Negative Energy Is Two Times More Powerful Than Positive In Call Centers

The positive or negative energy a Customer Service Representative (CSR) brings to the job makes a huge difference to how their shift is going to go – on the work day of coworkers sitting near them – on the Customer Experience (CX) & Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) of callers – and on the kind of overall performance your Contact Center operation requires.

Humans Are Biologically Predisposed Toward Negative Thinking

It’s the “negative things” in life that grab our attention – stick most vividly in our memories – and most influence the decisions we make.

Humans weigh negative input more heavily than positive due the brain's ‘Negativity Bias’.

From the dawn of human history – our survival depended on our skill at dodging danger.

As a result of evolution & natural selection – the brain developed systems that make it unavoidable for us not to notice danger – and hopefully respond to it – keeping us out of harm's way.

Here’s what happens inside our brains:

• When we receive negative input – it only takes 3 to 4 seconds for it to become embedded into our long term memory.
• When we receive positive input – it takes 12 seconds before it drops into our long term memory. But if we get distracted before the 12 seconds is up – it doesn’t get embedded at all.

Having Brains Built To Be Super Sensitive To Negativity Helps In Survival Situations – But ‘Negativity Bias’ Is Present In Every Other Aspect Of Our Lives As Well

Humans tend to:

• Pay more attention to negative information than to positive.
• Learn more from negative outcomes & experiences.
• Make decisions based more on negative information than on positive.

The psychology of ‘Negativity Bias’ explains:

• Why we feel the sting of criticism more powerfully than we feel the joy of praise.
• Why bad first impressions can be so difficult to overcome.
• Why past traumas can have such long lingering effects.

You’ll Generally Find 3 Types Of Energy Being Projected By CSRs On The Job:

• Above average engaged CSRs who project positive energy.

These ‘Best Fit’ CSRs are stable & conscientious frontline workers – who achieve high training pass rates – ramp up to productive levels quicker – are naturally caring & compassionate – and possess an affinity to display Empathy to form relationships based on Rapport / Trust in a Customer Service & Support and/or TeleSales context.

They receive high Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) scores and achieve their Revenue Targets.

They’re highly engaged & enthusiastic “Team Players” who contribute to driving coworker performance.

• Average not engaged CSRs with neutral energy.

Often they’re good people in the wrong job – only ‘Moderate’ job fits.

They put in their time in body – not in spirit – lacking some of the job fit for customer facing work.

They have lower training pass rates – require more attention & extra coaching from Supervisors just to achieve average results – have higher error rates – higher absenteeism – receive lower Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) scores and/or fail to meet Revenue Targets – become burned out / emotionally exhausted faster – prematurely quit or are fired for cause sooner – because they are a poorer job fit.

They’re more easily annoyed by callers – poorer at avoiding or diffusing conflict – and they don’t handle complaints or retain customers well.

• Below average actively disengaged CSRs who project negative energy.

They’re either ‘Poor’ fit new hires who should never have been offered the position to begin with – the product of a flawed recruiting process – or burned out / emotionally exhausted too long in the job CSRs.

These are demoralized / cynical / unhappy employees – displaying “I Don’t Care” apathy & a “Slacker” attitude.

They tend to hold hostile attitudes toward management – actively undermine supervisors & engaged coworkers – sabotage callers / damage brand – are the strongest and most powerful resistors of change – and have high Absenteeism levels.

Their negative thoughts & feelings have a toxic effect on coworkers – infecting them with their poor work habits and attitudes.

The negativity they trigger in customers & coworkers are far larger – and longer lasting – than the positive responses generated by ‘Best Fit’ top performers projecting positivity.

The Positive & Negative “Spillover Effect” In Contact Centers

A recent study from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management – of 58,000 cubicle workers – highlighted a critical “Spillover Effect” – found to occur in both positive & negative directions.

The average Contact Center cubicle is 5 ft wide & 3 ft deep.

• Above average engaged CSRs create a “Positive Spillover Effect” in terms of Speed & Quality of Work – boosting performance of coworkers sitting within a 12 ? foot radius of their cubicle by 15%.

Assuming that the above average engaged CSR is sitting in the middle of a pod of cubicles – 8 CSRs will be affected by this “Positive Spillover Effect” – and these 8 CSRs will have their Speed & Quality of Work boosted by 15%.

• Below average actively disengaged CSRs have a “Negative Spillover Effect” on coworkers sitting within twice that distance – a 25 foot radius of their cubicle – at a cost of $12,800/Year per employee in Slower Speed & Poorer Quality.

Assuming that the below average actively disengaged CSR is sitting in the middle of a pod of cubicles – 16 CSRs will be affected by this “Negative Spillover Effect” – and the negative impact on the Speed & Quality of Work for these 16 CSRs is far greater (twice the magnitude) of the financial boost that comes from sitting near an engaged top performer projecting positivity.

The Key “Spillover Effect” Takeaway:

Sitting within a 12 ? foot radius of a “Positive Spillover Effect” engaged top performer boosts the Speed & Quality of Work of average not engaged CSRs (and new hires) by 15%.

However – sitting within a 25 foot radius of a “Negative Spillover Effect” below average actively disengaged CSR reduces the Speed & Quality of Work of average not engaged CSRs (and new hires) by twice that magnitude.

CSR Seating Management Can Help

A cheap hack to boost productivity & combat staff negativity is to simply shift some of your CSR cubicle seating around.

Salt your positive engaged top performers throughout the Call Center production floor – particularly among average not engaged CSRs & new hires.

If you have enough positive engaged top performers on your team – you should also consider moving two of them within a 12 ? foot radius on either side of a below average actively disengaged CSR in order to counteract their “Negative Spillover Effect”.

The Best Contact Centers Make Explicit Their Intolerance Of Below Average Actively Disengaged CSRs Projecting Negative Energy

Exposure to “Negative Spillover Effect” CSRs is toxic – and infects cubicle neighbors very quickly.

Ignoring this “Negative Spillover Effect” only sets the stage for even your most positive & motivated people to fail – which in turn further damages the growth / profitability / brand reputation of your business.

Managers must make every effort to reform “Negative Spillover Effect” CSRs – to generate a renewed sense of pride / ownership / positivity in their job – and if they’re impossible to salvage – to swiftly let them go.

The rest of your team will thank you for it.

If we aren’t intentional about focusing CSRs on the positive – their automatic default is to focus on the negative – and for Contact Centers – negative energy is 2x more powerful than positive.

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