It Only Takes Nine Days to Retain an Operator

By Paula Ford

No, that isn’t a typo.  Retaining good operators for your telephone answering service should be set in motion within the first nine days, not the first ninety. 

Put yourself in a new hire’s shoes for a minute.  Assume that you’re starting a new job as an operator at your company and that you know no one.  Then thoughtfully ask yourself the following questions:

Does your boss put you under someone else’s wing?  Do your coworkers make a point of welcoming you?  Does the boss make an effort of going to lunch with you, or at least sitting with you for a ten-minute break?  Does anyone show you where the restroom and the lunchroom are?  Do you get reassurance and positive feedback during training?  Does the trainer have a clue of how to do her or his job? 

Do you still feel alienated and lost after the first week?  Is there a “vampire” or a “vampire clique” that makes you feel intimidated or unwelcome?  Have you picked up the company culture by listening to the casual griping among semi-disgruntled operators?  Or do you feel that everyone is friendly and supportive, helping you to feel at home and get up to speed as fast as possible? 

Does the company have a mission statement that everyone must know and repeat daily?  (This can be as simple as “Every call counts.”)  Are new employees given a full view of the company culture by supervisors?

While it may be hard for an owner or manager to accurately answer these questions, exit interviews might be a good source of valuable insight – especially from operators who quit after a few weeks or months.  Much has been written and discussed about the importance of an exit interview.  Do you conduct one?  Do you invite people to be brutally honest so that you can do a better job of making a good fit for the next trainee? Have you ever considered having a third party do an anonymous survey of your employees? 

 The more proactive you are during the first nine days of a new hire’s career with your answering service, the better the chances of retaining them for ninety days and beyond.

Paula Ford is with Answer Center in Virginia Beach, VA.          [download issue]