Agent turnover can be detrimental to a service desk because it typically results in a seasoned agent being replaced by a less experienced agent. When there is turnover, the knowledge and experience of the agent leaving the service desk walks out the door with them. For those who have worked in a service desk, you know how painful this can be! Industry estimates place the cost of replacing an agent at more than $12,000 in North America. This includes the cost of identifying, screening, recruiting, and training a new agent, as well as the indirect cost of lower productivity that results when a new agent encounters the learning curve of a new job.
One of the primary cause-and-effect relationships in the service desk is between agent job satisfaction and agent turnover: high job satisfaction is strongly correlated with low agent turnover rates and vice versa. The reasons for this are fairly obvious. When agents are satisfied with their work life, they tend to stay put. When they are unhappy at work, they are more likely to leave. It is important to note, however, that turnover can be controlled by proactively managing agent job satisfaction.
The cause-and-effect diagram below shows that the key drivers of job satisfaction are training, coaching, and career pathing. By optimizing these metrics, we can ensure high job satisfaction, and hence low turnover.
