Employee churn: Every BPO’s nightmare

Well, actually, it is every company’s nightmare; seeing their employees leave means they are not entirely doing things right. Sometimes it is the company’s fault, but other times it has nothing to do with them, and employees just feel like their time there is over. Whatever the reason, companies start to worry when massive employee migration happens.

High costs and intense hiring periods are just some of the reasons why you don’t want your employees to leave. BPO companies are among those industries with high turnover rates, usually due to poor working conditions, low salaries, few benefits, and high stress. This makes it a challenge to keep employees happy.

But, thankfully, it is not as hard as it may seem, which is why we want to help you identify the common reasons why your employees are leaving. This way, you can employ some strategies to prevent this. Let’s help you make your company stand out with its happy employees and low churn rates! 

Contact center turnover rates and how to calculate them

Years go by, and BPOs are evolving in a good manner, but one thing that stays the same is: turnover rates. Average annual call center turnover sits between 30 and 45 percent, and some centers report numbers closer to 50%. This fact is impressive because nearly half of a contact center’s workforce will end up leaving within a few months. 

Before making any conclusions as to why, let’s help you measure your own churn rate with this formula:

(Number of employees who left during the period / Average number of employees during the period) x 100 percent

Knowing how to calculate this will help you understand shifts in your budget and areas of improvement that need to be urgently taken care of. You should measure it often before it becomes an unsustainable issue, but you must also track what percentage of those people are voluntarily leaving.

This will help you form a holistic view of why employees leave. Make sure you ask the people what made them decide to leave, whether voluntary or involuntary. This will help your company identify and apply new strategies that will ensure your employees remain happy.

But if a person is moving out voluntarily without any negative reasons, you should not try to force them to stay, as their great experience will then transform into backlash. Evaluating their reasons will prevent new or potential employees from hearing negative experiences, causing them to avoid you.

The impact of high contact center attrition rates

Replacing a single agent costs anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000 dollars once recruiting, training, and onboarding are factored in. This proves that high contact center attrition rates directly impact the company’s finances. But your budget will not be the only aspect that will be harmed.

When employees start leaving, the agents that stay will be absorbing extra work, which will only fuel their frustration and boost burnout. Needing to hire new people takes time, and they will need some preparation before reaching their full productivity, which increases handle times and weakens first contact resolution. 

The main sacrifice that comes from these situations is a decrease in customer satisfaction due to poor experiences. This will then translate into dissatisfied employees, going back to the customer, creating a full negative circle. 

This brings stressful situations to your employees that will affect them both personally and professionally. Surveys show that 87% of agents report job-related stress, and customer support agents face higher absenteeism than most industries, averaging 8.2 days per year. These pressures weaken morale and make it harder for teams to maintain stable customer satisfaction.

11 reasons why BPO employees leave their jobs

Some people have asked themselves: Why do people quit call centers? There are several reasons, but employee churn in BPOs commonly happens due to the following reasons:

contact center turnover rates

1. High stress induced by exploitative tasks

Imagine having to deal with a high volume of calls, getting confused over complicated escalation workflows, having to fulfill strict (and sometimes inhuman) KPIs, and not being supported by your managers. Crazy right? Well, that’s the reality for some customer support agents working with BPO companies that don’t care about them as long as they reach their goals.

Sometimes, to fulfill their goals, they will be required to work overtime without proper payment and have to sacrifice their personal life in order to keep their jobs. Also, some companies hire BPOs to cut costs, so they don’t care if they hire a few people as long as their team is cheap.

Having to deal with more tasks than humanly possible drives some employees into stressful spirals where quitting is the only option to protect their mental health.

2. Companies ignoring mental health issues

More than 1 billion people live with a mental health issue, a concerning fact that companies should consider when hiring new employees. Anxiety and depression are listed as the most common disorders, highlighting the importance of BPOs to avoid inducing stressful situations. However, traditionally, some companies would try to stand out by exceeding their customers’ KPIs, usually at the expense of their workforce's mental health. 

Not paying attention to your employees’ mental health will take their motivation, causing them to underperform and desire to quit. Some of them will try to keep their jobs due to monetary needs, risking their health.

3. Peak season anxiety

Talking about stressful situations, what could be more anxiety-inducing for customer support agents than high seasons? Back-to-back calls, increasing customer frustration, abnormal schedules, and few breaks are just some of the situations that agents face during BFCM or the Holiday season.

Few preparation times lead to under-staffed teams having to deal with more tasks than they should. This exposes your company’s weaknesses, and your support team will be the main sacrifice, so be ready for turnover if you don’t prepare in time.

4. Low payment rates for overtime hours

BPOs usually ask their employees to work overtime when high volumes or peak seasons occur, but the amount of effort asked is not proportionally related to the payment received. Each location has its own legal guidelines, for example US requires employers to pay 1.5 times the hourly rate when overtime is required.

If you want your employees to feel well compensated, you can offer an increased rate, adjusting your budget to this should not affect your company, as overtime doesn’t need to be a normal thing.

5. Overdependence on metrics

Performance metrics should guide contact center operations, but you should not over-rely on them as it will harm employee motivation. Metrics should not matter more than your employees, so you need to leverage a holistic analysis to better understand what needs to be done in order to perform better.

Sometimes, employees are not the sole cause, as hard as it may seem for some companies to admit, there will be times when they are guilty of underperforming. 

6. Over-demanding customer needs

Customer support agents have to deal with difficult customers and complex cases that can mentally drain them. Without proper customer service training, having to face rising customer expectations just adds frustration to your employees. 

Customer-centricity is one of the most important aspects to offer great support, and your customers love it when they matter. But your employees' well-being should not be risked to achieve this.

7. Toxic work environment

When companies face an over-dependence on metrics as selling points and have over-demanding customers, the need to satisfy both can create tense situations at work. Employees may feel left aside when their job solely focuses on making employees happy, but their employer doesn’t care about their own happiness.

This is an issue that damages the company’s reputation and comes from deep inside the company’s culture. When employees face toxic environments, retention is affected negatively.

8. Few chances of professional development 

In an industry where you would normally need up to 6 years of experience to become a team leader (still not close to higher positions), it is normal that people feel dissatisfied when thinking about their future.

Seeing few to no growth opportunities increases burnout in BPOs. Your company needs to ensure employees have enough room to grow and maximize their potential so they can reach their professional goals.

9. Overpromising but underdelivering benefits

When perks do not match what was promised during hiring, trust breaks quickly. Inconsistent healthcare support, delayed incentives, or unclear bonus structures create disappointment that often leads to voluntary turnover. 

When companies offer too many benefits and then fall short at delivering, employees will walk away and try to land another job. Evaluate each location’s legal benefits before promising something you can’t deliver.

10. Communication problems

Lack of communication from leadership teams leads to misunderstandings and employee frustration. On the other hand, when communication thrives, it boosts trust and performance from everyone.

Clearly communicating about culture and expectations creates a friendly environment where employees know how to act.

11. Economic trends 

Inflation, rising living costs, and competitive job markets shift employee priorities. Many agents leave for higher-paying roles in other industries or companies that offer better work-life balance. Economic uncertainty also pushes employees to look for jobs with more predictable schedules and compensation.

Companies need to evaluate the economic state of the world to adjust to the current needs of both customers and employees. This will prevent frustration from either side, and businesses that evolve are the ones that thrive over time.

How to prevent high attrition in BPO

1. Increase growth opportunities

Clear career paths, mentoring programs, and ongoing training help agents see a future in the organization. Development programs lower contact center attrition rates and keep motivated employees engaged. 

When employees see opportunities to grow, they are more likely to stay loyal to a company, so make sure your business offers enough job opportunities. 

2. Offer fair salaries and benefits

Let’s be honest, everyone looks for a job because they need money, so the compensation is very important when it comes to making a decision. Employees must feel financially valued to stay with a company, and said payment must be proportionate to the amount of effort and experience needed to perform the job. Make sure you stay competitive based on industry and location benchmarks.

3. Collect feedback consistently

Another great way of making sure your employees feel valued is by collecting feedback and asking for their insights. They are the ones who interact with customers and your workflows every day, so they have valuable insights that will help you identify areas of improvement that will benefit your business and customers.

4. Include and optimize exit interviews

When employees are leaving, they usually won’t share their thoughts unless you ask them to share. Exit interviews are very important as they provide insights that you have not considered. This way, you will prevent increased turnover from previous conditions, or maybe you can enhance some benefits you didn’t think were important.

Whatever insight someone shares while they are leaving is an opportunity you can transform into something positive 

5. Providing mental health care

The World Health Organization created some guidelines that ensure a safe workspace for employees. Follow them to ensure a healthy work environment for your employees. You can also create wellness programs, offer counseling, create stress management workshops, or allow employees to take more breaks.

6. Allow agents to take breaks more often

Breaks protect energy levels and prevent support employees from feeling overwhelmed. Structured rest periods reduce burnout and improve call quality. So, an adequate break time also signals that the company respects the demands of the job.

7. Ensure the leadership team has great people

Supportive managers can make the difference between a thriving team and a disengaged one. Leadership training focused on coaching, communication, and emotional intelligence creates environments where employees feel recognized and understood. Evaluating leadership’s performance is key, and knowing how employees feel about them is important too.

8. Deliver effective training sessions

Strong training programs shorten ramp time and build agent confidence. When employees feel prepared to handle calls, they experience less stress and fewer performance issues. Effective training also supports higher customer satisfaction and reduced contact center turnover rates. Use technology for training as well. Centers that adopted AI-driven coaching have reported up to a 20% improvement in retention, showing how guided development boosts confidence and performance.

Transform negativity into positive experiences

Now you have a better understanding of the most common situations that make BPO employees leave. Usually, when companies ignore how their employees are feeling, churn increases as they will feel unengaged and have no motivation to perform well.

But knowing about these situations and preparing strategies to counter them will make your company stand out from both customers' and employees' points of view. Make sure your employees are happy; their emotions translate into the service they provide to your customers. 

At Horatio, we are committed to our employees' well-being, making sure they have the needed resources to thrive both personally and professionally. Contact us so we can create together a team of people that will go beyond your customers’ expectations without sacrificing their own quality of life.