Workforce Management Featured Article
Ensure Quality Agent-Customer Interactions with Workforce Management
It’s common knowledge that call centers would be nothing without their agents. Agents are the ones who keep operations going, and are essentially the face of the company. When a customer calls or messages a contact center, their first impression of the company is going to be provided by whatever agent picks up the phone. That’s a huge responsibility that’s placed on agents every single day, which is why it’s so important to make sure that they’re working to the best of their abilities.
But how can you ensure quality agent performance each and every time? This is a lot easier said than done, but there are a few steps managers can take to boost employee effectiveness.
First, remember that happy employees are productive employees. Workforce management isn’t just about how employees work; it’s also about how they feel while at work. An employee may start off as the hardest worker in the room, but if something happens to make them feel closed off, or their concerns aren’t being addressed, they’re not going to enjoy coming to work anymore. Customers can tell when they’re on the phone with someone who has no interest in talking to them, and that’s ultimately bad for the company. By creating happy agents, managers are moving one step closer to ensuring quality customer-agent conversations.
Setting realistic goals is another great way to ensure success. Telling agents that they need to answer an unreasonable amount of calls and resolve the issues as quickly as possible is not a realistic goal, yet it’s a practice too many call centers have in place. Yes, quick resolution is great, but some calls need to take longer than others. If an agent feels pressured to solve the problem quickly and get off the phone so that they can answer another call, it’s going to be a horrible experience all around. The customer will be annoyed and the agent will feel anxious and, eventually, burnt out. Allowing agents to take the time they need with each call with undoubtedly boost performance and call quality.
Edited by Maurice Nagle