Attention all call center managers: It’s time to talk about you.
Picture it: You are the fearless leader of a call center team in 2018. Much like the call centers of old, your agents are grappling with 1) surges in call volume (both expected and unexpected); 2) evolving technologies; 3) increasingly complex customer cases; and perhaps most important of all, 4) the latent human desire to be appreciated, acknowledged, and active in the work environment.
Especially during crisis moments where we see spikes in call volume (and demanding customers), agents become taxed and frustrated when they feel the infrastructure doesn’t support them, or when they feel there is no overall incentive to stick around (even from a culture perspective). Keeping them engaged is one thing, but keeping them as employees is another.
Headlines featuring “AI” and “chatbot” have dominated the discussion in the customer service space for the past year. Naturally, it’s tantalizing to imagine a world where no one needs to call a contact center, but the sizzle around AI and chatbots obscures a deeper question: How much customer support can actually be done by self-service? This question has been with us since the earliest web sites and IVRs started to offload the simplest tasks from agents. Each new wave of technology revives the dream that we can eliminate (or drastically reduce) human agents. We can see the current excitement around AI and chatbots as an extension of this long-running dream. Is it different this time? Are we reaching the promised land? Or are we chasing a receding horizon?
Persuasion is one of the most creative ways for a customer service representative to deliver an optimal experience to consumers. Persuasion isn’t manipulation, rather it’s an effective way to positively influence and retain customers through engagement, connection, and creative problem solving.
Some people tend to go through life without making changes to their appearance. Others frequently change their look to reflect current trends or change with the seasons; women sometimes go from long hair to short, men often grow a beard. Regardless of the change, even minor improvements can have a dramatic impact. Let’s apply the same concept to the contact center.
Picture this: By dinner time tomorrow you’ll be sitting around the table enjoying a festive Thanksgiving meal and preparing yourself for the lethargic feeling you’ll have after consuming an unimaginable amount of food (nom-nom). You’ll sit back on your favourite spot on the sofa, put your feet up and have thoughts of gratitude. How thankful you are to be surrounded by great family, caring friends, and all the gifts of life we’re lucky to have. Now let’s take that scenario and think about how to show the same amount of gratitude to call center agents.
We’ve all had our share of amazing customer service experiences, and we can attest that when a company goes above and beyond the call of duty we not only share those experiences, we also become loyal customers. Sometimes these stories don’t get the attention they deserve. In fact, it’s more common that the stories we do hear about are the ones where customers are unhappy because of a bad experience. It’s not fair that we constantly have to shame brands. Let’s take a moment to share 5 amazing acts of kindness from well-known brands across a number of industries.
Monday: It’s the start of a new week and everyone is back to reality, trying to check everything off their “To-Do” lists. The problem? Mondays are notorious for high agent absenteeism. Whether it’s falling ill or just wanting to extend the weekend, being understaffed on Monday’s is commonplace in the contact center world. This, coupled with high call volume, can create a major meltdown for any call center.
Every time a customer comes in contact with your brand, whether it’s in-store or online, each interaction is a touch point that contributes to the customer experience. Consumers are demanding more, and their choices are ever expanding, which means that better service will lead to greater customer loyalty.
The recent renaissance in self-service has been driven by several factors. First, the past 20 years of online commerce have allowed us to hone the technology and techniques for making good self-service interfaces – first on the web, and then on mobile devices. The art and science of building good user experiences (UX) has become a mature profession. Second, the smartphone revolution brought that UX to everyone’s pockets. Third, the majority of today’s consumers are very comfortable with these tools and actually prefer them to human interaction. (The younger they are, the more strongly they prefer self-service, so this bodes well for the future.)
Hiring the right customer service agent is incredibly important to the success of your contact center. You’ve probably seen how less-than-stellar support interactions can go completely viral in a matter of hours. It just goes to show that a contact center is only as good as its agents! After all, onboarding committed, motivated, and qualified agents helps your call center achieve its purpose.
