERP, and HR/payroll data—via flat files or custom integrations.

Financial Conversion – Actual Costs

Every CX metric is translated into its exact cost by agent, team, technology, channel, and customer. No averages—ever.

Baseline Direction – Expected Costs

CX goals and expectations are applied to the actual contact mix and volume and then translated into its precise financial value.

Learn and Then Apply Across Contact Center Operations

Quickly learn how to easily connect AEI+ TCE results to the CX measures you already rely on and help your workforce to want to sustainably improve and stick around.