How to Drive Contact Center Performance

For many companies, great customer service can be a costly and exhausting endeavor. However, if you improve the way your customers interact with your contact center, you can reduce a lot of issues. A primary objective of a contact center should be to build the type of employee engagement that will result in enhanced customer loyalty and satisfaction, as well as improve the impact on the bottom-line of their business.

Optimize agent performance

The best way to enhance customer satisfaction and contact center performance is by optimizing agent performance. Companies should find ways to reduce average handle time and call volumes while increasing first call resolution. Companies must ensure that their agents fully understand the use of various channel options such as chat, calls and email, and that all these channel options are properly optimized for customer interactions.

Encourage creativity in the agent

Many professionals in the contact center are attracted to the nature of their occupation, which is customer interaction. However, companies restrain them from engaging with customers emotionally, and instead force them to follow strict scripts. By allowing contact center agents some creative liberty companies can improve their performance as this will let them create emotional attachment to the task, which will ensure that each interaction with customer will become a personal interaction, rather than a generic corporate experience.
Prepare business cases for change

Companies must prepare business cases that include illustrations of various problems with compelling facts. Also, these cases should clearly state the parameters of ideal performance and how to achieve them. Measures and metrics that align operations to a department, a team, or an executive must be clearly provided as it’s vital to achieving key performance objectives.

Increase awareness among agents

It is vital that contact center agents must always be motivated as it will allow them to accept new day-to-day work challenges. A monotonous work environment can be highly regressive for a contact center agent. Companies should encourage agents to make contributions to their work processes, and continually teach them new skills and abilities. This way, agents will never feel that their skill sets are diminishing, and this will not only reduce employee attrition rate, but will also enhance their performance.

In many organizations, the drive for efficiency is often seen to be at the expense of the customer. However, a knowledgeable employee  who has been with the company for some time and has the ability to deal with multiple queries on one call will offer the customer a one-stop shop approach to their query. Organizations who spend the time and energy to include the above mentioned principles of contact center management find that their employees are better capable at delivering consistent positive, quality, branded customer experiences that build better customer relationships.

Disadvantages of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing allows us to store documents and files and access them at any computer with an internet connection. Even though it has so many advantages, there are some things to be cautious about. Some people say there are no hitches to cloud computing, but there are numerous disadvantages.

Here are some of the main disadvantages of cloud computing:

Security and privacy issues

The biggest worries about cloud computing are privacy and security. Many users may not be happy passing over their information or data to a third party. It is even a greater concern to businesses that wish to keep their sensitive data on the cloud server. Even though venders ensure their servers are free from viral infection, it is still a concern since there are many users accessing the server every day. Storing data and information in the cloud makes your company open to external threats and hack attacks. We are aware that nothing on the internet is totally secure, there is always a possibility of external attack. So make sure you pick the right provider to keep your data secure.

Cost can be expensive

Even though cloud computing is cheaper than traditional desktop software, the fact that it is new to the market and has to be researched and improved time and again makes it more expensive. Vendors have to develop or buy certain software that will operate the cloud and fix any unforeseen problem that might occur. This makes the cloud computing very expensive. Also cloud computing costs are changing every day. 

Tech issues can still occur

Although you can access data and information on the cloud anytime and from anywhere, there are some times when the system can have technical issues. You should always know that technology is prone to outages and several technical problems. Even the very best cloud service provider runs into trouble. Cloud computing also makes your company dependent on internet connection. When it is offline, it means you are also offline. If your business suffers from slow internet speed, cloud computing may not be suitable for you.

Dependency on provider

Another disadvantage of cloud computing is loss of control or dependency. This means you will be tied to another company for long time and it is not easy to migrate to another cloud service provider. You also have little or no understanding in cloud service provider procedures especially when it comes to disaster recovery, backup and renovation.

The Fundamentals of Call Center Workforce Management

Call centers face several workforce management challenges including managing service levels, forecasting calls, and scheduling staff. Workforce management is a process that involves using precise staffing figures each hour to enhance service while reducing costs. It is considered one of the most significant planning and administration functions in a call center. This process is handled by a call center supervisor or manager. 

A call center has to track each employee’s daily performance and service. This makes it possible to determine the impact that each individual is making to the call center when it comes to attaining daily service goals. The call centers have to know the exact number of people who are needed to attain service goals. The workforce has to match the workload. If a call center is overstaffed, profitability is likely to reduce because of higher costs. On the other hand, if there are very few agents, customers will stop using the services and handling times are likely to go up

Call centers have to deal with complex contacts, increased customer expectations, new channels, and a need for improved agent skills during workforce management. This makes it necessary for them to do things right. On the upside, it is possible to learn about scheduling and forecasting to boost a call center’s performance. 

A call center has to clarify its values for its schedules to work appropriately. It is important to determine what will happen when workload forecasts are either high or low. The call centers management has to identify ways to ensure service levels are consistent. It may be necessary to seek backup from the rest of the departments or find external business partners to ensure customer needs are well met. 

To come up with workable schedules, call centers have to model a variety of scenarios. They have to come up with tests schedules that test different variables. A call center has to experiment with various alternatives to make better decisions in terms of training required, shift swapping, and agent group structures. Experimentation allows call centers to make necessary changes to come up with good schedules. It may take time to get a workable schedule but the results will be worth it. During scheduling, a call center supervisor or manager has to determine the right shift span, days off and days on, and start and stop options. 

Call centers will continue to face many challenges when it comes to meeting their customers’ demands, scheduling, and forecasting in order to handle their workload effectively. But they can take advantage of the latest forecasting and scheduling technology to simplify this process. 

US Contact Center Industry Generates 16,000 Jobs

It’s a great time for the US call center industry because business certainly is booming. According to Jobs4america, a little over 16,000 new call center jobs were created in the United States during this year’s third quarter.

 

Specifically, between the months of July and September, 16,080 contact center jobs became open. The Chairman of Jobs4america Matt Zemon remarked, “The American Contact Center Industry continues to show strong growth. We also commend all the organizations that are choosing to outsource to BPOs with a strong U.S. presence including Chime Solutions, Teletech and Liberty-Source.”

 

Factors contributing to the recent boom in call center jobs in the US include President Obama’s healthcare law and the rising cost of contact center labor overseas. Jobs4america.com reports that at least five million people in the United States work in call centers, and a great deal of them are based from home.

 

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The Benefits of a Cloud-Based Contact Center

Today, contact centers play an integral role in fostering long term customer relationships as they are the focal point of all customer connections. This has prompted a number of organizations to focus on cloud based contact centers or the conventional on-premise contact centers. However, many companies are adopting the cloud based contact center for customer support and connection because of the many benefits it offers. The following are some of the numerous benefits of a cloud-based contact center:

Fast deployment and integration with the existing infrastructure 

For the complete deployment or use of an on-premise contact center or system, there must be infrastructural changes including hardware and software changes, telephony changes, upgrade or installation. This requires a huge capital investment as well as time. On the other hand, cloud based contact center takes a very short time to deploy and it is easy to set up. This is because the services are offered by online service providers. The only equipment that is needed is a computer and an internet connection. 

Global access and delivery 

Cloud based solutions enable companies and clients to provide on-demand services and support to consumers that is accessible at anytime of the day and in any part of the world. This is made possible by the increased proliferation of mobile devices and online services that is increasing the demand for customer support.

Cost-effectiveness

Cloud-hosted contact centers do not require upfront expenditure to set up or deploy. Basically, these are services offered on a pay as you go payment model. This means that companies pay for services they need. This is cost effective in the sense that the information technology expense or spending will be reduced compared to an on-premise contact center which is a better return on investment in the long run.

Personalized customer service 

Cloud based contact centers allow companies and business to pick and select particular services to guarantee a more personalized user experience. The applications can be customized to suit customer demographics including geographical location, language as well as profile. Cloud computing also allows integration of other applications for example billing software, business reporting, purchase order management, analytics, just to mention but a few. 

In summary, from the above benefits, it is clear to suggest that cloud based contact centers can actually enable enterprises and businesses to lower their operational costs, deliver quality services and increase their efficiency.  

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The Importance of Call Center Phone Etiquette

Running and managing a call center is among the most challenging aspects in the world of business. Call center agents are required to not only provide customer support but also take orders, deal with customer complaints, etc. With so much to work on, sticky situations are almost inevitable.

Running a call center can also turn out to be one of the most rewarding tasks in a business. The manner in which situations are handled when they arise can mean the difference between the retention of loyal customers and losing customers. Good customer service begins the very moment a call center agent receives a call. If you are wondering how to gain more business through your call center, you may want to start by looking at your agents’ phone etiquette.

Training

The most important thing that managers sometimes overlook is the great need for training. Whether your call center is being handled by one or two people or by a large team of agents, training is the key for overall success. It is advisable for small and large business owners to ensure that every person who responds to customer queries and concerns on the phone has been trained. Basically, any person who answers the business lines should have undergone training. It is up to the business managers and owners to ensure that employees apply company phone policies and best practices. 

Here are some of the things that should be observed to improve phone etiquette:

 

Consistency

 

When it comes to consistency, it means making sure that everyone answers the phone consistently. If a call is an in-bound call, it is important to indirectly let the customer confirm that they got the phone number right. Most importantly, the agent’s hello should be brief. Employees should be trained to mention the company name first followed by their names. This simple introduction should be enough. 

Don’t interrupt the customer

No one loves being interrupted, especially when they are expressing dissatisfaction of a service. In this regard, never interrupt a customer who is complaining. Business managers and owners should ensure that this is achieved regardless of how difficult it might be. Employees should be trained to listen to the entire problem regardless of how long it takes. This is particularly more emphasized if the employee handling the call intends to hand of the call to another member of the call center. It leaves the customer feeling well taken care of.

Knowledge of how to use the phone system

Ensure that every employee with permission to respond to business calls knows how to use the phone system. Does everyone know how to make use of the hold button? One of the worst things your employees could ever do is to the put phone to their chest with the intentions of muffling the mouthpiece for them to speak amongst themselves. Customers might hear things you really do not want them to hear. In such instances, the hold button is your best friend. 

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Essential Call Center Management Skills

Call center management is a discipline that incorporates a wide array of skills that blend well to create a successful and effective call center. However, gaining such skills requires a lot of dedication, among other essential factors.

Call center management entails a responsibility and role-playing on the individual assigned to handle this important activity. You should have several skills to incorporate into your leadership approach to enable a successful transition from a poorly run call center to a successful one.

Start by setting goals

Goal setting is one of the most important skills in any management position. Start by enlightening your call center employees about the importance of working towards particular goals. Make them aware of the benefits that the department stands to gain when the goals are followed to the letter. Ensure that your approach is as focused as possible and once they get this concept, they will work proactively by setting their own goals in a bid to realize the bigger goal. Work with them towards those goals and work out on what is to be achieved.

Lead by example

Be a role model to your employees. Creating your own goals and then sharing them with your employees will help them identify with you much better.

Always focus on continued improvement

Goal setting isn’t the only way to improve. You should be constantly devising other methods of further ways to potentially improve the call center. Since the employees are your greatest asset in the call center, you can also focus on their improvement. You can engage them in training courses to acquire more skills that will benefit them and the company. Such improvement will go a long way in increasing the efficiency of the call center.

Avail yourself at all times

Always try to be available for the employees whenever they require any form of assistance. Work out a plan out of your busy schedule to attend to all their needs.

Continually coach your employees

Your guidance should always be part of your approach. Give praise where it’s due and offer constructive criticism where there is need. Always aim to encourage them to improve.

Have a firm belief in your employees’ success

After coaching and encouraging them, have faith in them to deliver. Help them to have confidence that they can get the job done. Show them that they have your dedication to their success, and you will get a team that is fully dedicated to do the job.

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