One of the most important aspects of a successful business is its call centre and its ability to make the customer’s experience a positive one. Sometimes, when dealing with irate customers, this can be a daunting task; however, it’s crucial to the success of the company to turn a customer who is upset into one who is satisfied with an outcome.
Because so much of that success is determined by the customer care agent who answers the phone or email, it’s critical for the customer service department to be run efficiently and smoothly and to ensure that the customer service team is properly trained and treated as an integral part of the company.
Here are six best practices that will help improve call centre performance and enhance the work environment of the customer service department.
1. Thoroughly Train Agents.
The importance of thoroughly training new agents, as well as providing an ongoing training program for experienced employees is a critical area that is sometimes overlooked. When the customer service agent is comfortable and confident in their product knowledge, it provides a better customer service experience and the agent is able to answer questions and solve issues comfortably and quickly. Since the call centre agent represents the company (and might be the only person a customer ever speaks with), it is crucial for the agent to be well trained and comfortable speaking with callers. BPOs in the Philippines conduct a month-long training for new hires to make sure they are able to address every customer concern with proper etiquette.
2. Employ User-Friendly Software.
Working in a call centre can be tough when the agent could be dealing with irate customers, trying to answer product or service questions, all the while maintaining a friendly, helpful attitude. So, when the software they’re trying to use goes down, is slow or just too difficult to learn, it only adds to the agent’s frustration and could lead to an access of employee burnout. Integrating an easy to use, cloud based software program, such as Bright Pattern, (www.brightpattern.com), will not assist the agents in their daily tasks, but will also provide detailed reports and tracking to help management implement improvements in their overall systems.
3. Give Constructive Feedback.
When employees are unable to quickly find the answers to common questions, or keep unintentionally giving misinformation or repeating the same mistakes, their jobs get harder, the company loses sales and money, and everyone’s frustration level rises. When managers are available to give feedback, coach employees and help their team, this allows the entire team to form good working habits and adds to the overall cohesiveness of the call centre’s performance.
4. Create Goals and Metrics
When agents have a lack of clarity and are unsure about what’s expected of them, they become less productive and more prone to burnout. Adding a metric display board that shows agents exactly where they are, has shown to improve team productivity and lesson stress. Bright Pattern’s (www.brightpattern.com) detailed reports, management tools and easy-to-use interface allows agents to check their stats and understand what’s required of them.
5. Establish a Positive Work Environment
Agents often spend much of their workday dealing with unhappy customers. Their calls are being tracked and recorded, and they’re constantly being scrutinized. No wonder employee burnout is so prevalent. Providing training to agents to learn how to de-stress after a particularly demanding customer, allowing short breaks and giving positive feedback will help to improve the mindset of the department and will promote a more positive work environment.
6. Recognize Outstanding Employees
Since customer service has the most impact on customer retention, employees who do an outstanding job need to be recognized and acknowledged. Complimenting employees, both privately and publicly for a job well done or how they handled a particularly difficult call, helps create a positive atmosphere and instills employee loyalty and reliability.
By implementing these simple customer service managers can maintain a healthier work environment and create happier and less stressed employees.