Call Center Management Featured Article
Easy Ways to Improve Call Center Management
Customers today have high expectations when it comes to the call center experience. Yet, under strict cost constraints and tight budgets, it has become increasingly challenging to satisfy the needs of both key decision makers and the consumer. There are several important business metrics that help with the process of call center management. But success does not hinge on numbers alone, rather what people do with that information.
When the goal is to improve call center management and be more effective with information generated, there are a few things that executives should keep in mind. According to a recent blog by Monet Software, data should be easily digestible at a quick glance, important figures ought to be available in real-time, and everything should be interpreted within the big picture approach of how it impacts the overall operations.
How easy is it for call center management staff to keep track of daily and hourly goals? Utilizing a dashboard format can make critical business information comprehensible for quick evaluation and decision making. By simplifying key data and using visuals, the dashboard ensures figures are more palatable and are easier to comprehend and monitor. While certainly there is a place for more comprehensive reports, a dashboard helps reduce the clutter and time lost from having to sort through information that isn’t pertinent at the time.
The process of call center management can also be improved by making certain metrics available in real-time. Real-time data is especially useful when quick changes need to be made or when there is a foreseeable issue. Maybe call volumes are down compared to projections or call patterns have taken an unexpected turn. In these instances, real-time data presents the most accurate, up-to-date information to successfully regroup for a quick turn of events.
Another important thing to keep in mind in the process of call center management is that a change in one area isn’t often isolated. Instead, there is a ripple effect that needs to be addressed when trying to enhance the performance of one variable without negatively impacting another. Minimizing call time, for instance, could lead to poor customer service scores or take a toll on call quality. Agents who feel the crunch to reduce time spent on the phone may make customers feel rushed or fail to address all their needs.
Integrating data from multiple sources can help key decision makers anticipate how one decision in a certain area of the call center might impact the overall operations on a larger scale. Workforce solutions exist that can unify areas such as call recording, performance management, and workforce optimization, which promote cross-functional collaboration. Forming cross-functional teams is beneficial in this process because it leads to better decisions and prevents the organization from being blindsided.
Edited by Amanda Ciccatelli