Focus on the human touch
One of the most obvious advantages to using a call center over an auto attendant is the human factor. People become very frustrated when they are trapped in “auto attendant jail” with no way out.
Most people don’t want to talk to a machine. People want to be heard and feel like someone is really taking action with their problem. What sets a call center service apart is the real human on the other side of the phone. Live answering services are a great way to get that human touch without spending your own internal resources.
As a call center manager, emphasize how important it is for your employees to put their personality into each conversation. People on the other end of the line can tell how the person answering the call is feeling simply by the tone of voice and vocabulary they use.
Educate your staff
Proper training is a must, but even after training is done, make sure to offer follow-up training classes to ensure your staff is staying up-to-date on all policies and procedures.
Train your staff to “be themselves,” but to also use proper grammar when talking with clients. Set aside time each day to coach your team members on their calls and even spend some additional time role playing specific situations.
The best way to role play is to use actual recorded calls as a guideline and then create the scenario for both caller and client. Do the role plays in small groups and keep them non-threatening in nature. They are, after all, learning experiences and should be fun and when done properly, people actually look forward to them.
Feedback should always be provided and should be constructive in nature- never judgmental. Another useful approach is to make a game of the training process. Here is an excellent format for call center games that call center management can use to motivate and train at the same time.
Provide access to information and tools
Make sure that all operators have access to the resources they need at all times. Ensure that all computers, headsets, software, training accounts and all other tools are working properly or you are wasting your most valuable resource – the time of your agents. Every minute they are not on the phone is an expense whereas every minute they are on the phone they are able to assist your clients and generate revenue.
Without the proper tools working correctly, you are spinning your wheels. Equip your team with the tools to lead your call center service to success.
Customer satisfaction measurement
As this Info Entrepreneur article points out every business including a call center service should set targets and then measure performance against those targets.
All operators must REALLY know how well they are doing against their performance targets. Measuring for results is the best way to make sure everyone understands how important it is to set and achieve daily, weekly and monthly objectives for different key metrics including, quality and customer satisfaction.
Attention to detail
Attention to every single detail and a focus on customer satisfaction is what sets a call center service like AnswerNow, apart from the crowd. Knowing your clients’ businesses inside and out can go a long way in helping you provide excellent and consistent service.
The most important thing a call center service can accomplish that a machine cannot is to establish rapport with the client. Emphasizing the human factor and training operators to let their personality project through the phone is a critical component that every call center should emphasize with both new and experienced operators. To see how AnswerNow can help you shift your attention back to detail and excellence, contact us for a free quote today!
