Changing shift patterns can be stressful for everyone across the contact centre, but sometimes needs must – whether you’ve got to cover new evening or weekend opening hours, or simply need to scale up to cover seasonal demand.
So how do you manage this situation sensitively, so you don’t see agents heading for the door? Our Editor, Megan Jones, spoke to Doug Casterton, Jamie Storer, Jonathan O’Connor, and Paul Allen to find out…
1. Be Open and Honest About What You Need and Why
It’s important to take the time to explain the “why” behind your upcoming shift review – whether you’re short-staffed, in the midst of recruiting to better meet operational needs, or facing high seasonal demand.
This can help to create trust and buy-in as to what’s driving the changes and what flexibility you need from your agents right now. It’s about maintaining a positive working relationship and getting your shift review off to an open and honest start.
Be sure to inform agents about any changes well in advance too!
Effective communication is key, and if you want to find out how to improve communication in your contact centre, read our article: The 7 Cs of Effective Communication
2. Seek Out Volunteers in the First Instance
Always start by asking for volunteers! If you’ve got evening, weekend and even night shifts to cover, don’t assume that no one will want to work them, or immediately try to impose them across the full team. Instead, ask for volunteers, as you may be surprised about what some people want to work.
3. Ask Your Agents for Their Feedback
When rolling out new shift patterns, don’t just hope for the best – ask your agents for their feedback, as Jamie Storer, Sr Manager, Workforce Optimization explains:
“Implement regular feedback mechanisms to understand agent needs and preferences. For example, conduct surveys, hold one-on-one meetings, and create forums for agents to voice their opinions. This feedback can provide valuable insights into how schedule changes are impacting them and what can be done to improve the process.”
Before you go all in and roll out the new schedules across the entire contact centre, it can also help to take your new schedule for a test drive first, as Doug Casterton, Head of Operational Excellence, adds, “Pick a group of agents, run a trial, and gather feedback. Be ready to pivot if things aren’t working out as you’d hoped.”
If you want advice on making sure your staff surveys truly engage your teams and drive actionable results, read our article: 29 Ways to Transform Your Call Centre Staff Surveys
4. Get Creative With the Variety of Shift Options You Offer
Avoid doing the bare minimum! Instead, give your agents lots of choice to make the transition as smooth as possible.
“Dive deep into your data, look at staffing patterns, call volumes, peak times, and agent performance. Don’t just look back, peer into the crystal ball of future business goals too! Now, here’s where it gets fun.
Whip up a smorgasbord of shift options. Fixed shifts, rotating shifts, flexible shifts… Get creative! But remember, we’re not just playing schedule Tetris here. Each option needs to tick both the business box and the work–life balance box.” – Doug Casterton
There’s no shortage of choice either, as there are lots of different shift patterns in use across the industry, as our 2024 research shows:
Split-shifts have become more popular because of homeworking, as Paul Allen, Head of Customer Support also shares:
“Nobody’s going to drive back into the office a few hours after they left, but there’s quite a lot of people out there who will happily do a split-shift and sign back on at home between 9pm and 11pm when the kids have gone to bed. It’s about being creative and opening yourself up to the possibilities.”
For ideas for how to successfully plan, build and manage flexible schedules in the contact centre, read our article: How to Build Flexible Schedules in the Contact Centre
5. Introduce Shift-Bidding to Take Some of the Strain
Another way to get buy-in and give agents more control of their new schedules is to introduce shift-bidding.
“Shift-bidding via workforce management software is the most popular method for assigning schedules with the goal of awarding your best agents their preferred shift.
How does it work? Quite simply, a designated period is determined for agents to pre-rank their desired shifts and then they are awarded shifts based on a performance metric or on tenure.” – Jamie Storer
6. Think “Will Agents Be Able to Get to Work at That Time?”
Don’t forget to take travel considerations into account – especially if a lot of your team rely on public transport and your contact centre is awkward to get to.
“In one role, I did some analysis of call arrivals and spotted a jump between 5am and 6am and really wanted to get 2–3 people on a 5am shift, but the Operations Manager at the time pointed out I’d probably never get it covered as our contact centre was in an awkward place to reach via public transport.
After all, if agents can’t physically get there, it is not going to work!” – Jonathan O’Connor, Resource Planning Manager
7. Adapt Your Approach to Weekend Shifts to Make It Easier on Everyone
When introducing or adapting your weekend shifts, it’s important to make it as fair as possible – and explore different possibilities to ease the strain.
For example, you could rotate agents between a full and half weekend, as Jonathan O’Connor shares:
“Here, we expect agents to do one full weekend and one half weekend (either a Saturday or Sunday) per month. That way, it’s fair across the board, nobody’s penalized, and they know when their weekend is coming up so can plan ahead.”
You could also try introducing a 3455 shift system, as Paul Allen explains:
“In a previous role, our teams were working across a seven-day week with shifts from 7am to 11pm, and the most contentious point was always weekend working, so we introduced what we called a 3455 pattern, referring to the number of days that an agent would work in the week:
- Week 1 – Work 3 weekdays and both weekend days.
- Week 2 – Work 4 weekdays and one weekend day
- Weeks 3 and 4 – Work 5 weekdays (Monday to Friday shifts only)
This proved to be a win–win, as it achieved the right amount of attendance at weekends for us, whilst the agents could follow the pattern and know which weekends they would be working in advance.”
8. Take Religious Needs and Holidays Into Account
You also need to be considerate of religious needs and holidays. For example, if you’re working with a devout Catholic who needs to go to church every Sunday, have a conversation about other ways they can support the team over the weekends.
9. Avoid Favouritism
Make sure that shift changes are managed fairly and consistently. Regardless of a bidding system or assigning shifts, avoid favouritism and use objective criteria when establishing the system to be used.
To get this right, it can also help to gather your A-team, as Doug Casterton adds, “I’m talking about the planning team, operations, HR heroes, and your star agents. Don’t forget the union folks if they’re in the mix.”
While a 100% satisfaction rate is near impossible, this will help in preventing dissatisfaction and promote a positive work environment.
10. Try Implementing a Reward System for Those Who Take on Less-Desirable Shifts
Recognize and reward agents who adapt well to schedule changes.
“Acknowledging their flexibility and dedication can go a long way in keeping them motivated. Implementing a reward system for those who take on less-desirable shifts or cover for colleagues can also encourage a cooperative and supportive work culture. You could also consider using an attendance metric as an incentive for awarding shifts.” – Jamie Storer
Get It Wrong and Your Agents Will Just Call in Sick
Balancing shift patterns and keeping agents satisfied requires a thoughtful and proactive approach, and it’s well worth taking the time to get it right too.
You can’t just impose unpopular options and expect agents to get on with it, as Jonathan O’Connor concludes:
“I’ve had instances where you just lose staff. They rebel against it and stop coming in! Suddenly, you find they’re sick, or they’re putting in their holiday requests to always avoid that new late or weekend shift.
So, keep that front of mind, as it’s no good planning for those people to be on those shifts if you know by the time it actually comes to that day, they won’t show up, and you’re not going to get the outcome you want.”
If you do have a spike in sickness and are looking for advice on how to get your sickness levels back down, read our article: Get Sickness Under Control – 21 Management Tips
With massive thanks to the following people for sharing their experience for this article:
- Doug Casterton, Head of Operational Excellence at GetYourGuide
- Jamie Storer, Sr Manager, Workforce Optimization at Columbia Sportswear Company
- Jonathan O’Connor, Resource Planning Manager at Tructyre
- Paul Allen, Head of Customer Support at Department for Education
For more great articles on contact centre shifts, read these next:
- Hit the Ground Running! How to Help Your Agents Be Shift Ready
- 32 Tips for Building Flexibility Into Contact Centre Schedules
- 9 Clever Ways to Improve Agent Schedules
Author: Megan Jones
Reviewed by: Xander Freeman
Published On: 25th Nov 2024
Read more about - Call Centre Management, Doug Casterton, Jamie Storer, Jonathan O’Connor, Leadership, Paul Allen, Retention, Scheduling, Shift Patterns, Staffing, Top Story, Workforce Management (WFM)
