What Does It Really Take to Run a People-First Operation?

The modern contact centre is undergoing a quiet but meaningful transformation. Long viewed as a cost centre built for volume and efficiency, it is now emerging as a space where employee engagement, empowerment, and operational excellence intersect.

That’s why we’ve drawn on our latest What Contact Centres Are Doing Right Now research into initiatives, engagement levels, and leadership effectiveness – to take a closer look at the evolving workplace dynamics and highlight practical steps for fostering a mature, people-first environment.

Initiatives That Matter

Most contact centres now offer a variety of initiatives aimed at empowering and engaging their workforce.

These initiatives are no longer optional extras – they have become central to operational strategy and retention – and extend to:

• Multiskilling agents to increase variety and career growth opportunities
• Hybrid working arrangements that give agents flexibility while maintaining operational coverage
• Social events and motivational games to enhance workplace culture
• Unpaid leave or flexible time-off to promote work/life balance.

“For years, businesses have had a parent–child relationship with their contact centres. Strategy happened ‘upstairs’; execution ‘downstairs’. Different expectations. Different freedoms. That power imbalance shaped everything, including how the frontline served customers.

But the latest insights show a shift in that thinking. Investment in buddying, upskilling, flexible shifts and hybrid working suggest a maturing relationship. A move away from control and towards trust. From rigid oversight to operational partnership.” – Maria McCann, Co-Founder of Neos Wave

After all, true engagement and empowerment is systemic – embedded in decision-making frameworks, knowledge access, coaching, and the culture of trust. If agents are still required to seek approval to correct a broken process, or tell customers “I’d love to help, but I can’t”, the organization is not yet there.

Employee Engagement Remains a Reliable Indicator of a Healthy Contact Centre

The good news is that the 2025 survey data highlighted an overall improvement in engagement, reflecting the cumulative effect of these initiatives:

• Good engagement rose from 46.7% to 52.8%
• Combined positive engagement (Excellent + Good) increased from 62% to 67%
• The lower end of engagement (Reasonable, Poor, Very Poor) declined from 38% to 33%

These figures indicate a slow but steady shift toward a more engaged workforce.

Not only this, but, encouragingly, contact centres appear to sit above average on the global trends for employee engagement.

“According to the latest Gallup State of the Global Workplace Report, employee engagement remains a significant challenge at 21%.

In the UK, just 10% of workers feel engaged in their jobs, ranking 33rd out of 38 European countries and at half the global average. Encouragingly, contact centres appear to buck this trend.

Why? Many factors influence engagement, including leadership approach, management practices and job design. For contact centre employees, one area with particular potential is autonomy. This is a core psychological need identified by Self-Determination Theory.

When people have the freedom to make choices about how they work, their engagement, wellbeing and performance tend to improve.” – Danny Wareham, Founder & Director of Firgun

None of This Matters Without Strong, Confident Leadership

And whilst initiatives and engagement levels are undoubtedly critical, without effective leadership, they can fail to deliver lasting impact.

Fortunately, our latest research revealed that a majority of professionals still have confidence in their managers’ ability to engage teams. However, confidence is waning, most likely due to increasing pressures on leaders and tighter budgets.

Financial constraints have forced many centres to restructure, reducing support roles or middle management positions.

The result? Leaders are typically managing larger teams, juggling multiple responsibilities, and facing reduced capacity to support their people effectively.

It’s a perfect storm, worsened by long-standing challenges across the industry, including the infamous “Magic Weekend”, where the leap from agent to team leader is often made with minimal preparation and results in new leaders relying solely on trial-and-error learning – creating inconsistency across the contact centre.

It’s just not good enough! Especially when effective leaders not only guide operational performance but also shape culture, employee morale, and retention.

The Interplay Between Initiatives, Engagement, and Leadership Should Not Be Overlooked

Looking across initiatives, engagement, and leadership, therefore, a clear picture emerges: a mature, people-first contact centre requires alignment across all three dimensions:

• Initiatives provide the framework for engagement. Flexible working, training, social events, and peer support give agents reasons to stay motivated and feel valued.
• Engagement reflects the efficacy of those initiatives, showing whether agents feel supported, autonomous, and recognized.
• Leadership ensures that initiatives and engagement translate into consistent operational outcomes and a culture of trust and empowerment.

This alignment is essential for operational performance and employee wellbeing. Without leadership capable of reinforcing initiatives, even the best engagement programmes can falter. Without meaningful initiatives, engagement and leadership are insufficient to sustain culture change.

5 Practical Steps for Fostering a People-First Contact Centre

Want to turn things around in your contact centre?

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel to foster a people-first contact centre workplace, just try out these next steps:

1. Formalize Empowerment and Autonomy

Clearly define decision-making scopes for agents, ensuring they can act independently while remaining accountable. Remove barriers to resolving customer issues and encourage problem-solving.

Embed autonomy in work design too! Offer self-rostering, flexible shifts, and choice in tasks wherever possible. Protect these freedoms even if office attendance policies change.

2. Enhance Leadership Training

Invest in structured leadership programmes rather than relying on “Magic Weekend” transitions. Include coaching, mentoring, and scenario-based learning to equip leaders to engage effectively.

3. Increase Peer Support

Develop buddying and mentoring programmes to facilitate knowledge sharing and emotional support, enhancing both engagement and operational resilience.

4. Prioritize Face-to-Face Interaction

Where hybrid arrangements allow, create meaningful in-office interactions through social events, motivational games, and recognition programmes.

5. Monitor Engagement Metrics

Regularly track engagement through pulse surveys and feedback mechanisms. Use insights to adjust initiatives and address emerging challenges proactively.

By focusing on these actions, you can begin to strengthen the link between people, performance, and customer experience – a critical differentiator in today’s competitive environment. Good luck!

Author: Megan Jones
Reviewed by: Jo Robinson