Reducing workplace stress can lead to more productive and energised workforce

Huge pressure on customer service providers.

The customer service industry covers a wide range of sectors and industries. With newer technologies and changing trends, there is huge pressure on the customer service providers to be at the top of their game.

Contact centres hold a primary position in customer service provision. The contact centre employees are frontline ambassadors dealing with customers all day, every day. It is therefore important to ensure they are capable of keeping your customers happy when dealing with the plethora of queries they face. And, they can only achieve this if they are happy with the work they do.

An organisation’s overall customer relationship can be positive or negative depending on the service and support it provides. Striving for the ultimate customer service journey of excellence becomes difficult when faced with irate customers and this, therefore, creates high levels of stress not just for the customer but also for the contact centre staff trying their best to resolve issues. This is one reason for high levels of attrition in this sector.

Providing an often, round-the-clock service, these employees are responsible for numerous functions, from answering customer queries, driving sales and marketing strategies, obtaining feedback and importantly maintaining customer relations. When contact centre employees are stressed, this can affect their job performance, causing them to be less productive and potentially make more mistakes.

Contact centre employees are particularly at risk of developing stressrelated problems, which can lead to serious health issues, because of the demanding nature of their work. It is therefore essential for employers to equip themselves with the knowledge and skills to help them build resilience and avoid stress affecting their employees.

It’s important to bear in mind we all have periods where we cross the line from being stretched to stressed, but when the pressure keeps rising and stress becomes chronic, employees are at risk. Both employers and staff need to be aware of how stress affects us all while being mindful of the emotional, physical, cognitive and behavioural responses are to increasing pressure. Employers should use relevant strategies to manage employee responses to pressure for them to remain fit and well.

Helping your employees to be productive in their work will in turn, help to bind your customers more positively. Employers can reduce the possibility of stress occurring by: - Focus on recruiting the right

candidates for the right jobs

- Provide training appropriate to the

job and establish clear expectations - Provide adequate time for employees to adapt to the various challenges and working environment

- Make your employees feel valued and acknowledge their contribution to your organisation

- Have staff move around regularly instead of sitting at desks for 8 hours every day

- Provide the right tools and knowledge-base for faster resolution for their customers

- Help them grow with newer roles and

learning opportunities

Reducing workplace stress can lead to a more productive and energised workforce and it can also be used as a recruiting tool for attracting top talent. Taking some of the steps above will make your employees happier in their work.