A Motivational Work Environment

For More Information Contact:

Impact Learning Systems InternationalP.O. Box 14110San Luis Obispo, CA 93406Toll Free: 800.545.9003Voice: 805.781.3283Fax: 805.545.9075Email: info@impactlearning.com www.impactlearning.com



A Motivational Work Environment

ver wonder what can be done to your working environment in order to increasethe morale and motivation of your team members? This question is important toevery contact center manager focused on quality and productivity. First we mustunderstand what the working environment is in order to understand what can bedone to increase the productivity of your workforce. The working environmentincludes workstations, common areas (kitchens, restrooms, meeting rooms), and other

“locations” such as walls, windows,

and white boards. It comprises whatever can be seen, heard,felt (and even smelled) by employees while working.Because the typical employee spends most of his/her time seated at one location and glued to a

phone, a computer, or both, it’s important to

consider the effects

—

good and bad

—

of the

physical surroundings. In this article, we’ll look at ways you can improve the physical

environment of your workplace to keep employees healthier, happier, and more productive.Before getting too far into this article, give the following activity a try. Take a notepad and penwith you so you can make notes about your experience.

Activity

Go outside the building and walk in, imagining that you are experiencing the place for the firsttime. Open your senses and take note of colors, sounds, smells, lighting, temperature, and

anything else that strikes you. Walk onto the frontline and sit in an employees’ workstation.

How does the chair feel? What do you see? What do you hear? Put your hands on the keyboard.Are you comfortable? Open a file on the computer. Is it easy to read? Do your eyes feelstrained? Do the monitor colors soothe, stimulate, or stress you out? Take notes on every senseand feeling experienced. Look around at the walls and at anything else you see from theworkstation. Is there anything about these areas that either motivates or distracts you? Can youimagine a way to better utilize these areas?You get the picture. There are all kinds of things in the physical environment

—

big and little,subtle and obvious

—

that affect employees’ morale and productivity.

According to an online article in a leading call center portal site, “The top three complaints of

call center employees are: the space is too hot or too cold, there are not enough restrooms, and

there is not enough parking…It is not that the work is too boring or the pay is not good. If theworking conditions are not pleasant then people will leave.”

Why does the environment matter?

The physical environment impacts two major factors of your

employees’ work life

—

theirmotivation and their productivity. A clean, comfortable, well-lit, and not overly noisyenvironment will go a long way toward making people

want

to work. And we all know thatwhen this happens, quality and productivity improve.

Daimler Chrysler asked its agents for their contact center “wish lists.” Staffers suggested new

divider heights and mail-slot locations, plus conference and washroom improvements. Theresult in the improvements: service quality rose nearly 10 percent after the contact centermodifications. The lesson learned here: ask for input from your representatives, either by directquestioning or a survey.Putting some thought and energy into the physical environment of your workplace inspiresemployees in another way as well: It shows them that you care. Investing in their immediatework environment means investing in their satisfaction and well-being. Front-line employees

love it

when the organization pays attention to them!

In the next section, we’ll look at w

hat you can do to optimize the following for your employees:



Employee workstations

If your reps have their own workstations, it’s a good idea to encourage them to bring in

a few pictures or some artwork to personalize their space. It will help them to feelcomfortable at work and may even decrease their stress.



Technical equipment

Having expensive, state-of-the-

art technical equipment is nice, but it’s not essential.

What

essential is making sure your employees have the tools they need to do a good job. This includes monitors, keyboards, headsets, phone systems, glare screens, wristrests, mouses, and any necessary software.



Eye-to-screen distance

As a general guideline, locate computer monitors at least two feet from the eyes. If thescreen can be read

without strain, it’s not too far away. Experts suggest that if thescreen can’t be read, it’s better to make the characters larger than it is to move the