Call center business is a very complex field that requires good management for its success. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of agents, training them, monitoring their stats and providing useful feedback are some of the most important tasks, which are the responsibilities of a call center supervisor. Without a good manager or supervisor,Continue reading
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Importance of Innate Call-Handling Talent in Customer Services
Humanity hasn’t been able to measure everything. There is no machine which can calculate the honesty of a person. There is no unit which can measure the happiness levels of people. And most often, these are the most important qualities.
We all like to be with a person who exudes positivity. And we all loathe a person who indulges in malicious back-biting. When we are choosing a friend, we don’t take into account the marks a person got in high-school, or what is their income. All that we are concerned for is- is the person trustworthy?
Similarly, when a customer is speaking to a call centers agent, it doesn’t matter whether the Agent is a graduate, or has 10 years of industry experience etc. All that matters is – is the Agent polite and helpful while talking to you?
These immeasurable skills are together called as ‘soft skills’. The qualities like politeness, tone, tenor, calmness, charm etc. are of utmost importance for a call center agent. But unfortunately, there is no way you can measure any of these.
There are ways to calculate things like – Wrap-up Time, Idle Time, Abandon Rate, Average Speed of Answering etc. But there isn’t any way that you can calculate whether you touched the heart of a customer, or how much satisfaction were you able to provide them.
We at Bluechip Callcenter realize the importance of the incalculable. And that is why we give priority to soft-skill trainings for all our call center agents, especially those working as customer service executives.
The whole emphasis of our trainings is to not just become good call center agents, but become good human beings and hone our soft skills along with hard-skills. It is most important for you to master these intangible soft-skills if you want to excel in your work performance.
If you are happier inside, it will show. And even though we can’t measure it, we will know!
Dedicating Call Center Executives on Queue Metrics – It is Easy
The operations department of call center repeatedly devotes their precious time and effort in data monitoring and display solution. All these are carried out with the desktop applications, LCD digital signage, LED wallboard, email alerts or web dashboards displaying metrics from internal databases. All these metric help the call centers assists the agents to deliver better customer service results and assist the entire business development process to excel.
Therefore, it is very essential that the CSRs draw an attention to these innovative tools. The information displayed on these digital tools are always helpful but the stress and hectic working hours in the call center outsourcing industry tend to divert the agents only towards their duty. Multi-tasking is always helping them to achieve better results and to attain the best level; there are certain tips that will motivate the agents to pay attention to call center wallboard.
Updating the contact center signage on a regular basis is a practical way of drawing attention. Attractive data on repeated basis will turn on the agents to concentrate better. Therefore, there should be a specific person who should be appointed in creating newfangled digital signage software views at least monthly.
Utilizing non-work related media in the call center operations is also a good way to build interest in the industry news and recent trends. Regular updates on contact center displays will actually make calling executives more productive. Any instructional message from management can be directly forwarded with this approach. News on the latest call center technology will always attract the agents.
Allow the agents to keep a thorough eye on the contest that keeps going in any departments. A contest can develop better interest to excel better and desire to take the individual rapport in the industry. Broadcast a contest in the digital signage or through e-mails and grasp the attention of the agents in a short time. No doubt these are hardly practices in the call centers, but these can actually allow the agents to keep a constant eye on these digital mediums.
Clean & clear information is another factor that can ensure better level of call center metrics. If clear information is not expressed properly, the long term attention of an agent can be go to ignorance status. Analyze the format size and the color of the texts and how exactly they can make a viewer stay tuned for long hours. The process can also be benefited with the integration of lock or pop-up desktop metrics applications.
Monitoring In Inbound Call Centres Can Be Better Now
The revolution of customer service led by the call centers in the modern business chapters has virtually changed the perspective of the 21st era consumers. As these CRM guardians, so called BPO has positively handled the most complex errands, no organization tends to work in a lively manner without some direct or indirect help from these care takers. This industry has become so busy that sometimes the managers dedicate hardly any time for the advanced monitoring process. It is essential because, this will not only improve the performance level but also the overall balance of the call center operations. Here are few tips that can be resourceful:
1. Integrate Customer Satisfaction Assessments:
Inbound call centers services are always better when the performance is measured with customer’s component into the quality monitoring programs. This direct feedback process will add better color to the monitoring level. In addition the call center agents will have a better feedback with their past operations and can direct a new methodology through which then can eliminate the hidden discrepancies. With this approach, the managers can scrutinize each and every record and analyze how the team performed in a specific process. This is good news for all the operations.
2. Foster Team Work:
A team is the backbone of any business process. Until and unless the team is determined, no call center can expect to commit a project with 100% accuracy and quality. Therefore, it is the duty of the managers to integrate some programs that keep the flame high and ignite the passion in their team members to build their personality in their duty. There would be many agents who would be delivering top-notch services confidently. Never, forget to reward them in a special manner. They can be the turning heroes of your organization tomorrow.
3. Complement a Self-Monitoring Module to the Blend:
Last but not the least; it is always beneficial for the senior management to listen to the recommendation led the agents. As the agents of the inbound call centers spend 90% of their time with the customers, they can understand them better that anyone of the floor. Self-evaluation in monitoring is deeply engaged in authorizing the operations positively. The second- or third-party feedback in inbound call centers services does not seems to be lively but it can actually change the behaviors of the communication process.
To-do list for Call Center Agents to Enhance Call Center Services
Making a to-do list is a common procedure that is followed by individuals who have very busy schedule. It is a very old concept and allows any person to perform his tasks efficiently within a set deadline. Just like it is useful in performing day-to-day tasks, this method can also be fruitful in enhancing the quality of call center operations. The proper usage of a to-do list for call center agents not only provides effective results but also help them take active responsibility in their particular professional environment. Although the major advantage of a to-do list comes in the form of better time management, it has many other hidden benefits for a call center operation.
Save Time and Enhance Call Center Services with a To-Do List
There are certain activities that need to be ranked before taking any action. Therefore, the call center agents have to be very focused about the importance of any work that comes their way and how to tackle it without any complication. A to-do list acts as the best friend in this aspect. If a habit is made, then it is possible that all the vital tasks of a call center operation will be completed within time and agents would be able to dedicate their extra time on their personal development skills like training and quality monitoring. The management of call center should place special emphasis on first call resolution, average handle time, service level agreement and shrinkage (unavailability of agents to handle calls).
It is also important to follow up on certain activities to maintain efficiency in the scheduled hours. Some of these activities can be reading important emails, case studies, following up on unfinished customer issues, performing after-call work, along with working on forum and knowledge base reviews. All these tasks may take long time and therefore to complete these activities a proper listing of to-do work needs to be completed at the start. For example, shrinkage activities fit suitably on an agent’s to-do list.
The Important Role of Managers
To address the matter of shrinkage, the role of supervisors and managers matters a lot. A proper communication process through e-mails and reminders not only helps agents in a number of ways in enhancing their quality of service but also keeps them aware of their priorities. Managers can also help agents in creating their to-do lists by letting them know about the areas that they need to focus on. As managers have access to key agent stats like AHT, FCR and unavailability time, they can call the agents one-by-one and provide them with instructions on how to improve their ratings and maximize customer satisfaction.
Conclusion
The call center agent’s to-do list essentially helps in improving results and productivity. A major part of shrinkage activities can be reduced with a perfect construction of to-do list. Call center outsourcing operations can be easily balanced with the help of innovative tools and methods for time management, which can elevate the level of services to a higher level than before.