Being creative is like driving a car

By: Diane Morneau

Being creative is in many ways like driving a car on a high speed road...

Practically anyone can drive the car but it requires a certain amount of experience before driving with confidence, particularly on those high speed, more crowded, higher risk conditions.
It is not a question of DNA. Being creative is not a biologic trait that some are blessed with. Anyone can learn and over time, tools and techniques evolve and get shared among adepts. It has become clearly a social experience. Practice does not make perfect but it improves the driver's agility.

The natural self takes over behind the steering wheel. Some car drivers are conservative, others are reckless. Some follow the rules, others don't always care, some challenge them. Some have a great sense of orientation while others less. Some are naturally adventurous while others are very disciplined. Some share the road well but others less. Did you recognize the personality traits of creators or innovators around you?

Anytime you drive a car, you take risks but you accept it and go ahead. Creativity and risks are tightly related. In fact, the acceptance of the risks is key because the brain stimuli of being in uncertainty causes the mind to call on its intuitive creative instinct. Some even say that taking risks is the trigger to creativity. It forces to think in unusual ways, allowing the consideration of options that would otherwise be ignored. While accepting the risks, individuals and companies are able to contain them.

The rewards are only accessible when you take risks. Driving a distance with a car brings you to destination faster than walking... that's the reward of taking the car. Walking on the side of a road to get to the destination is not without risk either: you may bite the dust!

Creativity is important for the survival of companies which nowadays need to get to the destination faster. There are no longer barriers to protect an industry: anyone one can drive this road. Those who don't drive but walk the road, lag behind and eventually... bite the dust.

Road signs warn of dangers and needed interventions. They are particularly a must for the more crowded highways. They make drivers aware of the dangers ahead or needed driving adjustments for a safe drive.

In today's economy, the future has become less predictable. For companies, the road signs were either removed or may be perceived at the last minute. Better get your personal and more reliable GPS turned on to assist you.

Have a creative and safe journey on the road to creativity!

Diane Morneau, M.Sc.
Manager of Communications, Offerings and Knowledge Development IBM 

Diane worked for several computer manufacturers, in pre- and post-sales’ positions, supporting technological progress and adoption. People-oriented and actively engaged, she assumed teaching, coaching, management and marketing roles. Achieving customer success through teaming, transferring knowledge and finding creative solutions to challenges are her true motivators.

Follow Diane on Twitter and LinkedIn.

3 Ways to Reduce Contact Center Stress

By: CJ Silva

Stress in call centers is a big, and expensive, problem. There is a reason why call centers are often plagued with missing agents and a high turnover rate. Stress can cause a number of deleterious effects to agents on the job, including decreased performance, low job satisfaction, burnout, and a decline in general health.

Obviously, a big part of management's job is to find a way to combat stress. No one likes to see the falling numbers or to essentially hire a new crew on a monthly basis. The poor morale caused by high stress affects everyone, not to mention its affect on the bottom line. Besides being good for business, lowering stress can result in lowered blood pressure, a slower heart rate, reduced muscle tension, and even a stronger immune system.

Changing how you deal with call center stress can change everything entirely. Your agents will be more productive, have more focus, deal better with callers, demonstrate increased memory and energy... they may even start to enjoy coming to work. The key to it all is to train your agents in stress management techniques.

While there are many ways to reduce or mitigate stress which may work just as well for your call center team, here are just three that you might want to start with.

Not Taking Things Personally

It goes without saying that you're going to get some callers who are not especially nice. Many people call in already angry and frustrated and they have no problems with taking it out on whoever had the misfortune to pick up the phone. The impulse in a lot of people is respond in kind, but a well-trained call center agent is polite at all times, especially when the politeness is not reciprocated. It's important to teach your agents to remember that any ire is not directed at them personally, but at whatever problem prompted them to call in the first place. All too many agents feel poorly because they feel they were the recipient of rude behavior, when in fact, they had absolutely nothing to do with it.

Talk  (or Laugh) About It

Solving a problem that started with talking with more talking? It can actually work. One of the best things you can do as a call center manager is to encourage friendships among your agents. If you have a friend or two down there with you, you have someone to talk to after one of those calls. Talking about it helps to get it off your chest without blowing up at some other customer, or letting it build until the only alternative is to quite the job. At the least, another agent can be a good sounding board, but at the best the frustrated agent may gain a new view of the caller.

When the problem is something that can't be rationalized away or resolved, laughing about it, or just laughing in general does a lot to release stress. Anyone who's feeling down can be picked up after a good joke or a silly internet video. You might be surprised what a few seconds of laughter can do for your mood.

Express Gratitude

Irate callers are one of the bad things in the life of a call center agent. But that's not to say there aren't any good things involved in the job, or even beyond the job. Every agent should have a list of things for which they're grateful, especially if those things are related to work at the call center. Most people are at work to do something positive, like make money to get a better house, or pay for the education of their children. Maybe there's a good friend at work, or the call center is in a good location. Some call center software allows agents to work from home and that's something they're thankful for -- whatever it is, make a note of it. Just that simple act can change an agent’s whole perspective.

Stress is an unavoidable factor in the life of a call center agent, but that stress doesn't have to become the dominant factor of life. Taking a few minutes after a particularly trying call to center oneself and find a way to just get some perspective can really change everything. Try the above techniques, and look for others of your own. There's really something for everyone when it comes to relieving stress.

 CJ Silva is VP of Operations at KOVA Corporation. 

Listen & Act In Three Tenses

Diane Morneau, M.Sc. Manager of Communications, Offerings and Knowledge Development Diane worked for several computer manufacturers, in pre- and post-sales’ positions, supporting technological progress and adoption. People-oriented and actively engaged, she assumed teaching, coaching, management and marketing roles. Achieving customer success through teaming, transferring knowledge and finding creative solutions to challenges are her true motivators. Follow Diane on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Do Not Lose Customers Because Of Lack Of Trust

Altimeter's analysts advise that the priority in social strategies has shifted from scaling customer engagement to employee advocacy. As trust has hit an all time low, employee advocacy has become critical to build company success.

"How Organizations Are Winning Trust Through Employee Advocacy"

After a brief review of the 2015 Elderman Trust barometer study revealing the credibility issue, Barb Mosher Zinck talks about the Number One challenge behind employee advocacy: employee engagement. With a clear social policy, the next challenge is supporting employees in the creation of interesting content and in building their personal branding. She shares the examples of NASA and Adobe doing well with advocacy. Employee advocacy makes total sense. Isn't a convinced employee your best sales force? 

9 Ways To Diminish Churn At Your Contact Center

By: CJ Silva

Contact centers are notorious for high churn rates which are not only inconvenient but expensive for companies. The average contact center has an annual churn rate as high as 40%. It is estimated that the total cost of replacing an employee is between $10,000 to $15,000.


The huge churn rate coupled with the high cost of replacement mean it’s well worth it to invest in strategies which will help lower your company’s churn rate. Here are 9 ways you can diminish churn at your contact center:

Hire the Right People

A lower churn rate starts with hiring the right employees from the beginning. Working on the front lines with customers who have difficult problems or are just plain rude is not for everyone. Customer service representatives also have to face stressful and repetitive work days.


You need employees who can handle the demands of the job. Choose people with relevant experience, whether it’s another contact center or a job that required regular contact with customers. Also choose people who have great people skills and are capable of staying calm and polite even in high stress situations. Consider instituting a trial or test for potential new hires to see how they would handle various typical work situations.

Be Flexible

Your employees each have lives of their own. Some may prefer a morning shift that allows them to have the afternoon and evening for their other priorities while others will appreciate a later shift that gives them more time in the morning.


Be flexible and give your employees options so that they can create a schedule comfortable for them. The better they can blend working for you with the rest of their life, the longer they are likely to stay with you.

Prevent Employee Isolation

One of the key reasons for the high churn rate at contact centers has to do with co-workers. Employees either don’t get along with their co-workers or become isolated and fail to bond. This creates for an unpleasant work environment that employees will leave as soon as they get the chance.


Avoid this by building comradery through the creation of small teams—complete with team names and even symbols. Incentivize teams to meet work productivity goals. By putting employees into teams that work together toward goals, you’ll prevent isolation and strengthen bonds between co-workers.

Engage Your Employees

Another major problem in contact centers is boredom. When employees are bored too often, they become less productive. Decrease boredom by giving employees the option to cross-train for several jobs or tasks and switching them from task to task. You could also introduce fun workplace games for downtimes.

Make Employees Feel Valued

Employees who don’t feel that their good work is valued are less likely to continue doing good work. Valuing your employees doesn’t have to mean doling out big cash rewards all the time. It can be as simple as daily praise for particular task that an employee handled well. The important thing is that the praise is personalized to each employee and that it happens regularly. Employees who feel valued by their company are more likely to stay with that company.

Incentivize Exceptional Performance

While cash rewards aren’t always necessary, they definitely don’t hurt. Implementing small scheduled raises which are made contingent on meeting specific, concrete productivity goals is definitely cheaper than the cost of replacing employees on a regular basis.


Provide a clear schedule (such as every 3 to 6 months) as well as clear guidelines so that employees know exactly what they need to do in order to qualify for a raise. You can even provide daily positive feedback to help them track their progress.

Get to Know Your Employees

The best way to treat your employees like people is to get to know them as people. Know what motivates them and what’s going on in their lives—just be careful not to pry where you are not wanted. This can help you create personalized incentive programs and make the workplace feel like a supportive community rather than a daily grind.

Cultivate personal relationships through regular conversations, work lunches, and other informal or semi-formal opportunities to get together and talk about your lives outside of work.

Create a Positive Company Culture

Many of the strategies you have read about will contribute to building a positive company culture. This is important because, at the most fundamental level, your employees need to enjoy the place they work if you hope to keep them with you for the long term.

This doesn’t mean you need to become totally laid back. Set clear expectations about work productivity. But also be sure to include time for employee appreciation and just having a little fun as a team.

Take Advantage of Workforce Management Software

Scheduling games, training sessions, and raises as well as tracking employee productivity and results can be a lot to tackle—especially if you’ve got a million other things on your plate. Make this easier by using workforce management software which allows you to track multiple workplace metrics and schedule different tasks and appointments with ease. You can even use it to measure your churn rate and identify trends as well as potential risk factors so that you can tailor these strategies to suit your needs.

 CJ Silva is VP of Operations at KOVA Corporation.