Agent attrition is arguably the biggest problem companies are facing in their call centers. Industry estimates even put it as high as 50% or more per year. There has never been a more critical time for companies to improve the jobs at the front line of their call center--and the most measurable way a manager can increase overall agent retention is through effective coaching and development of their team.

My company works with customer-focused businesses, and we have found some staggering statistics as we work and talk with companies. We’ve found that, more often than not, various manual reporting and administrative tasks keep managers spending less than 20% of their time coaching their staff. This is way off the mark. The goal of a manager is to spend closer to 60% of the day training their agents. With the job reality so disconnected from the goals, it’s no wonder agents are getting frustrated with their positions, and their managers, and call centers are hemorrhaging staff.

While a real solution is never a quick fix, there are immediate steps that companies can take to ensure they are not just addressing their agent losses but also improving the overall performance of their call centers. It's two sides of the same coin, and it starts with making sure that your employee performance goals are clearly defined—and aligned with—your bottom line business goals. Agents need to be clear on how they stack up against their peers, where they need improvement and, just as importantly, where they are doing well. Supervisors need these measurements so they can tailor their coaching to the right folks and create better customer service. The organization can then use these measurements to help agents better understand, improve and love their jobs.