In his Jan. 31 column, writer Greg Levin argues that call centers lacking balanced, well-designed recognition programs practically guarantee high rates of attrition. Certainly this is true, but as the CEO of an international company specializing in retention programs (www.rideau.com), I’ll argue that there’s more to the equation. Specifically, proper rewards programs also boost financial performance.
According to researcher David Maister, author of Practice What You Preach: What Managers Must Do to Create a High Achievement Culture, companies that raise employee satisfaction by 20 percent increase their financial performance by more than 42 percent. Think about that. A retail call center operator with 200 employees handling just $1 million annually in business could boost its earnings by more than $400,000 just by employing the right rewards and retention strategy. And, probably, have a lot more fun at work in the process.
Through our recognition and reward programs, we have seen that employee satisfaction is an antecedent to customer satisfaction and shareholder value. It’s just never been a more obvious driver of financial performance than it is today. Don’t expect that to change soon.
Warm regards,
Peter Hart
CEO, Rideau Recognition Solutions
The writer is the Chief Executive Officer of Rideau Recognition Solutions and a member of the board for the National Association of Employee Recognition. He can be reached at [email protected].