Version: 1.3 2015 Team Leaders’ Guide
to AgentBalance
UNDERSTAND YOUR AGENTS QUICKLY
BY VÁCLAV MARTIN
Table of Contents
What is AgentBalance?
3 How is the testing done?
3 What kind of data is made available by AgentBalance?
3 Three main AgentBalance parameters
1) Mental Energy (or simply „Energy“)
2) Job Fulfillment (identification with the job, or simply „Fulfillment“)
3) Attrition Index (Risk of leaving the company, turnover, or „Attrition“)
3 3 4 4 Five secondary AgentBalance parameters
1) Executing Jobs Tasks
2) Searching for a new job
3) Working Environment
4) Managing Relationships
5) Self Regulation (Self Discipline)
5 6 6 6 6 7 Evaluation procedure
1) Evaluate the Energy
2) Evaluate Job Fulfillment
3) Evaluate the Attrition Index
7 7 8 8 Real life scenarios
Energetic Agent Anne
Questionable Agent Bob
Balanced Agent Charlie
10 10 10 11 How is the result calculated?
11 Using AgentBalance throughout the agents’ life cycle
1) New hires
2) Honeymoon
3) Experienced Vets
4) Slow Burn
5) Checked Out
12 12 12 13 13 13 Frequently Asked Questions
14 What is AgentBalance?
AgentBalance provides psychometric data of employees using CWAT (Color-Word
Association Test). Agents only select three colours that match their feeling about 31
projected phrases. AgentBalance does not ask any questions apart from these
associations. Importantly, the computing engine needs to know the gender and age of
tested people.
How is the testing done?
Agents take the test once a week. We strongly recommend
to setup a routine for each agent, so that they complete the
test before their shift. This way we will reveal their overall
mental setup, not distracted by any unpleasant or difficult
recent conversation with customers.
The test takes maximum of 5 minutes during initial tests.
After that, agents get used to the method and finish usually
within 3 minutes. Please do not push agents to finish the
test quickly. Allow them to take their time in order to pass
the test consciously and fully focused.
What kind of data is made available by AgentBalance?
We have developed a special word module (a version of CWAT) suitable for contact
center needs. The provided parameters (results) can help you as a team leader to
understand your agents better in order to increase their performance and decrease agent
turnover (attrition). AgentBalance introduces 3 main parameters, and 5 secondary
parameters.
Three main AgentBalance parameters
These parameters represent the main indicators that
should be observed first. They provided simple to
understand, yet complex overview of agents’ mental
profile. Ideally, all parameters should be in balance (as
explained further). Any major shift from balance, that is
present longer than couple of weeks requires a
coaching session, adjustment in agents’ job assignment,
and corrective measures.
1) Mental Energy (or simply „Energy“)
Answers the question: „Is the agent in optimal energy level (balance)? Or is he/she tired,
exhausted, or on the contrary over energetic and restless?“ Balanced Energy means that
the agent is able to provide long-term optimal performance. Both extremes represent a risk
that the agent would not be able to perform well.
Low
Balance
High
exhausted
energetic
vigorous
burnt out
vital
dynamic
lack of energy
average
reserves
overabundance of energy
2) Job Fulfillment (identification with the job, or simply „Fulfillment“)
Answers the question: „How much is the agent identified with the assigned job, profession
or company? How professionally fulfilled does the agent feel?“ If the agent reaches
balance, he/she enjoys the job and feels satisfied. Extremes show either extreme
commitment that is difficult to maintain for a long time, or lack of commitment that cripples
their performance.
Low
Balance
High
uncommitted
committed
extremely
committed
disengaged
engaged
highly engaged
low level
average level
high level
3) Attrition Index (Risk of leaving the company, turnover, or „Attrition“)
Answers the question: „Is the agent likely to change the job?“ Balanced results mean that
the agent is not volatile to changing the job, or searching for a new job. Yet again,
extremes mean unhealthy or not favorable situation. High attrition index represent a high
risk that the agent would leave, which is not preferred, especially if he/she is otherwise a
well performing agent. Extremely low attrition index represent a kind of stubbornness, and
sticking to the job. In this case, the motivation to work might come only from the necessity
to pay bills or saturate other obligations.
Low
Balance
High
low tendency
average
tendency
big tendency
extremely stable
stable
unstable
low risk
average risk
high risk
Five secondary AgentBalance parameters
Apart from the 3 main parameters, AgentBalance provides also a detailed drill-down of
agents’ energy level (“Energy”). That means that team leaders get deeper insight into how
is the mental energy invested, and more importantly, what are the proportions of energy
invested to various areas of agents’ professional life.
These parameters serve as a guide to better understand the 3 main parameters and
should always be evaluated in regard with these. Precision of measurement of secondary
parameters is lower than precision of primary parameters and it is even more important to
understand the development of values in time. Do not judge based on a single results.
What really matters is a long-term trend.
Contrary to main parameters, which are polar values with two extremes (low and high) and
a balanced range of values, secondary parameters do not have the balance range. The
higher the secondary parameter the more mental energy is invested into the particular
area.
We display this agents’ energy drilldown in two charts. The first we call “The Flower” (see
left chart above) and the second we refer to as simply a pie chart (see the right chart
above). The Flower shows the exact amount of energy invested into five secondary
parameters. Each parameter representing a flower’s petal can quickly indicate how
energetic the agent is further showing where the energy is invested.
The pie chart reveals only proportions of the total energy available (meaning the total
energy is 100%). This is useful to see if the ratios are balanced, meaning similar in their
value, which we consider as a heathy state.
In the example depicted above, this agent is investing most of his mental energy into selfregulation, but the amount invested into executing job tasks is also significant. It seems
that he is not actively searching for a new work opportunity.
1) Executing Jobs Tasks
Shows how much Energy is spent on the real job that the agent is paid for. This does not
necessarily mean that low results represent low performing agent. The agent might be able
to reach great results but low energy hints that the agent is simply not that focused on the
job. Or in other words there is a certain reserve that well motivated agent could make use
of.
Extremely high values mean that the agent is fully focused and giving his/her best.
Nevertheless, it could also mean that the job is draining agents’ energy, that it costs more
than necessary, which could mean a problem in the long run – exhaustion, drop in
attention and thus in performance.
2) Searching for a new job
This parameter is almost exactly the opposite of the first parameter. It shows how much
mental energy is spent on searching / thinking about / dreaming about a new job. Agents
with this parameter in high figures might still have great results, yet it is clear that a certain
amount of mental energy (or subconscious focus) is wasted on unproductive tendencies.
The parameter is the least precise of all, as it is calculated from a single color-word
association. Therefore, the value should never be overestimated, it is meant to serve only
as a general guide of agents’ affinity to having a different job. However, if appears together
with high Attrition Index (primary parameter), it only underlines agents’ motivation.
3) Working Environment
Dependence or independence on working conditions. The higher the value, the more of
agents’ mental energy is spent on dealing with things like office air temperature,
uncomfortable headset or chair, poorly designed table, etc.
As modern researches suggest, working conditions play a major role in agents’ overall
performance. Consider making adjustments in case the whole team, or even multiple
teams show high values in the Working environment parameter. Their performance could
improve dramatically.
4) Managing Relationships
Every team has its unique atmosphere that is created by its elements – in our case agents
and supervisors. Behaving within expected social standards might be difficult for some
agents, thus depleting their total energy. In other words, this parameters represent how
much energy does the agent need to invest to “being there with others”.
It may well be that agents with this parameter high above the average simply do not match
the team or overall personal setup of the contact center. They still might perform well, but
placing them in a different team or making adjustments in company culture should provide
an improvement in their emotional comfort and also their performance.
5) Self Regulation (Self Discipline)
Self-regulation, suppressing agents’ natural behavior, controlling of their social pose,
pretending to be someone else. All of these phenomenon cost energy and block agents’
comfort. It is important to encourage agents to freely express their opinions.
Consider incorporating the open door policy, flexible shifts, and other workforce
optimization techniques that make agents’ life more convenient. Working as a contact
center agent for many people already means a lot of self-suppression in order to cope
with difficult customers on the line.
Evaluation procedure
The evaluation procedure described here always means evaluation of 4 consecutive
results. You can always make a basic assumptions based on the latest result, yet to get a
precise understanding of the situation, read values 4 weeks back (and more).
1) Evaluate the Energy
a. Low – The agent is tired. Is he going through a difficult life phase? Is the
currently assigned campaign very demanding? Has the agent been working
for a long time without any vacation? Can you help the agent to take a rest
or slow down? Can you adjust the upcoming planned shifts?
b. Balance – Preferred result, no actions needed. The agent feels energetic,
relaxed, in a good mood.
c. High – Is the agent over stimulated? Exciting life period? In love?
Understand the level of agents’ energy first. It is the most important parameter when it
comes to long-term optimal performance. Difficult or exciting life issues (we all have them)
influence performance significantly.
Also correlate the assignment (current campaign) if you see any major changes in the level
of energy. Basically, the level of mental energy is influenced by non-professional issues, or
issues directly connected to the job. In either case, see the Secondary parameters
(Energy Drill-down) to better understand how the energy is invested.
2) Evaluate Job Fulfillment
a. Low – The agent does not feel very enthusiastic about the job. It might be a
long-term problem or a short-term drop. The first case suggests that
working as a contact center agent might not fulfil agents’ ambitions or
stimulate their intellectual capacity. Short term drops might indicate a
relation to current campaign – try to correlate with agents’ assignments.
b. Balance – Preferred result, no actions needed. The agent feels safe,
motivated, and comfortable.
c. High – Might indicate too much dedication. The agent might want to
advance in his/her career rather quickly, wants to please his/her managers,
wants a salary increase, etc. In each case, the motivation is not healthy and
does not lead to balanced long-term performance. This kind of person
would be very moved in case of a major failure, leading to a burn out or
emotional depletion. This scenario is even more difficult to handle than
people with low result, as those with low values simply need more empathy,
motivation and coaching, whereas people with high parameters often
struggle with more serious mental / emotional obstacles.
3) Evaluate the Attrition Index
a. Low – The agent is not likely to change the lob. He/she is not actively
searching for a new opportunity. The lower the parameter, the more is the
agent sticking to the current job, up to an unhealthy state, which in its
extreme could mean that the agent would not leave under any
circumstances.
b. Balance – In this case, the agent would evaluate any job opportunity and
objectively consider any pros and cons. This is balanced, therefore
preferred situation, because only self-aware, confident person can perform
optimally in a long run.
c. High – Increased attrition index means that the agent is actively or
unconsciously considering a change. Slightly increased parameter usually
represents a person that is simply open to new challenges, while extremely
high values mean the person will be difficult to keep in the current job.
It is important to highlight that low attrition index is not what should be considered as a
success. Healthy, enthusiastic agents should be in the balanced zone, where any job
opportunity is simply considered and freely accepted or dismissed.
Always observe this parameter for several weeks before making any major assumptions.
Be sensitive and talk to agents to realize what is their motivation to leave, if that is the
case. In most cases, people seek for recognition and increased attrition index might be a
straight result of the lack of it.
If the agent is really in the situation that clearly demonstrates his/her will to leave, check the
agent’s performance results and consider either motivating the agent to stay or allowing
him/her to leave in a socially acceptable manner.
Real life scenarios
Energetic Agent Anne
Anne is a powerhouse. Both her energy and job fulfillment are steady and very high. She
might be restless, eager to get more work challenges that she would handle without any
problems. Her attrition index is low, meaning that she is satisfied with her job, not willing to
make any changes.
The drop you can see in week 19 was caused by a major misunderstanding with her team
leader, but it quickly became a solved issue and her parameters went back to the state
before this incident.
Questionable Agent Bob
Bob shows low job fulfillment, below average energy and slightly increased attrition index.
It is because Bob is assigned to a difficult campaign, that he is having troubles handling.
On the other hand, it is clear that Bob is not giving up. Rather, he is trying hard, which
consumes his energetic resources.
In this case, the team leader should consider a coaching session and ask questions about
Bob’s ability to handle the campaign. This situation is difficult to maintain for an extended
period of time, therefore it is necessary to make adjustments in expectations and Bob’s
work load.
Balanced Agent Charlie
For the couple of last weeks, Charlie is hitting the balanced zone in all primary parameters.
That means that Charlie is in an optimal mental condition.
We can see high self-regulation parameter occurring over the course of most tests. It
means that this agent is having a hard times pretending to match the job, team, job, etc.
There is simply something that Charlie needs to mask, in order to keep his status. While
other parameters are balanced, this could seldom disappear in upcoming weeks.
How is the result calculated?
AgentBalance is operating on top of more than 650.000 test results collected all around
the world. The balance does not really mean an absolute value, that would indicate how
one feels without allowing free explanation. Balanced
results mean a result that is most common in the
population, therefore understood as a standard to which
people are compared to. AgentBalance data is
standardized to match Gaussian distribution of
parameters.
The result is calculated based on the series of colors selected, as well as the speed
necessary for each color selection, the order of each selected color, relations between
colors selected for key phrases, and also agents’ age and gender. It is clear that the
calculation is rather complex.
What does not really matter is the “meaning of colors”. Various cultures assign various
associations to colors (white is a color of death in Japan, while in Europe it represents
unconditional love, spring, etc.). We calculate the results based on proportions and initial
and final self-calibration, so that each subjective meaning of each agent renders irrelevant
to the final result.
Therefore, even if the agent “tries” to complete the test “completely differently” than
previously, it still should return very similar result. We take the consistency of results very
seriously and offer only parameters that are well tested and correlated with the whole base
of results.
Using AgentBalance throughout the agents’ life cycle
It is clear that each employee has their own professional life cycle, which is very important
in the contact center environment with average turnover rates over 30% per year.
Observing three main AgentBalance parameters can reveal in which phase the agent is
currently situated. Correlate the total time of agent working in the contact center with
Energy, Fulfillment and Attrition index to get the whole picture.
Image courtesy of Callme IQ (http://iq.callme.io)
1) New hires
Use AgentBalance data to understand which agent is likely to pass the initial training and
what is even more important, who is likely to perform later well. New hires should present
high energy and fulfilment, and low attrition index. In other words, new hires should be
enthusiastic, full of energy and focused on the training. If not the case, you can expect
sub-optimal performance in the upcoming time.
You can also make estimates about the difficulty of the initial training. If you make any
changes and observe changes in main parameters of agents in training period, adjust the
training to obtain balanced average results.
2) Honeymoon
When the initial training period is over, agents should already understand what does the
job bring and take. As in every job where people are enthusiastic meeting new challenges,
exploring the team, company benefits, etc. you should observe a high level of Job
Fulfillment.
As the name of the phase suggests, this is the sweetest time of agents’ life. Not (yet)
exhausted by difficult contact center tasks, the agent just passed the training and is
expecting to be successful employee.
3) Experienced Vets
Experienced agents make the backbone of every performing contact center. They not only
dictate the performance benchmark, but also have the capacity to encourage younger
colleagues in their team. Their contribution to overall success is priceless.
Team leaders should closely observe these good-old-fellow team members, motivate and
coach them to extend their professional life span.
4) Slow Burn
Job Fulfillment starts dropping down while Attrition index goes up, combined with the fact
that the agent is hitting the average length of agent life cycle means that the agent is
entering the pre-final stage of his contact center job.
But still, agents who came to this point after couple of years are extremely experienced
and valuable. AgentBalance shows how quickly the agent would enter the final stage,
where his /her departure is only a matter of time and opportunity.
5) Checked Out
Checking out physically (leaving the company) is not the worst thing to happen in this
phase. Mental checkout means much higher danger to teams’ performance and
motivation.
AgentBalance will clearly identify people at the end of their contact center life cycle, so that
team leaders can part their ways with agents that gave up on their job in order to save the
rest of the team from gossiping, negative emotions and poor performance.
Frequently Asked Questions
How reliable is the CWAT method?
CWAT has been used for years by multinational enterprises, municipalities and sport
teams. During that time, we have collected a huge sample of results that make our
psychometric data very accurate.
What if the agents do not pay attention to the test?
Well, it is like any other tool used in the contact center. Team leaders must explain agents
the method and how it helps to setup a functional atmosphere in their team. Agents that
do not want to cooperate are very likely those whose motivation is already low, which will
be shown shortly after the testing begins.
The test provides not only a mirror to team leaders and upper management about the
situation in teams, but also clearly shows how team leaders hit their main goal to keep
agents motivated.
When would an agent with high Attrition Index leave?
High attrition index does not mean an agent is already leaving. Nevertheless, it definitely
shows that if the agent was offered a chance for a different job, it might be perceived as
“better” job at that time and the agent would definitely consider the opportunity.
Such an agent could remain in the contact center for months, yet it is just a matter of time
before he/she would leave. Keeping such an agent in team would demotivate the team
anyway, so it is best to either increase agents’ motivation dramatically, or to allow them to
leave seamlessly.
What parameter values are considered critical?
Critical values of attrition index, job fulfilment and energy level are considered between 0 –
15 and 85 – 100. These are extremes that represent a minor part of population. Although
the contact center industry is far from sample of an average population, so you can expect
that the real balanced values can be shifted from the standard ranges.
You will be able to make adjustments of the balanced zone after couple months of
collecting real life data and comparing them with agents’ performance and turnover rate.
How is the data secured?
AgentBalance data is stored in a separate database for each company. The database is
accessible only through encrypted SSH connection. The cloud-based application is using
SSL connection with a valid certificate.
Please feel free to contact us when in doubt!
Product issues:
[email protected]
Training, coaching and certification:
[email protected]
Sales:
[email protected]
www.agentbalance.com
twitter: @agentbalance