Contact centers face the constant challenge of achieving optimal performance levels while ensuring excellent customer service. Yet, one of the biggest obstacles to reaching these goals is low agent productivity.

Understanding the unique challenges that agents face daily is critical to identify solutions that target the root of the problem rather than just treating its symptoms. For instance, you may assume that a low-performing agent requires additional training when, in reality, the issue may stem from poor technology, inefficient workflows, or lack of support and resources.

Here are some of the most common causes of low productivity among contact center agents:

Lack of agent engagement: When employees feel disconnected or disengaged, they are less likely to put forth their best effort or actively participate in improving their work performance. In addition, disengaged agents are more likely to take unnecessary (or longer) breaks, engage in non-work-related activities, and are more likely to quit.

Inadequate training: Agents who are not adequately trained may feel unprepared to handle complex customer inquiries or technical issues, leading to longer handling times and more errors. And agents who are not confident in their abilities become more easily stressed or disengaged from their work, resulting in decreased productivity and poor service quality.

Poor management practices: Supervisors who do not provide clear direction, sufficient support, or constructive coaching and feedback may cause confusion, frustration, and demotivation among agents. Also, policies and scripts that limit agents’ autonomy in resolving customers’ issues lead to decreased engagement and performance levels.

Inefficient scheduling: Understaffing leads to agent burnout, overstaffing results in wasted resources. In addition, when schedules are not aligned with agents’ work preferences and skill sets, they become disengaged or experience conflicts with their personal commitments, leading to higher absentee rates and burnout.

Poorly defined metrics or unrealistic goals: When performance metrics are unclear, agents may focus on the wrong things, resulting in wasted time and decreased productivity. Lack of clarity also contributes to agent frustration, disengagement, and higher turnover rates. Setting unrealistic targets for call center agents often causes burnout. When agents are pressured to meet unrealistic goals, they may rush through customer interactions, misinterpret customer issues, or take shortcuts in established workflows to save time, ultimately leading to incomplete or suboptimal solutions for customers.

Lack of feedback and coaching: Without targeted feedback, agents may not be aware of their strengths and weaknesses and may fail to improve their performance over time. This can lead to job dissatisfaction, a drop in agent engagement, and low morale. For the operation, lack of coaching results in under-skilled agents, longer handle times, poor service quality, and low first-call resolution rates.

Clunky, manual workflows: Increased error rates and handling times can often be traced to disorganized or improperly integrated workflows. When agents must spend more time on tedious and repetitive tasks, they have less time to focus on complex customer issues, leading to lower productivity, job satisfaction, and customer satisfaction.

Outdated technology: Legacy call center systems can be slower, less reliable, and may not provide agents with the tools they need to perform their jobs efficiently. In addition, older systems typically do not integrate well with newer technologies or channels, forcing agents to waste time switching between different applications or platforms.