Call Center Management Featured Article
What Happens When Call Center Management Goes Bad
Most of the time when referring to workforce management (WFM) solutions in the call center, companies tend to point to the good parts, which are the ability to optimize work schedules, data capture capabilities and the virtual agent swap board. However, it is not all about the technology. A call center needs to be physically managed with the utmost care as well. The management solution is just there to enhance these qualities and help reach performance levels. For those who have not yet been convinced that they need a workforce management solution, or management education, it is time to point out what happened when management in the call center goes wrong, thanks to an article from B2C.
- Distant Managers
It is very important that call center managers and supervisors work closely with their agents, especially when it is busy and phones are consistently ringing. Monet’s WFM visual metrics feature, which can be reviewed in the dashboard, includes service levels, answer and abandon times, average speed of answer, average handle times, average talk time and cost of staffing. Although the dashboard is not as thorough as the full WFM report, the visuals provide an immediate picture of what is going on at that very moment. This gives managers more time to walk around and build a healthy relationship with agents, so that if agents have a problem they will not hesitate to ask.
- Forgetting the Human Factor
Even though WFM solutions are referred to as tools to increase productivity levels, it can also be used by companies to analyze how their employees are doing, not just the customer. From this managers can create connections with their agents, as it provides them with the ability to not only help agents improve their work, but acknowledge and give credit where it is deserved. Agents are not robots, however, and as much as they tend have repetitive interactions all day, they deserve to be acknowledged as people. This in turn can create a more comfortable, happy environment for agents who will roll over their performance levels.
- Over investing in technology, rather than training
Call centers could have all the call recording and WFM solutions at hand, but if they don’t take the time out to properly train their agents, then these tools go to waste. Like every other job out there, working in a call center requires education. Their job is to have a one on one conversation with the customers, helping to answer or solve any issues at hand. Fortunately, there is an abundance of training programs and seminars available for agents to attend, and for those who can’t travel or don’t want to miss work, there are even virtual programs.
After organizations follow these tips they can visit Monet for call center management solutions for the real icing on the cake by clicking here.
Edited by Blaise McNamee