Beware contact center leaders: All praise is not necessarily good praise.
Praise agents the wrong way, and it can backfire — causing morale to drop instead of rise.
To give effective praise:
- Be specific. If you say “Keep up the good work, Bill,” and he was slacking off all morning, he’ll think you approve of it. Instead, point out exactly what you like: “Bill, you did a great job pulling together the extended warranties.”
- Make it last. Avoid a “hit and run.” Take some time to talk about the accomplishment. For instance, now that you praised Bill’s job, ask him how he did it.
- Praise extraordinary efforts. Avoid complimenting ordinary performance. Certain work is expected. If you praise that, the praise you give for excellent work won’t mean so much.
- Go beyond praise. Praise will start to sound shallow if it’s the only thing your people get for doing an extraordinary job. Try to maintain a budget for small cash rewards or incentives reps want. You can ask them what kinds of rewards would motivate them to work even harder.
