Call Center Management Featured Article
Scripting Versus Autonomy - Customers Don't Like Speaking with Human 'Robots'
While scripting is an important component of a successful contact center – if agents aren’t hitting all the key points that are critical to communicate effectively with the customer, they risk offering a poor experience – there is such a thing as too much scripting.
Nobody likes to talk with a robot. An agent who sounds like he or she has been programmed to parrot back responses might as well be a self-service vehicle. People bypass the interactive voice response (IVR) in order to speak with a human…they’re not going to be happy speaking with a human who sounds just like an IVR. Customers expect to deal with people who can truly solve their problems, and that often means deviating from the script, according to Monet Software CEO Chuck Ciarlo in a recent blog post.
“Contact centers that recognize there’s not a textbook answer to every customer engagement are those that are doing more for customer service than marking items on a checklist,” writes Ciarlo. “Your agents should be empowered to make decisions, to stay on a call a few extra moments, even to break a rule every now and then, to preserve a customer relationship.”
In addition, agents required to stick closely to script aren’t using their brains and their initiative, and while scripts may make their jobs easier in the short-term, in the long run, these agents aren’t going to stick around for long, which will escalate an already serious turnover problem. The best agents – those who can solve problems, feel a sense of accomplishment in helping a customer and be truly engaged with their jobs – aren’t going to say if the sum-total of their jobs is to read 100 percent scripted material off a screen.
This makes scripting versus spontaneity a serious management challenge. Successful managers need to strike the right balance between scripting and autonomy in order to offer the best possible customer experience. Ciarlo warns, however, that autonomy isn’t something you hand to just any agent, and particularly not a new hire.
“To be clear, this is discretion that should be earned, and not bestowed on day one,” writes Ciarlo. “After an agent has been with the contact center for a while and has shown good judgment, he or she should then be given the latitude to sometimes take action that may not be in the script.”
This is particularly critical when attempting to retain annoyed customers determined to close and cancel accounts, or high-value customers who have just had a negative experience. Managers need to identify which agents are best at off-script conversations and schedule them with that skill to be available when the situation requires. Otherwise, your customers may find themselves wondering why they bothered calling a “human” in your contact center to begin with.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi