Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
3 Mistakes in Call Center Scheduling You Need to Fix Today
When it comes to customer service, there are a number of companies that are doing things right. Take Southwest Airlines, for instance. While it’s not always convenient to pick seats when you’re finally allowed to board the plane, the interaction with staff at every turn is so pleasant, you don’t seem to mind. We can often find shoes at lower pricing than Zappos, but the selection isn’t nearly as broad and the customer service really can’t compare.
One of the ways these organizations stay on top when it comes to the customer experience is their focus on demand and their ability to schedule according to expectations. If you’re finding that call center scheduling is more of a challenge than you anticipated, it could be that you’re making a few mistakes and you don’t even realize it. These mistakes may be costing you time, money or simply your patience, but they are fixable.
A recent Customer Think piece addressed a few of these mistakes and how you can make adjustments to improve. While we won’t get into every potential mistake on their list, let’s take a look at a few of them and how they may be impacting your outcomes. With an easy fix, you could be well on your way to stress free call center scheduling.
No Centralized Scheduling
It’s not uncommon for the call center to allow for a few different applications and parties to be responsible for call center scheduling. When this process isn’t centralized, however, overscheduling will occur, putting more people on the calling floor than you need in a given period of time. You also run the risk of assuming shifts are scheduled when they are not, leaving customers on hold for too long and causing them to flee to the competition. Centralize your scheduling to keep everyone on the same page and your workforce as efficient as possible.
Scheduling According to Company Needs
Does your call center scheduling follow rules put in place according to the operation of the business or the needs of the customer base? If you lean more toward the former, you’re driving your customers away, costing the company money. Focus on convenience for the customer when designing availability, offer additional calling times and expand the number of channels through which you’ll interact and you’ll find customers much more satisfied.
Scheduling with Outdated Processes
If you’re still scheduling with manual, spreadsheet processes, you’re taking too much time to do schedules, agents can’t easily request changes, you’re much more likely to make mistakes and the schedules aren’t readily available online. Your time is valuable and if you have more on your plate than call center scheduling, make the investment in workforce management solutions that enable you to move this process online and incorporate automation.
The call center will always be viewed as a cost center. If you can get a handle on costly mistakes you may be making in call center scheduling, you’ll be much better positioned for better budget dollars in the future.