What is workforce engagement management (WEM)?

Workforce engagement management (WEM) is a set of technologytoolsand business practices focused on employee engagement and satisfaction being at the center of productivitycustomer service interactionsand business success. If you’re new to the world of workforceyou’ve likely seen a variety of acronyms in your researchtrainingor other findings. WEM is an employee-focused iteration of methods and processes used to promote productivity and efficient management across contact centers.  

Workforce engagement follows in the footsteps of workforce optimization (WFO) and workforce management (WFM) as popular practices in contact centers. While WFO emphasized streamlining quality management processes to promote productivity at reduced costWFM added an additional layer of scheduling and forecasting for optimal staffing. WEM is about ensuring employees are happy to in turnkeep your customers happy.  

The importance of employee engagement

Engaged and happy employees are directly tied to better business performanceespecially in contact centers. According to Gallupengaged employees are more likely to create better relationships with customerspromoting a 20% increase in sales. Disengaged employees are also attributed to around $1.9 trillion in lost productivity annually.  

In short:  sufficient WEM solutions help businessestheir employeesand the customers they serve.

When boosting productivityWEM solutions also improve employee retention and cost savings. Investing in employee engagement tools that promote better work-life balanceperformance feedbackand goal recognition will save companies in the long run. Gallup estimates that 51% of US employees are seeking new employment. To replace leaders and managers it costs around 200% of their salarytechnical and professionals roles cost about 80% of their salaryand 40% of a frontline employees' salary.

How do we enhance workforce engagement?

Enhancing workforce engagement starts with building a company culture that values each employee. Gone are the days of “what can you do for me?” as an employer. Todaywe need to reframe this workplace question as “what can we do to help each other?” This question should be asked at all levels of the organization to foster a cohesive work culture that encourages employee engagement and satisfaction.

Contact centers and other customer service organizations can utilize WEM software like Aspect WorkforceOS™ to enhance engagement efforts with:

• Clear communication and personalized feedback
• Cohesive goal setting and performance tracking
• Employee recognition and rewards
• Balanced schedules promoting work-life balance
• Coaching and learning opportunities  

Focusing on performance management and quality managementin addition to employee needscreates a better experience for your team and the customers they assist.  

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Communication is key in employee engagement

Clear and thoughtful communication is essential to effective workforce management. Leadership must develop communication practices across all levels of business to ensure cohesion among teams. Enhanced communication practices are exceptionally important in an era where remote and hybrid work are more popular than ever.  

Effective communication helps employees understand individual and company goalsperformance evaluationservice expectationsand organizational changes. Not only does this help teams stay on track during their day-to-day workflowbut clear communication instills trust between managers and employees.  

WEM platforms typically include communication tools to facilitate relationships among contact center teams. WorkforceOS™ includes communication tools throughout the product suiteincluding various channels to manage employee scheduling changesperformance feedbackand goal tracking to ensure alignment between managers and employees.  

Create a continuous feedback loop in with performance management

It’s difficult for employees to strengthen skills and work processes without feedback from management. A continuous feedback loop between leaders and employees is important throughout the workday and communication process.

Tools like dashboards with real-time performance metricsevaluation screenings of customer interactionsand role-based learning systems all play a key role in effective workforce engagement. WEM solutions open the lines of communication for immediate feedback to adjust employee performance as quickly as possibleshifting customer service interactions as they occur.  

Utilize analytics to promote data-driven engagement

Numbers talkparticularly when making important business decisions. Workforce engagement management solutions provide relevant data for companies to make informed choices.  

Real-time analytics can provide insights for businesses to identify performance gaps and enable employees to improve. For examplean automotive company’s contact center needed to change their coaching methodsplanning to shift towards a proactive method rather than a reactive method. The automotive company used Aspect’s WEM solutions to monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) in real timeadjusting coaching strategies as needed to enhance the customer experience.  

How to measure and monitor engagement levels

Employee engagement can be measured by several KPIs. The most important KPIs will depend on your business and its overall goals. Workforce software with robust reporting capabilities can provide insights into common contact center KPIs like:

• Calls per hour
• Sales per hour
• Average handle time (AHT)
• First contact resolution (FCR)
• Abandon rate
• Service level  

Monitoring these performance metrics can help a business determine where to focus coaching and incentivize efforts for employee improvement.

Additional KPIs that can be measured to determine employee engagement and satisfaction include:

• Absenteeism
• Employee turnover rate
• Employee net promoter score (eNPS)

Tracking these metrics and taking a proactive approach to boosting employee satisfaction will reduce attrition and keep your contact center team staffed with engagedtalentedand hardworking people.  

Reward employees for a job well done  

Recognizing and rewarding team members is a cornerstone of employee engagement. Everyone wants to feel appreciated when they’ve done hard workespecially in the customer service space where maintaining good relationships is critical to business success.  

Building a culture of acknowledgment and appreciation starts with establishing and tracking business goals. Workforce engagement tools help provide transparent goal tracking for employees to monitor their progressas well as manager views to offer clear insights into work productivity. These rewards can include points to put towards company merchandiseadditional paid time-offvacation packagesor any other customization suited to your business.

Gamification solutions can boost employee engagement with healthy competitionteam leaderboardsand integrated rewards options based on your company's unique needs. Aspect League™part of the Workforce Enterprise product suiteis a gamification solution that turns work into play and fosters a culture of achieving higher goals and rewarding employees accordingly.  

Value employee wellbeing and work-life balance

A key differentiator between WEM and its predecessors WFO and WFM includes the added component of prioritizing employee work-life balance. A Gallup study found that "Engagement & Culture” and "Wellbeing and Work-Life Balance" were two of the most common themes for people leaving a job. When an employee feels overworkedunderappreciatedand overlooked by managementengagement and satisfaction will dropcausing customer service interactions to suffer.  

According to a 2023 Deloitte Digital report around 63% of contact center leaders expressed having a staffing shortage. Eventuallyan employee experiencing burnout is more likely to leaveincreasing turnover rates.

Effective workforce engagement practices and tools can improve work-life balance and decrease employee attrition. Give your employees agency over their schedules with workforce tools that enhance self-service options. Self-service scheduling options give employees the opportunity to adjust their work as neededputting personal lives first with occurrences that matter most.   

Further career development and learning opportunities

Lack of advancement and career growth opportunities are among the top reasons people leave a job. If there isn’t space to grow or learn in an organizationwhy stay long-term? Career growth is determined by your business structurebut WEM can help inform choices around development.  

Workforce engagement tools can give businesses clear insights into building learning management systems aimed to enhance skills. WEM tools can also offer insights into performance metrics crucial to determining advancement opportunities for high-preforming employees.  

Tools like Aspect Workforce™ can give employees clear views into set performance goals and KPIs that will determine eligibility for company advancement. Having a transparent view into leadership expectations surrounding professional development gives employees something to strive towardimproving engagement and satisfaction.

Workforce engagement helps shape workplace culture

We’ve discussed how workforce tools can enhance engagement at contact centers and customer service organizationsbut that's not where it stops. Workforce engagement can shape company culturedeveloping an environment where employees feel seen and prioritized.  

Changing workplace culture through engagement can be done with:

• Acknowledgingdiscussingand finding solutions for employee stressors.
• Having meaningful conversations about employee performanceincluding recognition of positive work and constructive feedback where improvements can be made.
• Transparent communication about company goalsmissionand purposewhich includes how employees contribute to each factor.
• Shifting leadership approaches to coaching strategies rather than traditional methodsacross all levels of business.

Shaping a strong workplace culture is more important than ever before with the shift towards hybrid and remote work. Keep your employees informed with clearfrequent communication about their individual workas well as company goals and changes.  

Sowhat are the WEM takeaways here?  

Workforce engagement management is an effective way to keep your employees satisfiedcustomers happybusiness productiveand workplace culture thriving. WEM tools and processes that bolster clear communicationperformance trackingemployee recognitionwork-life balanceand coaching from leadership can make vital differences in your workforce. These practices and tools are essential in contact centers but can also be utilized in customer services organizations and across diverse industries

Aspect is your partner in creating a workplace culture built on employee engagementempowermentand satisfaction. Choose the right innovative workforce tools to continually help your team have the best workday experience while providing excellent customer service.