New Survey Paints Positive Picture of Employee Engagement During Lockdown

- Homeworking is here to stay say top UK contact centres -


Cardiff, UK, 14th April 2021. Throughout lockdown, business leaders have debated the tricky issue of how best to engage and support their people while working from home.

However, according to a major new industry survey “The 2021 Contact Centre People Engagement Survey”, 81% of Agents/Advisers - and 56% of Directors/Managers - say that People Engagement in their Contact Centres is not a problem.

322 UK Contact Centre Directors, Managers, Agents and Advisers took part in the online study conducted by trade bodies the South West Contact Centre Forum and Call North West. Survey responses were collected between January 11th and March 12th 2021 and participants came from a broad range of Contact Centres from different industries. Separate detailed questionnaires were run for Directors/Managers and Agents/Advisers. The survey was supported by homeworking specialist Sensée.

The “2021 Contact Centre People Engagement Survey” provides valuable insight into the current state of People Engagement within the contact centre industry - at a time when the predominant workplace is the home office.

70% of Agents/Advisers responding to the survey say that they mainly worked in bricks and mortar contact centres prior to lockdown and have now switched to mainly working from home..... and the majority feel that the switch has gone well.

Despite media headlines suggesting organisations have struggled to manage their colleagues in a work-from-home setting, most Contact Centre Advisers say that their Managers have adapted well to the switch: 57% say Very Well and 29% say Well.

And there's more good news when it comes to the current state of ‘manager-employee’ and ‘team’ engagement.

85% of Agents/Advisers Agree or Strongly Agree with the statement “Communication between senior leaders and employees in my organisation is good”.... with 83% of Directors and Managers concurring. In a similar vein, 94% of Agents/Advisers, and 99% of Directors and Managers, Agree or Strongly Agree with the statement “My manager/contact centre team and I have a good working relationship”. Virtually nobody disagreed.

Mental Health

Concerns over the impact of employee isolation on mental health while people are working-from-home have frequently been aired over the last 12 months.

However our survey reveals that Agents/Advisers are generally happy with the efforts their employers are making at supporting their needs. When asked “Do you think your organisation adequately addresses the Mental Health & Well Being concerns of its employees?”, 73% of Agents/Advisers say yes and only 8% say no.

The survey also revealed the breadth of measures employers were taking to address concerns. When Directors/Managers were asked “How do you monitor Health & Well Being within your teams?” 36% cite Formal Questionnaires, 29% Video Checks and 40% Occupational Health reports. But the most common approach is simply to talk. 89% of Directors/Managers cite Informal Conversations to discuss Health & Well Being concerns and 71% Formal Conversations.

Ethical Business

Finally, our survey reveals a growing recognition amongst employees of the role that their employer plays in broader society.

90% of Agents/Advisers Agree or Strongly Agree with the statement “My organisation has taken steps to ensure that it acts as a responsible member of society” as did almost all Directors/Managers (i.e. 99%)

Likewise, 96% of Directors/Managers Agree or Strongly Agree with the statement "My organisation is dedicated to diversity and inclusiveness”, together with 91% of Agents/Advisers.

And the future?

Perhaps not surprisingly, work-from-home is expected to continue to play a significant role in the contact centre industry for the foreseeable future.

Only 43% of Agents/Advisers believe they will be 100% returning to the office. 57% therefore believe they will be homeworking, with the majority of those splitting their time between their home and the office.

Intriguingly, when asked what percentage of their adviser population would be working from home in 2022, 60% of Directors/Managers say that they expect 50% or more to be working full or part time at home, with just 4% predicting a full return to the office.

“It’s great to report that colleagues in the contact centre industry feel so overwhelmingly positive towards People Engagement issues - especially after the last 12 months” said Jane Thomas, Managing Director of the South West Contact Centre Forum and Call North West. “Our survey shows that progress is being made in key areas such as mental health support, building team cohesion and running ethical, inclusive and socially-responsible business. However, while organisations can take credit for these achievements, the job is far from complete.”

“The survey results are extremely interesting, particularly as they counter many of the negative perceptions about People Engagement in the age of ‘forced’ homeworking” said Mark Walton, CEO, Sensée. “Moving forward, the challenge will not be so much about making homeworking work - organisations have had a year to do that - it will be about defining long term strategies. Who will work from the office and who will work from home? How will we manage, communicate, schedule, train our ‘hybrid’ workforces? What new technology platforms will we need? We maybe entering an era of extreme uncertainly but there’s never been a better time to take a step back and make meaningful changes to modernise and transform UK business.”

To view the “The 2021 Contact Centre People Engagement Survey” eBook, please go to https://www.sensee.co.uk/resources/eBooks.aspx?eb=power-of-e...

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About Sensée

Sensée helps well-known UK organisations — such as government agencies, Bupa, ageas and Allianz Partners — improve their business performance and provide brilliant customer service. Uniquely, our award-winning team of over 1300 service advisers (as well as our support and management staff) are employed and work entirely from home, handling enquiries over the phone as well as via email, webchat, text and social media. Sensée’s UK-wide recruitment reach and remote employee-centric ecosystem create accessible careers for people anywhere, and sustainability for our planet and communities.... while our secure working practices ensure that we are FCA authorised as well as ISO accredited.

About the South West Contact Centre Forum

Established in 2008, the SWCCF covers one of the largest regions in the UK, which includes Bristol, Bath, Swindon, Cheltenham and Plymouth. The Forum delivers extensive support to the region’s 250 employers who collectively employ circa 52,000 people in both the Public and Private sector. It represents clients in the highly professional and regulated areas of financial and legal services, ICT, retail, utilities and creative sectors, and boasts some of the biggest companies in the UK.

About Call North West

Call North West supports the 700 plus contact centres in the region through a diverse 12-month calendar of specialist events including the Annual Employee and Team Engagement Challenge, Quarterly Forums, Specialist Training, Contact Centre Conventions, Bi-monthly User Groups, culminating in the Annual Call North West Awards Ceremony, the showcase event of the year!

Call North West offers a huge support network for all contact centre professionals in the North West.
Our successes and achievements are centred around offering the contact centre industry key initiatives and events, all with the objective of sharing best practice, giving members insight and expertise to enable them enhance their businesses and position in the industry. Call North West develops close partnerships with member and supporting a vibrant membership community in the region.

Call North West is an excellent networking organisation, whatever the size of your contact centre business there is opportunity to be a part of a success contact centre forum, where businesses build a dynamic network and receive support for all areas of their contact centre business.

Media contacts

Michael Gray
Sensée
michael.gray@sensee.co.uk

Jane Thomas
South West Contact Centre Forum
jane@swcontactcentreforum.com