It’s not uncommon for a business strategy to be already well underway before it has been properly communicated to the frontline staff.

When it comes to communication in the call centre, you can put together an incredibly detailed business strategy, but if you haven’t got informed, inspired and engaged staff, all the planning can be for nothing.

Workforce engagement and improving call centre agent performance tend to be the focus of many an initiative, but effective communication is often the missing ingredient.

Instead of simply telling staff what is expected of them in terms of performance, management responsible for communication ought to make sure they do everything they can to get the entire organisation on board. This means ensuring staff truly understand and buy the company vision through sharing information, inspiration and engagement.

Do you have a new business strategy in place? Perhaps you feel like there’s a disconnect between the vision management has for the company and how employees feel? Either way, here are a few things you can do to guarantee agents are aligned with your mission:

Define what success looks like

There is little more important to engagement than painting a picture of what winning looks like for the business, your team, and the individual in question. Success comes from the bottom up, not the other way around.

This doesn’t mean sending out a cursory email outlining what the company expects from agents in the coming months. It requires sharing a meaningful vision through multiple channels.  It is the responsibility of management to communicate a picture of success.

Focus on the right performance metrics

Many communication strategies focus only on efficiency metrics to measure success. However, as a frontline worker, it’s not easy to bridge the gap between between your everyday actions and the bottom line of your business.

On the few occasions where staff are exposed to financials, the link between their performance and the numbers is too flimsy to create significant meaning. Ask yourself what kinds of metrics support your company vision.

Equip your staff with what they need to thrive

Sometimes resources are spread thin, and you may feel like there aren't enough hours in the day to do everything on your list – but your support is what makes or breaks the business. To ensure your plan will succeed, and your teams are set up to achieve the company vision, you need to make sure they have:

• A clear idea of what is expected of them in terms of specific goals and performance
• Constructive feedback and recognition when necessary
• Training, coaching and support opportunities to improve in particular areas

Of course, we all know this should be done on a regular basis, but unfortunately, these simple things often get lost in the chaos of everyday life in any business.

It may seem like you have bigger fish to fry, but few things do more for staff engagement than consistently providing clarity, feedback and support. With these things in mind and an effective communication plan, improving call centre agent performance and agent engagement will come easily.