Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
Three Tips to Optimize Contact Centers While Using a Remote Work Model
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has forced many contact centers to move to a remote work model. This presents both challenges and opportunities for managers, as long as they take the correct steps to ensure agents are motivated to excel and provide the best customer experience possible.
Below we have outlined three measures managers can make to ensure their contact centers are operating at optimum performance -- even during a global pandemic.
1. Make Sure Your Agents Are Happy
Working remotely has pros and cons, and one of the biggest drawbacks is loneliness and isolation, particularly during this challenging time. Regularly checking in on agents to ensure they are reasonably happy and productive is an important way to ensure your contact center is running optimally.
Video meetings are one of the most powerful tools for checking in with agents. If you can't meet with them in person during this unprecedented time, then face-to-face videoconferencing is the next best thing. It enables you to talk shop and ensure agents are meeting their goals, but also to have some personal chat time.
Instant messaging apps are another great tool for checking in on agents to ensure they are performing up to par, and may also be used for coaching, chatting and just basic mental and emotional wellness checks.
2. Practice empathy toward customers
Customers are also in an extremely vulnerable position right now and may need to be treated with a bit more empathy and compassion than is the standard. Your agents need to understand that practicing more empathy will drive higher customer satisfaction and better business outcomes. That may mean spending a little longer on a call than would normally be necessary, just to ensure the customer goes away feeling satisfied and understood.
Agents can also facilitate a sense of camaraderie with their customers. This is an important part of an empathetic approach to customer service, and will let customers know they aren't alone and isolated during this difficult time. The end result will be increased customer satisfaction and loyalty -- and hopefully, repeat business.
3. Set future goals
The pandemic will end one day, but today's circumstances have shifted global attitudes toward remote working. Now is the time to examine what is working and what needs improvement in your contact center so you can plan for a future that will include at least some degree of remote work.
By coming up with a long-term game plan for contact center improvements and increased customer satisfaction, you can ensure your operation is well positioned to wait out the pandemic as well as the changing global customer service landscape that is sure to follow it.
Edited by Maurice Nagle