How Better Call Center Scheduling Improves Holiday Shopping

The holiday season – it’s one of those times of year that can bring out the best and the worst in people. It generates profits for many businesses as individuals who avoid stores all year come out in droves to meet their shopping deadlines. Retail business owners may see this as either exciting or stressful. In the customer service center, it can be both, depending on the approach to call center scheduling.

It’s no secret that those who work in the call center environment often have to take the full pressure of the stressed out customer. At the same time, they are trying to meet the performance requirements put in place by management. Without an organized approach to call center scheduling, these individuals may not last the season, putting the retailer in danger of dropping the ball when it comes to customer care.

According to a recent post in TG Daily, there are a few things call center management must pay attention to in order to help things run smoothly throughout the entire holiday season. The first is to fully understand what customers want. For the most part, these individuals want holiday shopping to be fast, regardless of the channel they are using to complete their list. If they have a question, it needs to be answered quickly and accurately.

Shoppers also want choice when it comes to how they accomplish their holiday shopping goals. If your organization operates stores both online and in physical locations, customers need to be able to do any part of their transaction through both channels, regardless of where they start the process. And if they make the purchase in-store but have a question later, they expect that your customer service agents will be at the ready with an accurate answer.

Accomplishing these goals means there has to be a focused effort in the call center. Customer service representatives have to be trained according to the holiday shopper needs and they need the soft skills necessary to be able to keep their cool when tensions run high. To ensure better outcomes for both, it’s important to create an environment for these employees that ensures the least amount of stress. That starts with the right approach to call center scheduling.

When agents are able to work the schedules that best suit their lifestyle, they’re more likely to be satisfied on the job. Likewise, agents don’t want to be on the clock when there isn’t enough to do or when the calls are so high in volume and there aren’t enough agents to make a dent. Proper call center scheduling should address these challenges, ensuring the right people in the right numbers are scheduled at the right time.

The excitement of the holidays isn’t going to go away and will only intensify each year. The better handle you have on training and call center scheduling, the better outcomes you can expect.

Edited by Stefania Viscusi