Engaged and motivated workers are key to a company’s success. Prioritizing recognition and celebrating the achievements of in-office and remote teams can boost employee morale and improve collaboration, which can increase job satisfaction and retention.

According to a Robert Half survey of more than 300 hiring managers who work in the administrative and customer support fields in the U.S., their greatest challenges are:

  • Hiring and training staff (20%)
  • Adopting new technology and tools (20%)
  • Employee engagement and productivity (17%)
  • Retaining valued employees (14%)
  • Managing support requests/workloads (14%)
  • Managing customer expectations (12%)

Leaders also told us where they are investing and increasing spending to improve customer service levels:

  • Training and tools to help employees optimize technology (64%)
  • Leadership training for managers (62%)
  • Mentoring or coaching for individual contributors (54%)

5 ways to show your gratitude

  1. Celebrate important milestones. Hold a virtual or in-person celebration to recognize achievements. Arrange for treats to be delivered to virtual participants. 
  2. Publicize it. Acknowledge employees’ contributions in a certificate or an email and copy key executives. Feature top performers in the company newsletter for more exposure.
  3. Give the gift of time. Consult with your HR and legal departments for this one, but if approved, encourage team members to log off early on a Friday to show your appreciation for their efforts and offer additional time off or extra vacation days for jobs well done.
  4. Provide new opportunities. Ask employees to mentor others and introduce new leaders to management. Promote from within and encourage team members to pursue growth opportunities in the company.
  5. Offer a monetary reward. Award a one-time bonus or financial incentive to individuals or teams who meet specific goals or metrics.

Most popular retention strategies

The hiring managers surveyed by Robert Half shared their most-used strategies of the past year to retain administrative and customer support professionals (multiple responses were allowed):

  • Increasing compensation (42%)
  • Increasing recognition efforts (40%)
  • Offering retention bonuses (37%)
  • Accelerating promotions or job title changes (36%)
  • Allowing employees to work remotely (35%)
  • Expanding professional development opportunities (33%)
  • Letting employees choose their schedule (30%)

Robert Half is proud to be the title sponsor of National Customer Service Week, powered by PACE, and is excited to celebrate the outstanding and essential work customer service professionals perform each day. If you are a customer service agent, leader or manager, register here for daily celebrations during Customer Service Week (October 2–6) including activities, training and education.