Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
2015 Trends to Drive Call Center Scheduling Strategies
Every new year brings new discussions on what to expect within specific industries. Whether it’s expert opinion, completed surveys or a combination of the two, the resulting predictions can bring opportunity, fear and the introduction of new strategies. In the customer service space, it can also create a need for new attention on call center scheduling.
A recent Business2Community piece examined a few predictions for 2015. As this is the year Marty McFly visited the future and relied on a hover board to outrun Biff in Back to the Future II, let’s take a look at some of these predictions and see if they will be as much fun.
Availability
We know that the proliferation of the Internet changed the consumer expectation in terms of information availability. The migration to the cloud changed the expectation on the available channels to communicate. Now, with multiple channels, access across all gadgets and social media integration, the expectation is that the consumer will receive an immediate response and therefore, immediate resolution. The concept that support is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year will expect to be enforced. If not, consumers will share with their circles via social media.
Sharing
This sharing across social media is a big deal and companies have more to worry about than just the reach of one customer. Popular platforms offer opportunities to share customer service fails, like Twitter’s (News - Alert) #customerservicefail hashtag. Customers are encouraged to contact companies directly so problems can be resolved, but a failure to do so quickly and according to customer expectations will only spark additional coverage on social media channels. It is an opportunity for customer service to respond accordingly and create a great success story. A failure to do so has the opposite effect.
Proactive
The magic behind the call center operation was proper training for agents to handle customer calls. This strategy meant simply responding to customer requests and call center scheduling centered on volume predictions. Today’s customer expects more and call center scheduling will instead have to focus on the predictive and proactive approach. If you develop a strategy that allows you to reach out to the customer for resolution before they know there is an issue, your agent is the hero every time. The key will be the use of business intelligence and the execution of strategies to support your findings.
As we get further into 2015, those companies able to meet customer expectations in terms of customer service will set the tone. They will deploy these strategies and others to establish dominance. While no hover board is needed, a continuing look to the future will help maintain that competitive advantage.