As a manager of a busy call centre in an open office setting, I have found that listening to the needs of my team and being flexible has allowed staff to maintain a work-life balance and good mental health.
Working in a call centre environment means that there is limited privacy for staff. In order to encourage open and honest communication as well as encouraging trust, I offer the team the opportunity to have regular catch ups with me at a local café. This gives me an opportunity to have an informal, confidential, one on one chat and to see how things are going.
In addition to the regular catchup, I encourage staff to schedule a meeting with me to discuss any issues as soon as they arise. By providing an open and supportive environment, my team has developed trust in me as well as mutual respect.
An example of how this works is Suzi, now a long term staff member, who approached me to disclose that she was feeling anxious and that she had a history of anxiety. Suzi was able to let me know that her anxiety levels had risen as a result of taking on a new role as well as some personal issues that she was experiencing. Suzi explained that she was finding it all a bit too much to deal with.
We were able to discuss her needs including for her to take the next week off work so that she could attend to her personal issues and take some time to relax and unwind. It was also important to alter Suzi's work hours to suit counselling appointments. By showing support and implementing some simple flexibilities, Suzi has been able to continue to be a productive and vital member of the call centre team with no disruption to the provision of our service.
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