Workforce Management Featured Article
Can You Improve Workforce Management With One Little Word?
One of the most challenging exercises to complete is one in which you are asked to describe something in just one word. Most of us want access to several words, regardless of what it is we want to describe. The apple is more than red, it’s juicy, healthy and bursting with flavor; the weather is sunny and breezy, with a hint of cut grass in the air and 75 degrees.
Still, a lot can be gained from an experiment where you are limited in your access to information for answers. A recent blog by workforce management solutions provider, Monet Software focused on this reality, highlighting an experiment done recently by a LinkedIn (News - Alert) group that asked contact center professionals to describe the most important element of their customer service effort in just one word.
Money Software pulled from the experiment the five words that were used most frequently by those who responded. The first – empathy. This expression of support from the agent to the customer is often important when the customer is frustrated or upset. It goes beyond the confines of the script and provides the customer with the unspoken idea that the agent is on their side, even when the agent is following set guidelines.
Satisfaction was also mentioned often and is a common goal for contact centers everywhere. In fact, many a workforce management strategy is put in place with the goal of satisfaction among agents and customers. While different centers try to achieve satisfaction in different ways, the shared goals should inspire the desired attitude and activities among the agent base.
A number of participants mentioned the importance of listening. This element is critical in the customer interaction as it means the agent isn’t talking and the customer has an opportunity to be heard. They aren’t calling because they are curious about the company policy; they’re calling because they want satisfaction that comes from listening to the problem so it can accurately be solved.
Patience was often mentioned and is an important trait to have, especially when the caller is frustrated. Even if the problem they are calling about has been addressed in another call and the agent knows exactly what they need to do to handle it, they need to be patient and listen to the caller, allowing them to get through the entire story before they jump in and try to solve the problem.
Finally, caring was often mentioned in results. While it is tied to empathy, it is also important to demonstrate on every interaction. Every customer needs to feel appreciated and agents need to express this outside of the confines of the script. At the same time, agents need to care about their jobs and the impact they are having on the customer and the company, demonstrated through their actions and their respect of the guidelines distributed by the workforce management platform.
When empathy, satisfaction, listening, patience and caring are made a priority within the call center and a top workforce management solution helps to enforce the environment, the call center can’t help but drive success.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi