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Turnover and attrition in the contact center is a significant issue that can negatively impact customer satisfaction, employee morale, and financial performance.
The constant need for training and onboarding new employees can be costly and time-consuming, disrupting team cohesion and leading to a decrease in overall productivity. The influx of new employees can also lead to a lack of institutional knowledge, resulting in an increase in customer complaints and a decrease in customer loyalty.
To address this issue, organizations can implement strategies such as improving working conditions, offering competitive compensation and benefits, providing ongoing training and development opportunities, and fostering a positive company culture. Additionally, implementing retention programs and conducting exit interviews can help identify the root causes of turnover and attrition and allow for targeted interventions. By addressing turnover and attrition in the contact center, organizations can improve customer satisfaction, increase employee morale and retention, and ultimately drive financial success.

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At the contact center, agent turnover and attrition are important factors to consider when managing your team. Agent turnover is the rate at which agents leave your contact center, while attrition is the overall loss of agents due to various factors (such as resignation, retirement, or termination). Both can have a significant impact on your contact center’s performance and productivity. In this blog post, we’ll discuss what agent turnover and attrition are, why they’re important, and how you can reduce them.

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Turnover and attrition in the contact center can be a significant issue for organizations, leading to negative impacts on customer satisfaction, employee morale, and financial performance. High rates of turnover and attrition can lead to a constant need for training and onboarding of new employees, which can be costly and time-consuming. It can also disrupt team cohesion and lead to a decrease in overall productivity. Additionally, the constant influx of new employees can lead to a lack of institutional knowledge, making it more difficult for the contact center to deliver high-quality customer service. This can lead to an increase in customer complaints and a decrease in customer loyalty. Overall, addressing turnover and attrition in the contact center is crucial for the success and sustainability of the organization.


Agent turnover and attrition

Agent turnover and attrition are terms frequently used when discussing employee recruitment and satisfaction in the customer service industry. Agent turnover refers to the rate at which customer service agents move on from a company, while attrition is used to refer to the rate at which employees naturally leave due to events such as retirement or layoffs. Measuring these variables can be done in order to gain a better understanding of how satisfied agents are in their role and how successful a business is at recruiting new staff members that stay with them long-term. Keeping track of these statistics allows companies to make adjustments and tailor their customer service operations in order to create an environment conducive to high employee satisfaction, improving customer service success rates over time.

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Attrition rates vary from industry to industry and from company to company. The average annual attrition rate for all industries is about 15%. The service desk industry has an average attrition rate of 20%. Attrition rates are highest in the first year of employment and tend to decrease over time. The first-year turnover rate for all industries is about 30%. The first year turnover rate for the service desk is about 40%. Attrition rates are also higher for entry-level positions and decrease as position level increases. The average attrition rate for entry-level positions is about 25%. For management positions, the average attrition rate is about 15%. Attrition rates can be impacted by several factors, including company size, industry, location, and economic conditions. In general, larger companies have lower attrition rates than smaller companies. Companies in certain industries (such as technology) tend to have higher attrition rates than other industries. Attrition rates are usually higher in cities with high costs of living (such as San Francisco) than in other locations. Attrition rates tend to increase during economic downturns.


There are a few things you can do to reduce attrition rates in your organization:

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  1. Make sure you are hiring the right people for the job. Screen candidates carefully and do your homework on them before making a final decision.
  2. Provide training and development opportunities for your employees. This will help them progress in their careers and feel more invested in the company.
  3. Create a positive work environment where employees feel valued and appreciated.

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The importance of reducing agent turnover and attrition

Agent turnover and attrition can cause major disruptions for a business, resulting in decreased efficiency, diminished customer experience, and even financial losses. It is critical to have productive agents who are motivated to stay on board and focused on the job. Simple initiatives such as providing comprehensive training opportunities, offering attractive rewards and incentives, and embracing workplace flexibility measures can do wonders to boost employee engagement. By reducing agent turnover and attrition rates, providers will benefit from greater operational predictability, increased knowledge among staff members, improved customer rapport and relationships, enhanced brand loyalty and satisfaction rates as well as cost savings from reduced recruitment costs. Overall it is certainly in the best interest of any business to prioritize strategies that focus on minimizing agent turnover.

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Tips on reducing agent turnover and attrition

Reducing agent turnover and attrition is a challenge that companies face, but one that can be remedied with the right tactics. If your company struggles with vested employees leaving their posts too soon, there are several approaches you can take. From providing competitive salaries to offering adequate health benefits and professional growth opportunities, you can create a work environment that values each staffer from the start. Also consider surveying your team members on a regular basis to ensure their needs are constantly being met. When utilizing these strategies, your business will have fewer people leaving and passing through- creating a more stable workforce in the long run.

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Attrition rates can be a challenge for contact centers, but there are several strategies that can be employed to reduce turnover and increase employee retention:

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By implementing these strategies, contact centers can reduce attrition rates and improve employee retention, ultimately leading to a more productive and successful organization.

  1. Offer competitive compensation and benefits: Competitive compensation and benefits packages can attract and retain top talent in the industry.
  2. Provide ongoing training and development: Providing ongoing training and development opportunities for employees can help them improve their skills, feel valued, and advance their careers within the company.
  3. Create a positive work environment: A positive work environment that includes open communication, recognition and rewards programs, and team building activities can help create a sense of belonging and job satisfaction.
  4. Offer flexible schedules: Providing flexible scheduling options, such as part-time or work-from-home arrangements, can help employees balance their work and personal lives and reduce stress.
  5. Empower employees: Empowering employees to make decisions and take ownership of their work can increase their engagement and motivation to perform well.
  6. Provide opportunities for advancement: Providing opportunities for advancement within the company can increase employee loyalty and reduce turnover.
  7. Foster a culture of inclusivity and diversity: Creating a culture that is inclusive and diverse can help employees feel valued and respected, leading to higher job satisfaction and lower turnover rates.

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The impact of high agent turnover and attrition rates

High agent turnover and attrition rates can have a significant impact on any organization’s operations, customer service levels, and profits. When agents frequently leave their positions, there is an increased amount of time and resources that must be directed towards new-hire onboarding and training. This can lead to longer wait times for customers, reduced employee engagement, higher costs associated with hiring and onboarding processes, and disruption of work/team balance within the organization. To mitigate the impact of high agent turnover on business operations, organizations should consider fostering and investing in a culture of retention and review strategies such as performance reviews to ensure they are maximizing talent while minimizing the effects of high turnover.

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Examples of companies with low agent turnover and attrition rates

High employee turnover and attrition rates can be incredibly costly for companies, both in terms of losing employees’ knowledge and expertise, as well as the recruitment cost associated with finding and training new employees. Fortunately, there are many examples of companies across industries who have managed to keep their agent turnover and attrition rates low. For instance, Google has managed to keep its employee attrition rate at a steady 11%, while telecommunication giant AT&T routinely keeps theirs under 5%. Despite being vastly different organizations in terms of size, industry, and product offering, what both companies share is an emphasis on investing in their staff through strong corporate culture and benefits such as competitive salaries, flexible work hours, career development initiatives and more. This allows these companies to retain their talent while also creating an environment where growth is encouraged and rewarded.


Reducing agent turnover and attrition is critical to maintaining a high-performing team. By following the tips we’ve outlined, you can reduce your rates of agent turnover and attrition and improve your customer service. Want to learn more?


Subscribe to our blog for weekly updates on all things customer service, or contact us today to see how we can help you reduce agent turnover and attrition in your organization.


Turnover and Attrition is a fact of life in any support organization. But by taking steps to reduce it, you can keep your team happy and productive. Let's take a detailed look at the Operational Management Reference Framework to see what causes Turnover and Attrition and what actions can be taken to minimize it.

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Exercise: What elements of the Operational Management Framework do you think have an impact on Turnover/Attrition?

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