“When the going gets tough, the tough get going!” as the Billy Ocean song goes… But how do you make sure your agents are tough and resilient in the first place?
It’s about putting good foundations in place and making a habit of looking after your people, so the tough days really don’t seem so tough after all.
To help you get started, we gathered together some of the best ideas out there for boosting agent resilience.
How to Improve Agent Resilience
1. Normalize Tough Days, Don’t Glorify Them
Create space for agents to admit when they’ve had a bad day.
Acknowledging stress reduces its power and prevents burnout from becoming the norm.
Contributed by: Jon Edwards, Managing Director at The Lion Consultancy Ltd.
Team management can also help support agents after a tough day. For advice on how to do this, read our article: 10 Quick Wins to Help Agents Recover From a Tough Day
2. Introduce a “Timeout” Code Agents Can Switch to When They Need It
We have introduced a “Timeout” code agents can switch to – instead of hiding in after-call work – when they are feeling the pressure.
This works really well for two reasons. First, it gives the agent the opportunity in real time to just admit “I need a bit of time”.
Second, it also means the managers can see that they’re sitting in that code. So they can reach out and give the agent any support they might need to get their day back on track.
Contributed by: Emma Wilson, Operations Manager – Optics at Specsavers
3. Schedule Mini-Breaks for Breathing Exercises and Stretches
Agents should have scheduled mini-breaks in their shifts so they can stretch, do some deep breathing exercises, and even just stand up.
They should then take longer breaks to destress through walking, reading, and meditating, whilst also remembering to stay full and hydrated.
Having some things in their personal workspace – like a favourite quote, affirmation, or image – can also help them to destress.
All these measures help to strengthen their mental resilience against whatever the day might have in store.
Contributed by: Sue Duris, Principal Consultant at M4 Communications, Inc.
4. Teach Agents to Stop Taking It Personally
We need to teach people how to deal with the emotional side of customer service and to stop taking customer issues personally.
It’s about reframing the situation to give agents better resilience to deal with it.
5. Schedule More Regular Complaints Training to Reduce Fear of the Unknown
For many agents, highly charged complaints calls are few and far between, and as such there’s typically not as much emphasis on how to handle these more difficult calls in top-up training.
This means that when they do pop up from time to time, they create more stress for the agent as they are less comfortable dealing with them.
Therefore, setting aside more time to practise these scenarios can really boost agents’ resilience, as when they become more comfortable with these types of calls, their overall anxiety tends to go down.
Contributed by: Afshan Kinder, Contact Centre Expert and Partner at SwitchGear
6. Buddy Up Agents for Peer Support
If you know someone struggles regularly, why not offer some peer support?
Buddy up your agents so they have someone to lean on when they’re feeling overwhelmed or stressed.
Contributed by: Kim Ellis, Chief Learning Architect at Go Ginger Learning Solutions
7. Set Expectations Up Front If You’re Expecting a Tough Shift
Set the scene by bringing your team together either via a Teams call, an in-person huddle, or even a video message on WhatsApp (something where you can see people or where someone can be seen).
Setting the expectations for the next few days, or the week ahead, can help with understanding and motivation and help agents feel less alone in how they are experiencing the day.
Contributed by: Emily Simmons, Learning Facilitator at Boost
Making sure your agents are ready for their shifts can also be beneficial. For advice on this, read our article: Hit the Ground Running! How to Help Your Agents Be Shift Ready
8. Support Teams to Better Understand Their Personal Levels of Resilience
Support teams by giving them the skills and knowledge to identify their own resilience levels, when their resilience levels might be dropping and how to regain control.
Ensure they have access to wellbeing resources they may need throughout the day and tips to enhance their wellbeing too.
For example, like this ‘Practical Approaches to Colleague Wellbeing’ Webinar, which discusses workplace challenges and practical tips to support customer service teams.
Contributed by: Helen Pettifer, Director of Helen Pettifer Training Ltd and a specialist in the fair treatment of vulnerable customers
9. Be Mindful That Your Team Takes Their Emotional Cues From YOU!
Even when the chaos is unavoidable – like when call volumes spike thanks to a storm or a system glitch – leaders still control one powerful variable: the energy.
Your team take their cues from you, and the tone you set shapes how they’ll move through the week.
You can either amplify the stress or ground the team with a little levity.
Contributed by: Brittany Hodak, Keynote Speaker & Author of Creating Superfans
10. Regularly Remind Agents How to Access Your Employee Assistance Programme
Invest in an employee assistance programme offering confidential counselling, and regularly remind staff of its existence and how to access it.
These details can be overlooked – but staff typically need the information when they need the service, and you can’t always predict when that will be – so remind them frequently!
For three key steps to improving mental health and wellbeing in the contact centre, read our article: A Guide to Improving Mental Health In the Contact Centre
11. Build in Workshop Sessions to Review Calls in a Safe Environment
Build in workshop sessions to enable agents to review tougher calls or contacts in a safe environment and share best practice amongst the team.
Contributed by: Elaine Lee, Managing Director of ReynoldsBusbyLee
12. Be More Observant So You Can Spot When Something’s Not Quite Right
Be observant. Noticing when something’s not quite right (and this really comes with knowing your team) goes a long way. Take a moment to notice body language, interactions and tone. What do you see?
Then be sure to check in too! A perfect follow-on from your observation is then to check in.
Don’t assume that because that person or that team is usually resilient, they’ll resolve their emotional dip themselves. A ‘how’s your day been so far’ could be your foot in the door to supporting them.
13. Dust Off Your Headset When It Really Counts
Be prepared to dust off your headset when times are tough, so your team know they can count on you when it matters!
Leading by example goes a heck of a long way. In times where call volumes soar, block out time in your diary and take some calls with your team.
Don’t sit behind a closed door, stand right beside them! They’ll help you when you don’t know the answer, and the bond between your team will grow even greater.
Contributed by: Emily Simmons, Learning Facilitator at Boost
14. Lean Into Development Opportunities to Motivate Agents Through the Tougher Days
When you have really good career development opportunities in place, I’ve found it makes people more accepting of the tougher days as they are more invested in the purpose.
This really helps to shift the mindset from a defeated “urgh, I need a new job” to a more determined “I can get through this and will rise to the challenge. It will really help support my team leader development training.”
Contributed by: Emma Wilson, Operations Manager – Optics at Specsavers
If you are looking for advice on what it takes to set out truly transparent and engaging career pathways, read our article: How to Define Career Paths in Your Contact Centre
15. Reframe Conflict as Opportunity
Train agents to see difficult calls as a chance to grow.
A frustrated customer isn’t a personal attack, it’s an opportunity to demonstrate skill, empathy, and professionalism.
You can also use morning huddles to set a positive tone. Shift language from “complaints department” to “opportunities department” to influence mindset before the first call.
Contributed by: Jon Edwards, Managing Director at The Lion Consultancy Ltd.
You should also make sure that your contact centre is handling complaints correctly. For advice on this, read our article: 21 Ways to Improve Complaints Handling in Your Contact Centre
16. Give Your Agents the Freedom to Take Mental Health Days When They Need Them
Introduce policies like “medias” – allowing spontaneous extra leave days for mental health reasons.
Contributed by: Jenna Birchall, Vulnerability Consultant at Helen Pettifer Training Ltd
17. Talk to Agents About What They Can Do in Their Personal Lives Too
One of Stephen Covey’s Habits of Highly Effective People is to sharpen the saw, which is defined as continuously renewing and improving our physical, mental, and emotional aspects to maintain effectiveness.
So be sure to talk to your agents about what they can also do outside of work to support their overall mental health and resilience.
For example, agents should prepare for their day by physically readying themselves – making sure they get plenty of rest and hydration and exercise, as well as mentally readying themselves through mindfulness activities like journaling or meditation.
Also explain the value of social stimulation through spending time with friends and family, and doing fun things such as cooking, gardening, or watching a movie to keep their creative juices flowing.
Contributed by: Sue Duris, Principal Consultant at M4 Communications, Inc.
18. Make Sure Your Team Know You’ve Got Their Backs!
Protecting your agents during the tougher times comes down to the culture you create in your contact centre. Your agents need to know they can be open with you, as their manager, about how they’re feeling.
They need to feel safe coming to you after a difficult call or when they’re showing early signs of burnout – and they need to know you’ve got their backs.
Contributed by: Kim Ellis, Chief Learning Architect at Go Ginger Learning Solutions
What Do You Do to Help Build Resilience in Your Frontline Teams?
Join our LinkedIn community and let us know.
If you are looking for more ways to support and develop your contact centre teams, read these article next:
- How to Coach Resilient Contact Centre Team Leaders
- How to Improve Your Agents’ Critical Thinking Skills
- How to Make the Best Use of Coaching Time
Author: Megan Jones
Reviewed by: Jo Robinson
Published On: 20th Aug 2025
Read more about - Call Centre Management, Afshan Kinder, Brittany Hodak, Elaine Lee, Emily Simmons, Emma Wilson, Health Wellbeing and Stress, Helen Pettifer, Jenna Birchall, Jon Edwards, Kim Ellis, Leadership, Management Strategies, Sue Duris, Team Management, Top Story, Training and Coaching
