Genesys and Thrive have developed a solution to enhance employee well-being, which contact centres may embed into agent workflows.
The solution – named “Thrive Reset for Genesys” – detects the stress and sentiment levels of agents. When stress is high, it quickly course-corrects to safeguard employee well-being based on “proven neuroscience methodology”.
For example, the solution may trigger a video call between an agent and their supervisor after a stressful conversation. The supervisor may then intervene and attend to the agent’s emotional needs.
The solution can trigger other events, such as breaks, alongside video calls. It is possible to customise how long these breaks last by taking criteria such as call duration, the number of calls handled, and hours worked with no downtime into account.
Taking to social media to announce the launch of the solution, influential Thrive CEO Ariana Huffington stated:
Customer experience workers are facing unprecedented challenges, and Thrive for Genesys will give call agents real-time support with a science-backed reset break that will interrupt stress before it becomes cumulative.
In another post, Huffington added: “The customer experience industry now has an employer-initiated stress intervention solution for frontline workers that is science-backed and designed to focus on the root causes of burnout.”
Scientist Leanne Williams, PhD, Director of the Stanford Center for Precision Mental Health and Wellness, highlighted these route causes. She said:
Stress shapes how our brain changes and adapts, and the brain sometimes gets stuck in cycles of negative thought patterns, especially when we experience stress that is outside our control. Strategies for boosting positive connections can help break this cycle. As we practice them, our brain can adapt and create new thought patterns.
By exploiting Genesys advanced analytics embedded within the solution, Thrive Reset aims to break these cycles of negative thought – which are particularly prevalent within the current always-on culture.
Many credit the switch to hybrid working with blurring the lines of work and home for this. Nevertheless, other sources of employee stress have risen since the onset of the pandemic. Increasing occupancy rates due to understaffing and high attrition is a leading cause of employee burnout.
Yet, Tony Bates, Genesys Chairman and CEO, believes that “Thrive Reset for Genesys” will help contact centres to better function in these challenging times. He said:
Many workplaces today are optimised for efficiency and effectiveness. That results in people feeling overworked and their contributions being undervalued. With Thrive, we can shift the way businesses use technology to create personalised, empathetic employee experiences.
Early pilots show promising results, with one Fortune 10 retailer improving employee well-being and customer satisfaction scores after implementing the solution.
Contact centres wishing to achieve similar results may begin to access the solution via the Genesys AppFoundry from March onwards.
