A few agents lose an hour or so of work time every week dealing with something else — no big deal, right? Actually it may cost you big time.
About two-thirds of your agents likely spend at least an hour a week on non-work related activities, a salary.com survey recently found.
That translates into about $130 billion a year lost by U.S. companies due to employees making or taking calls, checking Facebook and filing their nails (among other things) while on the clock, the survey found.
About 40% of employees in the survey said they spend less than an hour a week doing non-work related activities. That’s usually regarded as acceptable (after all, it’s hard to schedule a doctor’s appointment during lunch breaks). The rest of them said they spend more than hour.
An active supervisor who spends time on the floor with agents can help keep agents focused on work and customers.
There’s something else all leaders can do increase productivity: Cut meeting time. Employees say that’s the biggest work time-waster in their offices. Best bet: Schedule a start and end time for all necessary meetings.
