LACK OF MOTIVATION IN A CALL CENTER ENVIRONMENT

Management Theory I Final Paper

Lack of Motivation in a Call Center Environment

REBECCA HERNANDEZ

Introduction:

FALL 2015 FINAL ASSIGNMENT

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Introduction:
We have all been in the situation before where you are working for a company,
but you are only doing it because you have to. There is lack of motivation to do work and
whether you want it to or not, your lack of motivation affects the quality of the job that
you are doing. Many things can contribute to your lack of motivation at work, things like
lacking faith in ones own ability or fear of failure. Sometimes lack of motivation can
even come from the lack of being able to support ones family. If you are working at a job
that does not pay enough for you to be able to live comfortably and you struggle every
month to make ends meet that can also greatly impact the motivation that you have to
work. In order to be motivated at work you must also feel that you are safe, you must feel
a sense of belonging and have work esteem. Lastly, you must feel that you can achieve
everything you possibly want to in order to have motivation at work. Bottom line is that
each person has needs that need to be met in order to promote motivation in the work
place otherwise there is a lack of motivation.
In this paper we will explore several reasons why people lose motivation below
and we will also discuss ways to motivate people and keep the morale up in the work
place to avoid having employees feeling unmotivated. We hope to enlighten an employee
of a company as to any possible reasons that they might be feeling lack of motivation in
case we can inspire them to explore their feelings in a hope to correct them and for the
employer; we plan to propose ideas and ways that might not have been already explored
so that there can be a new sense of motivation in your workplace. If both employer and
employee are able to address the reasons for the lack of motivation in their workplace,
perhaps they can work on a solution together and strive for better working conditions and

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bring a new life to the company. The problem occurs when there is nothing done and the
lack of motivation continues.
Problem:
The problem with having a lack of motivation in any environment is that it
inhibits you from doing your job to your full potential. There can be times when you do
not even feel like coming to work in the morning and you have to force yourself.
Specifically, in the call center environment, the lack of motivation reflects in your voice
and radiates to the customer on the other end of the call. Since the lack of motivation
affects ones mood as well, customer service agents do not always do a good job on their
call and the customer suffers. Regardless of what kind of call center you are working for,
your customer will suffer from lack of motivation. It may be that you forget a very
important process in completing their order, you do not process a credit card properly or a
simple one like forgetting to press Order on a Christmas gift that needs to arrive on
time.
Significance:
This study will provide feedback about why employees of call centers lack
motivation and what simple steps call center managers can take to improve the overall
level of morale and motivation in the work place. We will also provide suggestions on
what to do and how to fix your problems.
Research Goal:
The goal of this study is to determine how deep of an effect lack of motivation has
on people in the work place, particularly a call center.
Research Questions:

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1. What is the initial trigger for lack of motivation in call center employees?
2. Does coaching and developing help motivate agents?
3. Does individual recognition motivate agents?

Literature Review:
Over the course of this semester, we have reviewed many different motivational
theories and each one has had their specific reasons that help us attribute to lack of
motivation. You have Maslows hierarchy of needs theory that states that people are
motivated to satisfy physiological, then safety and security, then love and belonging, then
self-esteem, and finally self-actualization needs, in that order. (p.73) We also have two
other motivational theories, the ERG theory and he Two Factory Theory. The ERG theory
basically states that people are motivated to satisfy needs, related to Existence,
Relatedness, and Growth, and that these needs can all be activated at the same time. The
Two- Factor Theory states two distinct sets of factors, called motivators and hygiene
factors, affect job satisfaction, motivation, or job dissatisfaction. (p. 73) With all of these
theories out there, how is it that we can determine which one applies to call center
employees and their lack of motivation. Having had many experiences in different call
centers here in the RGV, some of our group members agree that one of the main theories
that can support a lack of motivation in a call center is Maslows theory. You have to have
comfort in several aspects of your job in order to have security and self-esteem. If you do
not have a self-esteem because your basic needs in your life cannot be met, the lack of
motivation sets in and your job performance is affected. Also feeling like you do not
belong to something bigger and not seeing any potential for growth or individuality can
be a lack of motivation. Some of the problems that exist in call centers that cause lack of

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motivation in employees are tied directly with the leadership; while others are controlled
by departments that are not related to the call center manager. When employees basic
needs are met; like being able to pay their bills without a worry and being able to provide
for their family; that alleviates one stress factor for employees and helps them not feel so
unmotivated in their jobs. Acknowledging employees is also another way that you can
boost the motivation levels in a call center environment. Leaders in this environment tend
to forget that customer service agents normally get very angry customers who call in on
the phone. These customers can be very rude and obnoxious and say ugly and hurtful
things. They tend to degrade you as a person all because they are upset with something.
Management loves to quote agents saying Remember this is customer service, people do
not call us just to tell us they love the service they are receiving, they call us because
something is going wrong. Being yelled at on a constant basis for 8+ hours a day and
then being pulled out and coached about what you need to do to improve quality service
is a big reason people in call centers are lacking motivation. The job itself puts a mental
stress on you when you have to listen to these people all day long call after call (some
queues for calls are as much as 500 calls waiting) and then the few moments that you are
given off the phones, you are being coached and told why you need to be nicer or how
to act nicer. Employees lose their motivation because they honestly feel like they are
trying their best under the circumstances that they are under and yet they are still
criticized. Management in these centers lack depth. They only look at the surface of the
problem and spit out the same lines to you in any call center you go. Empathy, they
say, is one something that you need to have to work in a call center. You lacked empathy
on that call, says every call center supervisor everywhere. Instead of searching deeper

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and looking at the root of the call, they say preprogrammed responses instead. This does
not initiate any motivation to change your monotone and repetitive response to the next
customer because no one took the time to actually engage with you and be involved in
your call. You tend to feed customers the same preprogrammed answers just like the ones
you get on your coaching sessions.

Methodology:
In order to gain knowledge of why there is a lack of motivation in call centers and what
you can do to motivate employees of call centers, visit the call centers here in the valley. I
would encourage you to choose one center for different industries. Locally, there are call
centers for banks, healthcare, Medicaid and Food Stamps, Veterans, Prepaid Cards, Cell
phones, Satellite companies etc. You could look up call centers for each different
category and go ask to speak to their top performing agents and even some middle
performing agents. Ask the top performers what motivates them and then ask the middle
and low performers what they are doing different that they are not achieving the same
results as top performers. Give them a survey and ask them what the environment is like
where they work. Ask them if they are appreciated on a daily basis and in what way. Ask
them what motivates them; money, acknowledgment, overtime, parking spaces, relaxed
dress code? After you visit these call centers, analyze your data and see if there are any
factors that are consistent throughout. Find out what those factors are and find out if you
were given details as to why. You can very easily analyze data by making comparison
charts or graphs showing the percentages representing the reasons that people are

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unhappy. In your survey questions you can also ask for suggestions about how to make
the place better.

Resources available:
There are plenty of resources available to help boost the motivation in call centers. You
can start by making sure that the hiring process is a thorough one. You can hold open
houses where you allow agents a first hand look at what they are going to be getting in to.
This will help set expectations and hopefully reduce the turnover rate. By reducing
turnover rate you put less stress on exisiting agents and help them keep motivated
because they know that with quality employees who do their job correctly, call volume is
sure to decrease, thus creating more down time. (Something call center employees love).
Leadership books are a great source of enrichment along with magazines. Leadership
conferences and motivational conferences and analysts can come in as well and provide
you with tips. There are also several ways that dont cost a cent that can be used to
motivate a group of people. Simple things like acknowledgment, work perks and free
lunches are resources available to motivate people.

Conclusion:
Lack of motivation is very harmful to organizations today. In order for an organization to
be successful motivation is a must. If employees are not motivated conflicts will arise
between the employees and managers. Organizations should motivate employees by
doing things that can employees see that the manager cares about them. If employees see
that the managers care the employees morale will be better and they will produce.

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Managers can also work on trusting his/her employees. Once employees win the
managers trust they can also be more productive and vice versa. By applying these
concepts that are addressed here in this research call centers will have a better working
environment and the employees and managers will be more productive. Following a
simple guide to making sure essential needs are met and then promoting free motivational
tips will also help boost the success of the company. They will have better motivation;
self-esteem, communication, and the retention of employees will be greater.

Potential Impact for management and organizational leadership:

The potential impact that management and organizational leadership have on motivating
their employees is huge. Leaders are the ones who set the example and the culture for the
work place. If employees basic needs are met with their salaries and then they are able to
feel they can assimilate and be a part of something bigger, they will be motivated. If there
is rewards and acknowledgment for doing good; even rewards that are not monetary,
people will strive to be acknowledged. Employees want to feel appreciated and needed.
They want to know that they are making a difference in handling their calls on a day-today basis. They do not need to be put down for their motivation to be low, then their
performance levels drop. The impact of a good leader is huge and can determine the
make or break of a call center operation. I have seen call centers close because of the lack
of leadership.

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References:
I. Jain, S. (2014). Strategies to Address Call Center Challenges. Retrieved
December 5, 2015, from
http://www.fisglobal.com/ucmprdpub/groups/public/documents/document/c02675
3.pdf
II. Mckee, A. (2013). Motivation and Meaning: What Makes People Want to Work?
In Management: A focus on leaders, student value edition. (Second ed., p. 71,73).
Place of publication not identified: Prentice Hall.