The COVID-19 pandemic may have brought work from home into the mainstream but the call center industry has been using at-home representatives for decades. Fast household adoption of high speed internet allowed commercial telephony applications to work in residential areas. Virtual platforms save call center businesses hundreds of thousands of dollars per year by eliminating or reducing real estate and equipment needs. A 2020 article suggested that based on US averages, contact centers could save $8300 per year per agent in real estate in real estate costs. Call centers can also see other benefits such as a reduced environmental footprint and increased employee satisfaction and performance. Managing a virtual team has its challenges and opportunities. Creating and executing a detailed leadership plan are key elements to driving team productivity and efficiency.
It All Starts at the Top
There is a certain degree of independence that managers expect from their work-from-home agents. Traditional ‘over-the-shoulder’ management cannot obviously work with virtual platforms but teams still need a leader, whether in person or online. Call center managers play key roles in the work lives of the team by delivering important, work related information. Monitoring and managing performance as well as motivating staff to achieve goals are main responsibilities for contact center managers. Entry level and mid-managers may also be required to work the phones in addition to their managerial duties. Managers who can organize time and balance attention to the various aspects of the role are positioned for success when it comes to managing and engaging their teams virtually and consistently.
Strategies for Contact Center Managers
Leadership in call centers is vital to ensure team productivity and performance. Managing people online is vastly different from face to face management and consistency becomes a more important standard when working virtually. Group and individual interactions are critical for communicating important updates about the business as well as returning feedback on team and agent performance and meetings should be spaced out to reduce intrusiveness. Random check-ins with individuals is essential to keep engagement up but should also be timed accordingly. Management should be available at any time during business hours and can maintain a virtual presence through online chat rooms specific to the team. Using productivity technology can help managers and supervisors stay in control of schedules and can ensure that all operational aspects of the contact center are given attention. Management availability and presence are key elements in keeping virtual teams engaged and productive.
Working from Home But Not Alone
Remote work in the call center has been around for a long time and over the last few decades, agent training has evolved to focus on productivity in an independent setting. Training call center representatives in productivity tools such as calendars, internal chat functions and meeting room platforms, such as zoom, should be the foundation of any initial training program. Getting the team on the same page when it comes to organizing their work life is crucial for them to be able to focus on the calls and maximize opportunities. Aside from teaching core job responsibilities and communicating expectations, agents should know where to find resources quickly and should have them ready to expedite call flow. Frontline staff should be fully aware of what support is available and have access to management or other technical departments during working hours. Working from home is truly an independent undertaking but call center representatives still need support and should know exactly where and how to find it.
The Bottom Line
The call center industry has been utilizing virtual workspaces for many years and have realized huge efficiencies and savings by employing work-at-home agents. Advancement in access and technology means setting up remote workers is less cumbersome than in the past. Leadership in virtual call centers is crucial and realizing the full potential and benefit of remote workers does require a more organized and consistent management style. Using productivity tools to stay organized can help both management and frontline staff improve and stay efficient. The cost savings for call centers when moving to remote workers cannot be ignored but strategy and planning is necessary to keep the virtual team motivated and producing.