Strategies to Retain Call Center Employees

Call center executives who lack effective strategies to retain employees face a disruption in service, employee performance and productivity, as well as an increase in operational expenses. Ineffective retention strategies can negatively impact call centers by increasing cost, decreasing talent quality and loss of the customer experience. Grounded in Herzberg’s motivator-hygiene theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore employee retention strategies that call center executives use to maintain employees within their organizations. Data were collected from semistructured interviews, company documents, and physical artifacts. The interview participants comprised five call center executives, managers, or team leaders in the Southeast region of the United States who have successfully created and implemented strategies to increase call center retention. Three themes emerged from thematic analysis of the data: focus on workplace morale, minimize employee stress, and establish motivational strategies. One key recommendation is to reduce employee stress through individualized support. The implications for positive social change include the potential to increase community wealth and employment by decreasing workplace stress and increasing job retention for community members who choose a career path in the call center industry