Did you know that low employee engagement costs the global economy about $8.9 trillion dollars? Yes, that’s trillion, with a t.
While that eye-popping sum might be new to you, you’re probably familiar with the fact that disengaged teams don’t make for great results within the contact center.
But what if there were a way to turn work into something quite a bit more like play—and to motivate and empower your teams to deliver elevated customer service in the process?
Luckily, there is: it’s called contact center gamification. And whether you’re new to the concept or simply looking to make games within your contact center more effective than ever, this guide will walk you through just what you need to know. Find research, tips, and examples drawn straight from the experiences of Calabrio customers to step up your call center’s gamification and performance today.
Table of Contents:
What is Contact Center Gamification?
Call center gamification or now, more commonly, contact center gamification, is the process of including games, prizes, and other game-like components in everyday activities to encourage healthy competition, better engage agents, and drive productivity in the contact center.
What’s the point of gamification in customer service? In part, it’s because customer service and sales work in the call center can become repetitive and monotonous for agents on the front lines. With agent-centered gamification, you can integrate game techniques or technology into team workflows to boost morale and employee performance.
However, the biggest reason that contact centers and a host of other performance-driven business turn to gamification techniques: it works.
According to peer-reviewed research, top companies such as Google and Deloitte have leveraged workplace gamification as an effective psychological tool, keeping teams sharp, reducing stress, and reinforcing learning, among other experience benefits. Plus, by leaning into and unlocking employees’ motivation, organizations increase the drive to perform and improve.
But don’t take business leaders’ word for it: this research bears out in employee surveys as well. In one report, 89% of employees said gamification makes them feel more productive and 88% that it makes them feel happier at work.
Types of Call Center Gamification
Contact center gamification can take a variety of forms. According to the TalentLMS survey data cited above, these are the most popular ways gamification is used:
- Badges: Digital awards recognize agents for mastering skills or reaching milestones, providing a sense of accomplishment.
- Points: Agents accumulate points for achieving specific metrics, such as call resolution time or customer satisfaction scores.
- Rewards: Tangible or intangible incentives, like gift cards or extra time off, given to agents for outstanding achievements.
- Leaderboards: Publicly displayed rankings motivate agents to compete against each other and strive for top performance.
- Levels: Similar to badges and points accumulation, users can achieve certain milestones and rise through levels of development or through stages associated with certain storylines or objective-based paths.
Beyond these common gamification methods, contact center managers can also use challenges—specific, time-bound tasks or competitions—to boost engagement and improve specific performance areas.
Proven Benefits of Using Gamification in Call Centers and Customer Service
As customer service teams follow the same process daily in supporting customers, repetition can disengage employees or result in burnout. Agent gamification helps to liven up the repetitive process that characterizes customer service. And beyond its broad benefits to businesses of all kinds, a gamification program can improve customer service operations by specifically driving:
- Increased engagement and lower agent attrition rates: Contact centers have long struggled with high agent turnover rates; gamification gives them an effective tool to retain and develop their talent.
- Progressive organizational culture: Adding an element of fun as well as an increased focus on support and improvement can help build a thriving call center culture.
- Improved measurement: Gamification is naturally tied to metrics and measurement. Implementing a gamification program can make easier for leaders to zero in on the agent performance metrics that matter for performance and efficiency.
- Enhanced service delivery and CX: Used in onboarding, training, and customer interactions, gamification can help drive elevated contact center customer experiences.
- Increased customer satisfaction and loyalty: More consistent and higher quality experiences, along with faster resolutions and better engagement, add up to more satisfied customers who will want to stick with your brand.
Learn more about the benefits offered by top call center gamification software: Book a free Calabrio demo.
Best Practices for Using Call Center Games to Improve Agent Performance
Proven as one of the best ways to engage agents, gamification also helps contact center leaders more easily measure and manage agent performance, which naturally improves due to gamification’s ongoing effect.
It seems the hardest part about contact center gamification is just getting started. But it doesn’t have to be—here are four ways you can rock gamification right now.
1. Implement Gamification Based on Your Company’s Goals.
Gamification is about engaging agents and better supporting customers—but it also must align with improving overall business outcomes. Each contact center needs to tailor its gamification strategies and tactics to the unique goals of the organization and the needs of its quality management program. For example, a company trying to decrease costs might make “decreasing handle times” part of its program, while a company wanting to improve agent performance might build customer satisfaction scores into its program instead.
2. Use Gamification to Foster Competition and Collaboration.
Peer competition—a natural component of any gamification strategy—taps into agents’ competitive natures by recognizing top performers. That’s why most gamification programs incorporate some form of “leaderboard”—a dashboard displaying top performers and their “scores” against key metrics set ahead of time as goals for them. Agents actively monitor the leaderboard to see who’s leading the pack, who’s catching up, who’s dropping behind, etc. And supervisors monitor the leaderboard to identify agents who may need more coaching.
What you may not realize is that you also can use gamification to encourage collaboration between agents. If you want to foster active peer mentoring—where agents ask questions of each other and exchange tips—you could even design a gamification program where agents advance to higher levels when they help other agents expand their knowledge and hone desired skills.
3. Make Your Gamification Meaningful.
If you want your gamification program to be as successful as possible, you want the prizes you use as incentives to be meaningful to your agents. You most easily can achieve this feat by asking your agents what kind of prizes they value and then building those into your gamification efforts. Some examples include restaurant gift cards, Amazon Prime memberships, more influence over their schedule, preference over the types of inquiries they handle, a premium parking spot for the month, or an extra vacation day.
And frankly, many agents just prefer cold, hard cash. That’s why some companies set up a full incentive structure to engage their agents, with cash rewards given to agents who maintain higher adherence numbers, productivity numbers and quality scores.
4. Use Gamification Concepts to Motivate Agents.
In addition to leaderboards, a common and powerful way contact centers motivate agents by recognizing top performers is by utilizing the gamification concept of badges.
Much like the badges used to denote player status in online gaming, the badges used in contact center gamification track and measure agent status: different badge styles or colors signify different accomplishments, with badges becoming more intricate and complex as agents advance into higher levels. Badge dashboards help agents track their individual performance stats and learn about the badges they’ve earned and those they have yet to achieve. An added bonus? Badges help supervisors quickly, visually monitor their agents’ performance metrics and progress against goals.
5. Avoid the Pitfalls and Common Challenges of Gamification
Gamification, when implemented correctly, can obviously be a powerful tool for boosting engagement and performance in your call center. However, it’s crucial to navigate potential pitfalls to ensure its long-term success. Here’s a breakdown of common challenges and how to avoid them:
Overly Complex Systems:
- Challenge: Designing a gamification system with too many rules, points, and badges can overwhelm agents, leading to confusion and disengagement.
- Solution: Keep it simple. Focus on a few key performance indicators and design a clear, intuitive system that’s easy to understand and navigate. Use clear visual aids and provide thorough training. Look to leverage robust solutions fully integrated within comprehensive contact center workforce software platforms.
Focusing Solely on Extrinsic Rewards:
- Challenge: Relying solely on extrinsic rewards like points, prizes, or leaderboards can create a short-term boost but may not foster intrinsic motivation.
- Solution: Balance extrinsic rewards with intrinsic motivators. Incorporate elements that promote a sense of mastery, autonomy, and purpose. For example, allow agents to track their progress, offer opportunities for skill development, and connect their work to the company’s overall mission.
Ignoring Individual Differences:
- Challenge: A one-size-fits-all gamification approach may not resonate with all agents. Different personalities and preferences require tailored strategies.
- Solution: Offer a variety of gamification elements to cater to diverse motivations. Provide options for individual challenges, team-based competitions, and personalized feedback. Allow agents to choose the rewards that are most meaningful to them.
Creating Unhealthy Competition:
- Challenge: An overly competitive environment can lead to stress, burnout, and a negative work culture.
- Solution: As noted above, emphasize collaboration and teamwork. Design challenges that promote cooperation and shared success. Focus on individual and collective improvement rather than solely on comparing agents against each other.
Lack of Ongoing Evaluation and Adjustment:
- Challenge: Implementing a gamification system and then leaving it stagnant can lead to its eventual decline.
- Solution: Regularly monitor the system’s effectiveness, gather feedback from agents, and make necessary adjustments. Track key metrics like engagement levels, performance improvements, and agent satisfaction. Be ready to iterate and refine the system over time.
Insufficient Alignment with Business Goals:
- Challenge: Gamification that is not properly aligned with the call center’s overarching business objectives can waste time and resources.
- Solution: Start by clearly defining the specific goals you want to achieve with gamification. Ensure that the chosen KPIs and game mechanics directly support those goals.
Neglecting the User Experience:
- Challenge: A poorly designed or buggy gamification platform can frustrate agents and detract from their overall experience.
- Solution: Invest in a user-friendly and reliable gamification platform. Prioritize a seamless and intuitive interface. Regularly test the system to identify and resolve any technical issues.
By proactively addressing these potential challenges, you can create a gamified call center environment that is engaging, motivating, and ultimately contributes to improved performance and agent satisfaction.
How to Get Started: Ideas and Real-Life Examples of Call Center Games
Developing your first gamification program might seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. We find most contact centers launch inaugural gamification initiatives that feature one or more of these three key strategies:
- Rewards and recognition
- Training
- Peer competition
And we can help you start. Calabrio asked several top Calabrio customers to get a few real-world ideas you can leverage in your own contact center. Let’s explore these ideas to help make every day game day.
Ideas for Recognizing and Rewarding Agents
Here are some of the tactics our customers use to recognize and reward their own agents:
- One customer set up a full incentive structure to keep its agents engaged. Rewards are given to agents who maintain higher adherence numbers, productivity numbers, and quality scores. Weekly rewards are given for the lowest weekly wrap time and highest weekly adherence.
- Another Calabrio customer uses a BINGO card program where agents stamp a space when they complete designated activities (e.g., hitting their outbound call target) and demonstrate preferred behavior (e.g., achieving 100 percent schedule adherence). Those agents who achieve “BINGO” receive a work-from-home day of their choice.
- Another customer gives gift cards to agents who meet quarterly key performance indicators (KPI), attendance, and quality score targets.
- A very common system of rewards and recognition involves awarding points based on performance. Once an agent reaches an attainable target (Handle Time, Perfect Attendance), a certain number of points are awarded. The agent can then “cash in” their points for time off, company swag, or even a party for their whole team.
Ideas to Use Contact Center Games for Training & Skill Development
Both new-hire onboarding and ongoing skills development are important programs for the modern contact center. Below, we’ve compiled some ways that some Calabrio customers use gamification for both needs.
- One customer uses the “Hot Potato” ball-throwing game to teach new agents how important it is for the contact center to operate as a single entity. They see what happens when one agent disengages from the team—such as when they take a break at the wrong time, call in sick, etc.
- Another Calabrio client uses a similar BINGO game as mentioned above to encourage sales trainees to keep their multiple product lines top of mind. In this game, managers mark off a BINGO square each time an agent speaks to a customer about a particular product focus area. The first trainee to get “BINGO” receives a cash prize and peer recognition.
- And, for ongoing skills development, one Calabrio customer created a training program featuring 11 “bytes” agents need to master to progress through the ranks of its customer service representative hierarchy. Via shared calls, coaching, and standardized evaluation forms, agents learn skillsets for their current byte, which they must complete before they’re able to move to the next “byte.”
Ideas for Using Gamification to Drive Peer Competition
Adding a (friendly) competition to your agents’ day can give them benchmarks to compete against and can make more boring tasks fun. Peer competition also taps into agents’ competitive spirits by recognizing “winners” (top performers) and subtly motivating agents who are not near the top to try harder.
Here are a couple of competition ideas that we’ve seen used successfully in the contact center:
- Leaderboard: Many Calabrio customers use what’s commonly known as a “leaderboard.” It’s a dashboard displaying top performers and their “scores.” They track key metricsto help them reach their goals. Agents actively monitor the leaderboard to see who’s in the first place, who’s rising to the top, who’s losing their lead, etc.
- Badges: In addition, many Calabrio customers use the common gamification concept of badges. Customers award badges to individuals and offer visual representations that track and measure agent status. Different badge styles or colors denote different accomplishments. Badges become more intricate and complex as agents advance to higher levels. Badge dashboards help agents learn about the badges they earn and what ones to pursue. Plus, they can track key metrics to see their individual performance stats.
Give Your Teams a Boost with the Right Contact Center Gamification Software
Providing real-world examples of successful gamification programs isn’t the only way Calabrio can support your team. Our powerful, AI-driven contact center quality management software incorporates a host of built-in gamification tools to make it easier to boost engagement and productivity with games—and incorporate gamification within your overall approach to customer experience and contact center improvement.
Learn more about how Calabrio’s complete suite of workforce optimization can help bring out the best in your agents—and deliver the best experiences for your customers—by booking a free demo today.
