In call centres (especially ones dealing with emergency situations) how do you prevent or mitigate the "emotional calluses" associates develop after time?
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PACO P
Head - EDGE Learning Academy at Reliance Capital AMC
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Dear Andrew,
First let us understand why "emotional exhaustion" happens in the first place. Emotional exhaustion happens when staff are conditioned to express emotions that they don't feel, which results in staff feeling "emotionally exhausted," typically sapped out and completely "zoned-out" as it were. though there are various ways people would express and manage such emotions.
There are many conventional "methods / processes" that work for specific situations and people. one thing that used to work for me again and again is that is used to take time out for such group of people. (you can find them out by talking to their superiors / colleagues / and by watching them in between calls - stoned, pretty "phased out" facial and verbal expressions.) used to give them cue-cards (easily available outside; consists of cards very much like playcards, with different expressions in them in terms of colours / pictures / paintings / sceneries etc.), and ask them to talk abt something that happened during their calls that they can relate to by looking at the card/s they picked up randomly.
So people will talk mostly on emotionally charged (both sad and happy) calls (what the caller said and what they had in mind but cudnt say because company regulations didnt warrant that, and what they "actually" said). Talking about all these in front of everybody else is very akin to "group therapy" and, of course, has to be handled in a very mature manner, as ppl can be crying, angry, and express a clutch of other emotions. Once done and over with, it is like "cleansing" of the mind of "disrupting emotions." mostly everybody is "emotionally happy" and cheerful as a heavy load gets lifted off.
Contributed by Mallar Chakraborti
PACO P also suggests these experts on this topic:
There are two key issues at play here. First, people who deal with emergency situations use emotional detachment as a protective mechanism. Second, people who deal with emergency situations become "burned out" over time. Interestingly, I believe that becoming burned out occurs because of the emotional detachment. I have personally experienced both of these situations. The problem is, subconsciously you cannot be emotionally detached. So the anguish just builds and builds, until one day there is an implosion. Then the person either stays on the job physically but not mentally, or they leave the field altogether. Neither of these situations is ideal, obviously. I think the way to handle it is to have supervisors who are involved in the day to day activities of the call center. Supervisors, and even coworkers, need to be trained in debriefing techniques. Debriefing techniques should be used on a daily basis, not just after the "bad" call. People have to be able to vent.
Jay T
Leadership and Management Professional
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The easy answer is Preparation and Training, yet once you begin to examine the issue raised, that easy answer becomes far more complicated. Parenthetically, the one-size-fits-all approach often times does not address the needs of those with "emotional calluses." So a more direct, customized approached would probably address the concern.
Rather than try to trouble-shoot the problem, prevention and mitigation are addressed on the front end instead of the back end.
The work of the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation has a great deal of resources with which one can select the best approach. Over the past 20 years, Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) has become a great asset to many organizations dealing with specifically what you ask. They have a ton of resources to share - some for sale and some for free. They make the complicated easy. www.ICISF.org
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Subhas C B
Management Consultant
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Conducting duly designed mock drills and capturing the responses for improvements.
Bryan L
Global Lean Mfg. Coordinator
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I've seen companies stage mock accidents, such as a ladder fall. So, it goes like this:
The safety team picks a volunteer to "find" a victim (another volunteer) in an accident situation. In this case, a person is lying on the floor of a warehouse next to fallen ladder. (Note: find someone that can do good stage makeup)
The safety drill commences and then they let the cat out of the bag.
This doesn't apply so well to call centers, but that isn't the point. The point is must find a way to snap the employees out of their comfort zone and into one that makes them perform according to a predetermined plan.
Find an actor, come up with some scripts, designed to shock your employees out of complacency, and let your actor's fingers do the walking.
I would be tempted to not tell anyone that you were doing this. Let people think it is real, but the problem your actor calls with must be realistic and probable. Something your call center associates deal with frequently but have grown callus to.
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Murli Menon 2600+ T
Author- "ZeNLP-the power to relax" (LION/Mylink500) "Stress management through ZeNLP meditation" Zen+NLP=ZeNLP
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Through emotional quotient simulated exercises.
Through psycho-drama related role play
Through SQ development workshops.
Follow the links for details...
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George A
Principal Consultant at Anderson & Anderson Organizational Anger Management
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Classes or coaching in emotional intelligence is great for "burnout" and stress.
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Elizabeth P
Advisor to the Board at COPC APAC, CEO of QQuest Private Limited and Management Consultant
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I used to work with an airline, and what can be worse than a plane crash situation? Unfortunately, I was involved with 2! We had "buddies" (who are volunteer "helpers" who are colleagues either working in the same dept or another department) who assist staff and next of kins of passengers involved in a traumatic situation, they are trained to handle crisis situations. (As the VP in charge of Customer Service, I was the Buddy Manager.) In turn we also have professional psychologists who debrief the staff and buddies and help them through the cycle of grief.
These staff/buddies get refresher training every year by the professional counsellors and psychologists, and airline security experts. These training last 2-3 days. Apart from getting refresher on coaching/helping/listening/dealing with abusive callers (because the next of kins had experienced personal losses), they are also shown video clips of previous air disasters and get a chance in a group to discuss what they would do if put in a similar situation as a buddy to assist. Unfortunately, in the airline industry, there is no dearth of air disasters to analyse! To a large extent, however, the video clips help to desensitize and make the buddies become more rational and pragmatic when the occasion arise. The motto is, "we will train but we hope we never need to make use of the training." However, from experience, there can never be sufficient training to prepare for an air disaster, when lives are involved. What the professional psychologists did was to get us to rotate the staff and buddies often (each will be rostered, at most 3 consecutive days of duty), and they must move out to a normal environment after 3 days, max. After that, each will be debriefed by a professional counsellor.
Rey S
Global Demand Manager at Abbott Diabetes Care
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Stories. Stories need to be compiled and shared. Stories that bring back the impact and the raison d'etre (french sounds more profound) of why the people are doing what they're doing. They need these stories to combat the other stories that get circulated where it was a case of stupidity or a hoax or an abusive call. The people need to hear the stories of how their performance affected someone outside of their cubicle, they need to hear the 'rest of the story,' the part of the story that begins after their call ended. They need to hear letters or messages of people who wrote in saying how they were helped. That's one way to remind people of why they are there, that's one way to remove the callus and heighten the feelings once again.
Regards,
Rey
Jay S
Technical Trainer and Documentation Specialist
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Andrew:
Remind the CSR's not to take anything personally ---
Remind them to BREATHE and SMILE ---
Good luck!
Jay
James H
Owner of Friends of Ireland group
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Keep changing the people around, never let anyone get into the position of been able to say, I can do that standing on my head, at the end of the day it is in the head.
james hayes
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Barbara D
TheCardLady - EA/Entrepreneur
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Andrew,
Dealing with an emergency situation can sometimes mean the difference between life and death and having the ability to remain calm and yes, even clinical is essential. Although a sense of panic arises in many people during an emergency, it is imperative to remain calm and speak slowly.
The best solutions would be to offer classes, proper training and certification before putting someone on phones to receive calls or send them out as an EMT or paramedic. Teach students how to remain calm and separate themselves from the situation. I believe a change in location/job duties every month would prevent people from “snapping” under pressure. If people become too comfortable in their jobs (I am talking about call centre and 911 operators) there could be an error that could cause someone their life.
Denise C
Director - Construction Audit at Altran Control Solutions
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Have a "reunion" inviting people they have helped with the people from the call centers. It gives the victims a chance to "thank" the person that helped them in many ways. Also hosting a chariity event with victim groups can help put things back in perspectve. If you can offer them breaks during the day without compromising call volumes then may I sugest a smokeless cigarette break - it gives non-smokers a chance to walk away for a few minutes during the shift to recharge.
Simulation is necessary in these cases and it must appear realistic. One must innovate the situations which can happen and these must be conducted sometimes with warning and sometimes without warning.
Everyone participating must be observed by specialists minutely and the feedback with explanations must be given later.
Complacency must be avoided to set in. It must be countered through a well set up training programme and relaxation centre utilisation as well. Periodic monitoring by observation must be done to ascertain individual's state of mind.
