Call centers still play a pivotal role in any customer driven business and a recent study (https://www.zippia.com/advice/call-center-statistics) suggested that 88% of customers prefer speaking to a live person over automated responses or navigating complex menu systems. Frustrating or incomplete engagements cause customers to abandon transactions or even worse, take their business elsewhere, causing over $60 billion in lost opportunities for US based businesses. Call center operational trends point towards providing customers with ‘omnichannel’ experiences to increase convenience and speed of service but ultimately, live agent call teams have a greater impact on customer interactions and service consistency. While technology in the industry marches on, organizations that understand the long term business benefits of positive customer engagement will see the value in maintaining live agent representatives and optimizing operations to promote those top shelf experiences.
Call center managers and supervisors should always be searching for ways to improve metrics and efficiencies through their teams as the industry and consumer behavior is evolving at a fast pace. Certain areas of the business can be highlighted that can directly impact those metrics.
Handling High Call Volume Periods
Call center success can be related to meeting and exceeding certain metrics, and one of the biggest factors to excellent customer experiences is service levels. Contact center teams are static throughout a working day but call volume could fluctuate greatly and having a plan in place when traffic is heavy will help keep service levels high and the queue moving. During heavy call times, managers should check in with representatives to see if there is a reason for the sudden increase in volume. Identifying trends in customer interactions can reveal valuable data that could be used in future instances. During high volume periods, managers and supervisors should look closely at shift schedules to see if any additional support or rearranging can deliver better coverage over the phones. While busy time can bring additional stress and tension to contact center representatives, steady and consistent leadership can offer support and open lines of communication to work through the chaotic periods.
Strong Frontline Teams are the Keys to Success
Success in a contact center begins with the representatives in the bullpen taking and making calls for the business. Engaging and effective leadership can build strong, high performing teams that will deliver results on a consistent basis. Empowering staff by assigning roles, such as product expert or team motivator, can build ownership in the business and give key players additional responsibilities to improve their own individual skill sets. Communicating initiatives and business goals will keep team members in the loop and aware of what is happening in the workspace. Other strategies for building a strong call center team:
- Clearly define goals and communicate performance expectations
- Embrace open door policies and encourage communication and feedback from the team
- Offer coaching and feedback that extends skills beyond the call center
Team morale and motivation can greatly impact performance and managers who work towards promoting strength within the team will see better results and more productivity as individuals grow their sense of belonging within the crew.
What Does Your Customer Think?
There are many metrics that call center managers use to check in on performance. Net Promoter Score is an important metric that generates directly from the customer once a transaction or interaction has closed. Asking one simple question gives the customer the opportunity to share their thoughts in a non invasive or time consuming manner. Typical surveys can be answered in Yes or No format or on a scale between 1-5. Some simple yet effective NPS questions:
- Would you recommend (this product or service) to a friend or relative?
- Would you purchase (this product or service) in the future?
Posing NPS surveys at the end of the interaction while the information is fresh in the customer’s mind will provide the most accurate results. Call center managers can evaluate scores and refer back to the actual call for feedback and coaching with the individual representative.
The Bottom Line
Contact centers handle the bulk of inquiries for customer driven businesses. The balance between fast and efficient service has to be balanced between automated technologies and live human contact. The majority of customers who have to use call centers for customer service prefer interacting with a live agent, reinforcing the need to maintain at least some form of human contact for incoming customer interactions. Strategies for managing higher call volumes can help improve metrics and statistics while improving the customer experience. Building a strong frontline team will also drive productivity and efficiency, ultimately impacting the businesses bottom line. A focus on feedback is also critical for call center leadership to evaluate performance. Asking short, one question surveys can reveal important information on team output and customer feelings.