When Angie Flury joined Morgan & Morgan as Chief Call Center Officer, she wanted to build a culture of belonging that would keep customer service representatives at the company longer.

"They came and went," Flury said during Wednesday's CCWomen webinar. "While they were here, they wanted to help people, but turnover was high—which is the norm in contact centers."

According to Flury, reducing contact center turnover may come down to something simple: improving culture. The key is making employees feel valued in their daily work while transforming jobs that might be seen as dead ends into starting points for careers.

Customer service representatives need to feel they have a future at the company, and leaders play a key role in ensuring new employees feel that way. Representatives need to feel valued continuously during their tenure, which is where perks and small gifts come into play. Done well, the drop in turnover will prove the value of return on investment (ROI).

Flury considers her own efforts proof. Morgan & Morgan's customer service representative turnover was once 60%, but as of last year, it had dropped to 25%. In a contact center with 1,100 representatives, that change makes a significant difference.

Making representatives feel they have a future

When Flury took the role, customer service representatives felt their jobs were temporary rather than part of a larger career. Changing that was one of her early goals.

Flury said that if representatives cannot see advancement as part of a larger career, they have little motivation to work harder. Leaders need to make long-term opportunities tangible.

"You have to really train them to always think: 'How do I ensure that the representative here today, if they want, can feel they have a future here?'" Flury said. "If they just want to sit and take calls, that's fine. But they know they have the right to set their own path, and we're here to support them."

Flury noted that part of that support is making leaders visible. This is especially important for new employees who are just adapting to the company culture.

Each morning, a different leader from Flury's department holds a meet-and-greet so representatives can get to know the people who will manage them. The session includes discussing positive moments from the previous day, whether work-related or personal.

"That way they get to see all the leaders' faces," Flury said. "It's mandatory. Different people come in at different times, but no leader is exempt. The workforce management person? You might never see him again, but he comes in, introduces himself, shares his positive moment, and leads the session. That way everyone feels the same atmosphere, and then every leader gets to meet the new employees."

Perks help, but promises must be kept

Small perks like occasional celebrations or free meals can go a long way, but leaders must handle and present them carefully to avoid potential backlash.

Flury emphasized that keeping promises is crucial. For example, if the company is going to provide a monthly lunch for top performers, that program cannot fizzle out after two months because the person in charge is too busy.

"If you're going to launch something, you have to commit," Flury said. People will notice when proposed perks and incentives keep falling through, and future efforts will become less motivating.

Flury believes some perks should be shared with everyone. When the contact center hits a major goal, it should be a celebration for everyone, not just those in charge.

"I understand we all want to pat ourselves on the back and say we had a great month, but without the representatives, none of it would happen," Flury said. "So, take the money you were going to spend on a leader offsite and do something nice for them, because they'll start to notice: 'All my leaders leave every Friday for happy hour, and I never get the chance to do that.'"

Flury noted that when programs do fall through, leaders cannot just let them disappear silently. Employees will fill in the gaps themselves, and the explanations they come up with may end up being more negative than the truth. This is especially likely if a long-standing perk is discontinued.

"If you do something regularly and then suddenly stop without explanation, people tend to get very suspicious about what happened," Flury said. "It can really damage the culture quickly."

Reducing turnover is proof of ROI

Proving the ROI of a strong culture can be difficult. Flury found success by tying her initiatives to turnover rates.

Flury said efforts start small, such as providing representatives with small gifts and occasional lunches. The goal is to recognize employees without overspending the budget, and even small changes can impact turnover.

For example, if you invest $5,000 in culture and reduce turnover by 5% to 10%, that can be presented as a big win, Flury said. That initial investment might save $10,000 to $20,000 in recruiting and training costs—and then you can argue that a larger budget could further reduce turnover.

Flury cited her own success in reducing turnover as an example.

"They don't ask me as often why I need a culture team, because it pays for itself around the clock," Flury said. "For me, that's the easiest ROI to prove. If you can show your turnover numbers dropping, it will pay for itself within about three employees."

Correction: In a previous version of this article, Angie Flury's name was misspelled.