What *Exactly* is Healthy Attrition?

When we write about simulation-based learning at Bright, we often focus on reductions in training time/costs + growth in KPIs like first call resolution, CSAT, or sales closure. But there's another benefit worth sharing that our customers have called 'healthy attrition.'

It's no secret that 40%+ turnover rates are common in many service and support industries. We've even seen organizations with 100%+ annual employee turnover.

There are many root causes, but there are two in particular on which immersive learning and personalized coaching can make a fast impact.

Verifying New Hire Fit for Role

Despite most companies' efforts to manage meaningful pre-hire assessments, bad-fit hires still happen. Realistic simulations enable both the organization and the new hire to realize this sooner than later. Why? First, there's no way to 'fake' a simulation. Either you're picking up the product knowledge, or not. You're mastering the system and have good data quality, or you don't. You're applying empathy and soft skills, or not.

There's no way to coast - which signals the company's expectations and standards. Bad-fit new hires opt out at this point.

The reverse is true as well. The employee may be loving the program and company, but if their performance is far from expectations, the company gains data points that highlights potential risks for their future performance. They can make the call on whether they'll lean in to upskill, or choose not to certify/advance that associate.

Agent Confidence + Readiness

The other driver of attrition reduction is common sense: associates who don't believe they will thrive, leave.

The impact of simulation, coaching, and practice is both confidence and *actual* proficiency. This means employees don't just feel confident, they actually achieve handle time, first call resolution, or sales goals sooner. Because they're successful, they stay. Here's a quick case studies to make this real: A major US retailer recently adjusted their onboarding program to emphasize software simulations. Prior to launch, access to systems had been limited, so employees had general training and shadowing for the core flows, but limited practice until they were live on the phone with customers.

Bright's software simulations provided system practice weeks sooner than had previously been possible, eliminating over a week of training time from the start. The company also delivered enough hours of system practice to get new agents to near-veteran proficiency (defined by handle time, data accuracy, lack of system errors, and ability to navigate the system without help) before they even started. The result?

A 50% reduction in attrition - because agents were confident + competent. Plus an 8-point increase in Quality Scores (higher than veteran agents) in their first 2 weeks. Since agents weren't struggling to navigate the system, they could focus on the substance of the conversation.

Contact us today if you'd like to start the journey toward increased agent confidence and 'healthy attrition.'