Why Attrition In The Call Center Costs More Than You Think

When an employee leaves the organization, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, Human Resources, Payroll, Operations, IT, Security, and Management may all spend time completing the offboarding process.

Depending on the organization, these activities may include:

• Exit interviews and documentation
• Payroll and benefits administration
• Removing system and facility access
• Recovering company equipment
• Updating schedules and staffing plans
• Redistributing workloads until a replacement is available

An employee's departure can also have an operational impact on the remaining team. Other agents may temporarily need to absorb additional workload, schedules may need to be adjusted, and Supervisors may spend additional time maintaining service levels while the position remains open.

When turnover becomes frequent, these individual events can accumulate into a significant operational burden.

Replacing an agent requires recruiting resources as well as time from multiple departments.

The hiring process may involve:

1. Advertising the position and attracting qualified candidates.
2. Reviewing applications and screening potential employees.
3. Conducting interviews and appropriate assessments.
4. Completing background or employment checks when required.
5. Preparing employment documentation and onboarding the new hire.
6. Creating user accounts, identification credentials, system access, and facility access.

In addition to direct recruiting expenses, consider the time invested by Recruiters, Human Resources personnel, Hiring Managers, Supervisors, IT personnel, and other employees participating in the process.

High attrition can create a cycle in which recruiting teams spend substantial time continuously replacing employees instead of supporting planned growth.

Once a new employee is hired, the organization begins investing in training before that person can independently perform the role.

Depending on the operation, training expenses may include:

• Trainer or Instructor time
• Training wages for new employees
• Training facilities and technology
• Systems and process instruction
• Product or service knowledge
• Communication and Customer Experience training
• Compliance or industry-specific training
• Training materials and learning platforms

Training duration varies significantly according to the complexity of the operation. Some programs may require relatively short onboarding periods, while technical, financial, healthcare, collections, or other specialized operations may require more extensive preparation.

Organizations should also consider training attrition. When an employee leaves before completing training or shortly after joining the production floor, much of the recruiting and training investment must be repeated for another candidate.

Completing training does not necessarily mean a new agent immediately performs at the same level as an experienced employee.

During the initial weeks or months on the production floor, new agents may need additional time to navigate systems, understand processes, resolve unfamiliar customer situations, achieve Quality Assurance expectations, and reach normal productivity levels.

Supervisors, Trainers, Quality Assurance teams, and experienced agents may also spend additional time coaching and supporting new employees during this ramp-up period.

The time required to reach full proficiency depends on the complexity of the program, the employee's previous experience, training quality, systems, management support, and performance expectations.

This productivity gap is one of the reasons the financial impact of turnover can extend well beyond the recruiting cost of replacing the employee.