Creating an inclusive culture in contact centres: best practices and benefits

Diversity and inclusion are hot topics in service sectors, and they should be. After all, how can a company offer customer support to people of all demographics if it doesn’t promote inclusiveness internally?

It’s a case of doing what’s right, ensuring everyone within a workplace feels valued, respected, and empowered to contribute. The business incentives are clear: Create an inclusive and diverse culture, and you can expect to benefit both employees and customers.

Firstly, employees want diversity. Research from Glassdoor found that 76% of job seekers see diversity as an important factor. Secondly, it appears there is a direct impact on customer satisfaction. A study by McKinsey & Company found that companies with the most diverse workforces are 35% more likely to have above-average financial returns.

But there’s more to explain than that, especially when it comes to customer support. The time is apt, with National Inclusion Week coming up in the UK; from September 23rd to September 29th. So in this article, we will take a look at exactly why contact centres benefit hugely from an inclusive culture.

The importance of diversity and inclusion

Diversity and inclusion are more than a token policy. A diverse workforce brings together individuals with varied backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. This ensures that customer support reflects the diversity of customers themselves, helps with problem-solving, and lays the foundation for innovative thinking. A diverse workforce needs an inclusive culture that both respects and leverages these differences.

Achieve diversity and inclusion in contact centre settings, and the following benefits come to the fore:

• Improved customer service – quite simply, diverse customer support teams are better equipped to understand a wide range of customer needs. It comes down to having empathy for customers, and this can contribute to more personalised customer service with a knock-on effect of higher customer satisfaction rates.
• Greater employee satisfaction – who doesn’t want to work in an environment where all employees are respected and valued? Such contact centres are seeing employees who are happier and more motivated in their roles. The end result? Lower turnover rates and a more stable workforce.
• A more creative workforce – when you have a team drawn from many walks of life, they different outlooks to the table. With a richer tapestry of experiences and backgrounds, you might be surprised how much easier creative problem-solving can become, and customer service challenges can be overcome.
• Better decision making – research shows that diverse teams make better decisions up to 87% of the time. This can be attributed to their ability to draw from a broader base of perspectives and, therefore, solutions.
• Corporate reputation – don’t get confused; diversity and inclusion is not about box ticking for corporate social responsibility (CSR) purposes. Organisations who are only looking for an image boost may miss out on the chance to build a better business. But make no mistake, there is a reputational aspect to creating an inclusive culture in contact centres – it makes companies more attractive to both customers and potential employees.

Best practices for building an inclusive culture

So, how do you go about it? Creating an inclusive culture in your contact centre isn’t a strategy – it is a commitment. Here are some best practices you can incorporate when working towards inclusivity:

• Widen your hiring net – to create a diverse workforce, you must have a recruitment strategy that attracts candidates from different backgrounds. How does this look? You could consider working with diverse community organisations or using more inclusive language in job postings. The interview panel questioning the candidates will also, ideally, be diverse.
• Educate your employees – an inclusive culture doesn’t create itself. Training can be key, with education based on areas such as unconscious bias, cultural competence, and the importance of inclusion. These ongoing programs will play an important part in guiding employees on the principles of inclusivity.
• Set expectations – you are going to have to establish clear policies and expectations around respectful behaviour. Shout it from the rooftops – there must be absolutely zero tolerance for discrimination or harassment within your contact centre. Another important building block is to encourage open communication and provide channels for employees to voice their concerns or suggestions.
• Celebrate diversity – don’t just expound diversity; celebrate it! Make sure that you are recognising and celebrating different cultural holidays and events. This educates employees on unfamiliar cultures while making diverse team members feel valued and appreciated.

Supporting vulnerable customers

An inclusive contact centre culture goes beyond internal practices. It extends to how you treat your customers, and in particular, those who may be vulnerable or have special needs. Here are some practices for effectively supporting vulnerable customers:

• Specialised training – in order to support vulnerable customers, your agents need to know how to identify them. From people with disabilities to those with mental health issues or financial difficulties – contact centre agents can be trained to spot these customers. Let’s say customer Gary has money problems and as a result is having trouble paying his subscription – your agents will be trained in how to approach the conversation tactfully and respectfully, while reaching a satisfactory resolution.
• Keep comms flexible – do you have multiple channels open for customer communication? An omnichannel approach – including phone, email, chat, and video calls – makes your contact centre more accessible for all.
• Accessibility features – and the accessibility isn’t confined to multichannel communication. Advanced technology such as text-to-speech assists disabled customers in making enquiries.

Inclusivity is a journey, not a destination

As we’ve discussed, creating an inclusive culture in contact centres isn’t just morally sound, it’s essential for any healthy business. Your decision to make diversity and inclusivity a priority will impact customer experiences, employee satisfaction, and business performance.

So as National Inclusion Week comes around, let’s remind ourselves of an inclusive culture’s place in contact centres, and make a commitment to taking the right steps.