Scheduling Time For Success

Communications technology is not just about improving things on the business end of call centres. Now, more than ever before, the customer has access to instant communication technologies wherever they are, and that access bring with it an expectation of customer service excellence that might make even the most confident marketer second guess themselves. The customer has always been right, and will continue to be, so it is tantamount that businesses allow for customer service accessibility.

Image via Call Centre

Newsfactor spoke with customer service experts to get to the bottom of how to provide the best possible customer service to the increasing masses of incoming contacts. What it all boils down to is this: know who, when and how your team is needed. Keep this in mind, use the proper analytics and schedule accordingly. Do this and expect success

Over half of call centre costs go into workforce, and the executive vice president and global head of sales for CRM at Firstsource, Iain Regan, says that it comes down to optimizing your workforce via accurate forecasting of call volumes.

A forecasting system that predicts call volumes should be used to effectively schedule representatives and optimize resources, says Regan, adding: “call volumes and resource scheduling need to be tracked on a continuous basis for future forecasting."

Add in some proven scheduling tips like raking agents based on talent and cross training employees with multiple skills to bring to work, and your center won’t have to worry about being caught off guard.

It sounds easy on paper, but one of the biggest obstacles in the call centre game is employee retention. Carrie Carstairs speaks to this issue when offering up morale tips, saying, “The repetitive nature of contact center work requires a lively, activity packed environment. Provide plenty of options for career progression to keep people engaged and intact. Provide opportunities for employees to give back to the local community."

Through an active and hands-on management approach, the constantly evolving landscape of customer relations can turn from daunting to engaging. The keys to success are the same in principle, the customer must be appeased, but staying up to date with scheduling strategy and employee engagement keeps that goal within in easy reach. Click here for more tips and solutions for call center scheduling.

 

Edited by Ashley Caputo