Effects of Workspace Design on Call Center Agent Performance

Transcription

1 Effects of Workspace Design on Call Center Agent Performance Dr. Michael O Neill, Herman Miller, Inc. Patricia Bergquist, Herman Miller, Inc. Jim Dolislager 10 th Annual Applied Ergonomics Conference Celebrating The Past..Shaping The Future

2 Location South Carolina Houses 1150 employees 256 survey responses Implemented site in January 2002, prior to Office Furniture Standards program Frame and Tile system, workstation clusters Station footprint 6 X6 rectilinear (90 degree) 150 Square Feet per rep $2350 per rep station Very nice environment 2

3 Location - Tennessee Houses 948 employees 284 survey responses Implemented site in October 2003 using Office Furniture Standards by Employment Bands Pole system, shell configuration Station footprint 4 X4 boomerang (120 degree) 119 Square Feet per rep $1750 per rep station Nice environment 3

4 Workplace/Behavioral Assessment (Survey) 4

5 Workplace/Behavioral Assessment (Survey) 5

6 Workplace/Behavioral Assessment - Survey Averages South Carolina Tennessee Blue highlights show scales with statistically significant differences 6

7 Workplace Predictors of ACW (After Call Work) Scores Pain/ Discomfort -.17 Group Cohesion Sense of Community After-Call Work Time Comfort, Cohesion and Community predict 6% of ACW Scores 7

8 Workplace Predictors of First Call Resolution Scores Support for Collaboration +.16 First Call Resolution Support for Collaboration predicts 5% of variance in First Call Resolution 8

9 Job Satisfaction No significant difference in intention to stay responses between the two locations (Question 1). South Carolina employees are more likely to recommend a job at the Company to a friend (Question 2). Overall, Job Satisfaction is quite high (89-90%) at both locations. What workspace design features predict Job Satisfaction? Tennessee South Carolina 9

10 Workspace Predictors of Job Satisfaction: Intention to Stay Workstation Features Job/ Environmental Control Sense of Community Job Satisfaction (Intention to Stay) These 3 variables predict 9% of Job Satisfaction (Intention to Stay) 10

11 Customer Service Satisfaction Scores 1. First Call Resolution Percentage of customers whose service was resolved on the first call 2. Entire Representative Performance (Entire Rep) Percentage of customers that gave a superior rating (8 10 rating on 10 point Likert Scale) to Representative on various issues such as: Did Rep Resolve Issue? Knowledge Willingness Understanding Responsibility Efficiency Confident Manner 3. Overall Percentage of customers that gave a superior rating on overall Representative performance 11

12 Customer Satisfaction Scores Comparison by Site Tennessee First Call Resolution is significantly better than South Carolina (t=-2.15, p<.04). Tennessee Entire Rep is significantly better than South Carolina (t= -2.97, p<.009). Tennessee Overall is significantly better than South Carolina (t= -1.97, p<.06). Average CS Score 81% 77% 73% 69% 65% Jan Feb Tennessee South Carolina Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Do any workplace design features influence Customer Satisfaction scores? Month (2005) 12

13 Workplace Predictors of Customer Satisfaction Scores Adjustability/ Ergonomic Features Pain/ Discomfort Job/ Environmental Control Sense of Community Customer Satisfaction Scores (CSTS) These 4 variables predict 16% of Customer Satisfaction Scores 13

14 Claims Data South Carolina Tennessee 14

15 Average Lost Workdays by Job Type and Location South Carolina Tennessee 15

16 Observations We found that Workplace Design features have a small but consistent, significant and real influence over key business performance measures. Many other things like technology, management practices, job design, etc., also influence performance besides the workplace design. We were able to relate survey data with separately collected Agent performance, claims, and customer satisfaction data. 16

17 Recommendations Consider Impact on Workplace Design Strategy: Enhance Adjustability of Ergonomic Features and Support for Collaboration to improve some aspects of Agent performance (ACW, First Call Resolution). Group Cohesion is related to improved ACD scores. Aside from workspace design, can any management practices/principles also be implemented to continue to improve Group Cohesion? Research has shown powerful health benefits (and cost avoidance) related to enhanced job control especially for high-stress Agent jobs. 17

18 Recommendations / Observations Findings from Other Companies: Enhanced Job/Environmental Control finding with pole system workspace is consistent with effects we found with pole system environments at Call Centers for other organizations. In other Call Centers we also found a relationship between increased control and higher AHT and lower ACW scores. It might be interesting to know the content of the longer calls. Better help? More Sales? 18

19 Next Steps Enhance validity of data. Examine performance of other Call Center locations and compare to this study data. Employ additional measures of Agent performance (such as sales per Agent), absenteeism and other job performance data, to drive financial analysis of impact of workspace design. 19