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Debunking Common Myths About Servant Leadership

When the concept of servant leadership was first introduced in the 1970s, it received a lot of push back from business leaders who were used to operating according to traditional power structures. Today, some of those attitudes still exist, even among mainstream management. There are many myths about the effects of this leadership style: Servant leaders are weak. Servant leaders have low standards. Servant leaders don’t have successful organizations. None of these myths accurately reflects the outcome of true service-based management in organizations that use it, though. When company leaders put their employees’ needs before their own, the results are usually more positive than if the leaders focus primarily on what they can demand from the people who work for them. The guiding principle of this style is that the best way to inspire employees to take care of your business is to take care of your employees. Each of these myths represents an inadequate view of how much people can achieve when they work in an atmosphere that is empowering rather than overpowering. Myth #1 – Servant Leaders Are Weak   Sometimes when people think of servant leadership, they assume the leader in question is inherently weak. They hear the term “servant” and often automatically interpret it as “subservient.” They think of a person who is afraid to disagree with or correct errant employees or one who is more concerned with clinging to peace rather than taking the lead. This connotation couldn’t be further from the truth. According to Ken Blanchard, those who lead by balancing service with leadership inspire not only loyalty in their employees but also improved service to their customers. They don’t completely abandon organizational goals or give employees carte blanche on how to go about their workday. In fact, they do the exact opposite. They set clear goals and then work with their team to understand what everyone needs to make those goals a reality. By removing obstacles that impede progress and supplying the tools needed to succeed, these leaders strengthen rather than weaken their team. Rather than react with apathy or rebellion, employees whose supervisors communicate a regular commitment to their professional development tend to reciprocate that commitment and pass on this excellence to those whom they are tasked with serving. Myth #2 – Servant Leaders Have Low Standards   Traditional leadership hones in on productivity as the measure of an organization’s success regardless of the method used to get there. Servant leadership, on the other hand, is the understanding that productivity is the result of a well-equipped workforce. Leaders who serve their staff don’t have to sacrifice quality work to do so. In fact, service is one of the best ways to help employees focus on organizational goals, allowing bosses to set even higher standards than organizations who use traditional management styles. Because many workers may be used to a more hierarchical structure that relies on top-down power dynamics, they may misunderstand the care and concern expressed by those who practice servant leadership and perceive it as an acceptance of mediocrity. To ensure the service you extend to your employees fosters their professional growth, consider adapting these five ways to be a strong servant leader: Set clear expectations. Give timely and constructive feedback. Hold both employees and leadership accountable for their behavior. Provide excellent training, mentoring and other resources for growth. Reward performance excellence with the freedom to make more independent choices. Myth #3 – Servant Leaders Don’t Have Successful Organizations   The rise in the popularity of servant leadership over the last two decades coincides with an increase in employee engagement in many organizations across the country. Gallup reports that employee engagement is up to 34% nationwide. Those who display strong leadership in call center not by their power over employees but rather by working to make sure employees have everything they need to perform well and have the opportunity to do what they do best often have employees who are highly engaged. Highly engaged employees are significantly more productive. Their commitment to the organization naturally results in its success. Those who practice servant leadership set their organizations up for success by gathering information on what the people doing the work need to get it done. Great servant leaders know how to understand that different people have different strengths. Rather than trying to force people into roles that don’t fit their natural skillsets, they use this vital information to maximize the productivity of their teams. Traditional leadership styles recognize the importance of employee productivity and organizational achievement. Despite widespread misunderstanding of its effectiveness, servant leadership has proven to be a better way of achieving these goals. When business leaders develop their staff, they set up both employees and the organization for success.

Why Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Are Crucial To Your Business?

Artificial intelligence often brings to mind images of sentient robots and futuristic science fiction movies. However, human intelligence gets assistance from AI and machine learning every day. Even if you don’t live in a smart home, you may use AI for tasks you have long detached from the pop-culture idea of AI. One common use of AI and machine learning at work and home is Google search. This is true whether you shout “Hey Google!” across the room to ask questions, or manually type it into the search bar on your computer. Because of how accessible AI became in everyday life, it became easier to introduce technology into the workplace. Proactive businesses have now become so dependent on technology that it is crucial to their continued success. Here are some of the recent developments and why it may become an essential ingredient in your business’ recipe for growth.   New Trends in AI and Machine Learning   You can hardly go a full month without hearing about new developments in technology. It is a rapidly changing market, bringing innovations with each sweeping change. One impressive test of technology comes in the form of artificial intelligence in call center settings. Many companies now trust chatbots to answer customer queries until the office re-opens during regular business hours. Call centers also employ technology to recognize customer requests. As Forbes points out, AI operators were initially programmed to understand one or two-word requests, such as “make a payment,” but many are now able to accept and understand full sentences. Another aspect of sales that AI penetrated is inventory management. From auto parts to the food and beverage industry, companies now rely on AI to tell them what items are out of stock. Some systems are so advanced that they can even place new orders on the company’s behalf. Doctors often think of their jobs as the most secure, but they have recently received a helping hand as well. Because medical errors are frequently caused by burnout, many doctors may welcome the assistance. Google recently launched a pilot project aimed at predicting whether or not a patient will die. The AI system did so with surprising accuracy. Artificial intelligence also powers and secures many homes. From security systems, you can access via an app to strategically placed AI assistants. People can now pay bills, open and close doors, or set reminders without lifting a finger. Why is AI and Machine Learning Important?   Workers often worry that machines will soon take their jobs. They envision walking into work one day to see a robot comfortably seated at their desk. Fortune predicted that 40% of jobs would be replaced by AI in the next decade and a half. Naturally, customers do not ask companies to fire their valued workers. However, they do demand better service, at faster speeds, and for less money. The only way to achieve this without underpaying and overworking humans is to pass jobs on to machines. This helps companies to remain competitive while keeping their customers satisfied and happy. Netflix, for instance, estimates that its personalized recommendation engine saves the company $1 billion every year. Consistently receiving tempting recommendations encourages customers to stay.   How Does AI and Machine Learning Benefit Business and Commerce?   However, businesses aren’t the only ones who benefit from AI. Customers benefit too. How so? Take Uber, for example. There are plenty of cab companies that hire human agents to handle calls from customers and match them with a cab driver, but the cost of a ride is significantly more expensive. Machines do not get paid days off, health benefits or wages. They also don’t need their cubicles or a corner office. That translates to savings for Uber customers and better satisfaction. As companies continue to rack up savings from these investments in technology, they can bring customers even better value for their money by expanding. This could mean growing their service areas, or it could mean increasing the products and services they offer. In Uber’s case, this resulted in self-driving cars and electric Jump bikes. What Should You Expect in the Near Future?   As machines learn better techniques to emulate human intelligence, menial and tedious jobs will begin to disappear from the market. This will help companies to become more and more efficient while reserving actual human intelligence for jobs that require creativity, ingenuity, and real human touch. As a result, workers who refuse to grow with technological changes may be pushed out of the job market. However, for those who are willing to adapt and even create these advancements in artificial intelligence, the possibilities are endless. Are you ready to embrace AI and ML to increase customer satisfaction for your business? Contact Etech at info@etechgs.com to see how we can help. This blog was earlier published on LinkedIn.

3 Reasons Why Long-Term Focus Can Benefit Your Team

Effective customer service is a large part of business success, and much of that success depends on how we as leaders lead. Servant leadership facilitates growth and performance by putting the needs of others first leading to better equipped, happier employees that are ultimately able to deliver better business outcomes. As powerful as that is, the work environment is not the only focus of a servant leader. Servant leaders must focus on short-term milestones that will translate to the long-term success of the team, customers and company. There are at least three reasons leaders can and should develop and communicate long-term plans and progress along the way. Improves Business Focus and Strategy A real servant leadership approach to business is found in the understanding of patience versus immediate gratification. It is relatively easy when dealing with stakeholders and other financial obligations to get caught up in the idea of money over model. Most companies when starting go to great lengths to develop a business plan and model that are cohesive to their product and goals. When the actual venture begins, these plans can get lost in the day-to-day pressures of making a dime. While making a profit may be the ultimate stakeholder objective, a company cannot build long-term success by merely chasing the dollar. Profit should be an outcome but not the sole focus. If it is, you may make choices that are short-sighted and not helpful in building long term success. Servant leadership is about establishing a model that is capable of sustained growth over time. Patience helps to build credibility in an industry and loyalty among your team and customers. In other words, taking your vision from dollar signs, and shifting the focus to people and product improves your ability to create a more meaningful corporate strategy. The business goes from chasing money to chasing solutions to tough team and customer problems that naturally lead to sales and profits. A company focused on solutions evolves from thinking about short-term gains to long-term and lasting results. Long-Term Approaches Allow for Short-Term Milestones Unfortunately, there is no denying the need for short-term milestones. An important part of a leader’s job is to help everyone understand where they are today, where they are going, and the path that will be taken to get to where they want to be. This path can be drawn out in milestones. Achieving these milestones will help create excitement and a desire to continue toward the next achievement. In other words, short-term goals help to build enthusiasm, and drive motivation which can build loyalty. Servant leadership demands we equip our teams to achieve short-term milestones that lead to bigger and better things. The small and immediate objective cannot be the only reason to be here or else we are not thinking on a grand enough scale to help our team grow and achieve all they can. It’s important to acknowledge the need for immediate gratification, but also understand that achieving long-term objectives is essential to loyalty and longevity. Multi-year projects broken into several smaller projects help leaders, employees and even stakeholders understand the direction of the company. Servant leadership is not only about encouraging growth and development in team members; it is about demonstrating a commitment to serving the needs of customers, stakeholders and thereby company-wide growth and dependability. Increases Focus on Innovation Last, the reason that servant leadership demands a focus on long-term success is that it focuses the company on delivering innovation. As stated earlier, the short-term is too reliant on day-to-day activities and gains, which leaves little room to discuss strategy and where or how a company would like to grow. By shifting gears to the long-term, leadership is forced to ask where they see the business in five years or more, which will likely lead to conversations about where the competition will be in that same timeframe. These conversations intuitively lead to a creative dialogue, with discussions about new products or improvements to old ones. Through servant leadership companies expand their focus to include long-term and innovative objectives. Short-term focus is good for the coverage of day-to-day processes and projects, but the financial pressure will likely overcome any urgency for company vision or ingenuity, leading to a stressed-out team and a poor business model. However; with a long-term servant leadership mindset, a company can shift focus from the immediate financial obligations to more significant outcomes and innovations that can lead to success, profitability, and longevity. With the company’s focus on the long-term, team members will feel more secure in the direction of the company and customers will have more faith in your ability to meet their needs. |Here at Etech, we pride ourselves on developing consumer-focused solutions that work for your business. If you are in need of a new consumer approach, then contact an Etech representative today, and find out what types of solutions we have for you and your operations. This blog was earlier published on LinkedIn.

Characteristics of High Performing Teams

I recently read an article about the characteristics that high performing teams share. After reading the article, I reflected on my 35 years in the contact center industry. I have seen and led many teams over the years …. Some great, some good and some not-so-good! What became very evident to me was that the great teams I have witnessed all had one thing in common – an effective leader! As John Maxwell attests, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” Effective leaders foster collaboration, value diversity, build trust, value people, empower their team and enjoy the journey. They focus on the process, not the destination. When this happens, great results follow!! Here are some things that leaders must do to be effective: Establish, document and discuss clear expectations and goals Effective leaders ensure that each team member knows what is expected, what good behavior looks like and why “what they do” is important. They tie the individual’s contributions into the company’s vision. Everyone wants to be a part of something that is bigger than just themselves! Our vision? To make a remarkable difference for our people, our customers and within our communities. Maintain open, active and consistent communication This is critical, people want to be informed. They want to know how they are doing, how Etech is doing and what can be done better. Effective communication includes being an active listener. Everyone likes to believe that their input matters. A final comment on communication – don’t restrict effective communication to just your team but demonstrate this behavior with your customers, suppliers, your leader. Remember – customer and suppliers are both external and internal. Value diversity by including everyone An effective leader recognizes the value that each team member brings to the table. He encourages each to contribute ideas, methods and opinions, even if they differ from his own. He refuses to allow clichés or silos to develop but strives to demonstrate what being inclusive looks like. At the end of the day, it is important to the leader that each and every one of their team members feels valued. Create a culture on trust and integrity Effective leaders do what they say they are going to do, every time …. Even when nobody is watching. Effective leaders build trust through delegation. They are first to recognize the team and team members for great accomplishments, and they are first to accept accountability when things don’t go as well. Make no mistake, one of the best tools you can have is a great culture. As the saying goes, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast every time!” Lead with a servant’s heart While I have learned, taught, experienced and practiced various leadership/management styles over the years, I have come to fully embrace the fact that servant leadership changes lives. Servant leaders selflessly develop others – and not just in the workplace; their teams deliver better and more consistent results; they focus on the process, not just the scoreboard; they embrace, enjoy and learn from each person and each moment along the journey; and they truly make the world a better place. In closing, please understand Servant leadership is many things but one thing it is not is soft. Servant leaders set high expectations for themselves, as well as others, and they hold everyone accountable. There are many kinds of leaders, but when it comes to describing servant leadership there are really only two: those who serve themselves and those who serve others. Will you join me in serving people, each other, customers, and communities? I hope you do!! Until next time, may you make a remarkable difference in the lives of people you touch each day. This blog was earlier published on LinkedIn.

Why Education Remains a Critical Piece of the Cyber Security Puzzle

If you owned a store in town and someone asked you how you plan to protect it, you would probably refer to traditional security measures. Chances are you have a security guard, video surveillance, and an alarm system managed by a third party. All of these help you to keep the premises safe, but what about cybersecurity? Without securing your wireless and online (technology-based) platforms, even a company’s surveillance footage can become compromised and erased eliminating video evidence of any crime taking place at the business. When it comes to contact center cybersecurity, the focus is primarily on protecting consumer and client data. While an organization needs antivirus software, firewall systems, and data loss protection tactics, it is critical they continue to educate employees on best practices and what to look for. The Risk   Failure to create an awareness program and bring employees on board with your cybersecurity initiative means that your organization will always be vulnerable to an attack. Malicious actors understand the weak point in any system may be the human firewall. By exploiting this, a hacker can gain access to even the most secure systems. According to one CNBC article, employee negligence is the biggest cybersecurity risk companies must confront. In a report cited by the article, 47% of business leaders blamed human error for a data breach at their organization. Here are some of the many ways that failure to create awareness can put an organization at risk. 1. Failure of an Employee to Lock a Workstation   Roughly 25% of employees admit to leaving their computers unlocked. The more sensitive the information is that they handle, the more dangerous this can be. By leaving work stations unlocked when they are away from the desk, any passerby could access files on the computer. What is worse is that this would show up under the employee’s name and they might be held responsible for fraudulent activities until an investigation proves otherwise. At the very least, the workstation should be configured at the network to auto-lock after a specified time of inactivity. This will greatly reduce the chances of someone else gaining access to the workstation. 2. Password Vulnerabilities   One of the common recommendations in the cybersecurity community is that employees should regularly change passwords. However, one Federal Trade Commission article cautions businesses about forcing employees to change passwords too often, especially when they manage multiple log-ins. Employees may work around this by creating simple passwords with easy modifications to keep up. Even worse, they may write them down. These actions create password vulnerabilities that make the accounts easier to hack. Password requirements should be complex in their nature but something easy for the employee to remember that is not easily guessable such as an acronym based on a favorite song. 3. Disabling Multi-Factor Authentication   There are many different types of multifactor authentication. When it comes to MFA, or specifically 2FA, adding a phone number provides a second means of verifying every log-in attempt. Yet, many employees may choose to turn these off, especially on smart devices when they work away from the office. This creates potential access to company data. According to Google, even just adding a recovery number provides the following benefits: • Prevents up to 100% of automated bots • Stops 66% of targeted attacks • Blocks 99% of phishing attacks that occur in bulk The Proposed Solutions Some employees will continue to exercise poor security judgment for the entire duration of their tenure unless educated on best practices and the organization’s cybersecurity policy. To do this, companies must do more than send out bulletins with safe practices or publish info in an employee handbook that few workers read. Here are a few recommendations to follow instead. 1. Regular Training   Employees should receive routine training on best practices. If the training is never updated, then they may skip through the slides or yawn through the meetings just to get it over and done with. Update these practices based on changes in the news or recommendations from professionals. If possible, let cybersecurity professionals teach the course. Keep the employees engaged and request feedback. Allow them to be part of the solution and you will see continued interest and improvement in cybersecurity best practices. 2. Lead by Example   When managers set an example, employees feel more inclined to follow. The manager who leaves their computer unlocked while at lunch or leaves critical paperwork/passwords/etc. lying around carelessly is unlikely to inspire employees to act differently. However, by being an exemplary model of a worker that prioritizes data protection, you will inspire more employees to follow your lead. 3. Hold Each Other Accountable   For this to work, employees and leaders must hold each other accountable. Harvard Business Review notes that the highest performing teams operate under a principle of universal accountability. Put simply, any member of a team should be able to respectfully confront the other about a lapse, irrespective of power differences. The Bottom Line   In a digitally transformed workplace, cyber security awareness can help companies effectively close off security breach points. However, for this to work effectively, everyone in the organization must be on board. A company’s data breach defenses are only as strong as the weakest access point. Hackers believe this to be the human factor and are now setting up their attack vectors accordingly. At Etech, we regularly train our employees to keep them updated on new developments in contact center cyber security. We also invest in information technology resources to keep our clients’ and their customers’ data safe. For more information about the role, cyberattack prevention plays in our business model, contact us today.

Trust Me!

Confidence is king. Trainees need confidence! What changes an interaction from a minimal communication to a truly engaging, superior interaction? The answer is confidence! With confidence, we feel empowered to make choices that support our customers whether it be a sales or customer service conversation. Without it, we act unsure of the right process, we convey the idea that a solution is quite possibly unobtainable. We want to inspire our clients to be comfortable with solutions and this is done when our team is confident. During the summer I occasionally get to spend lunch with my family. We have a local park that is close to where I work that has amenities to allow our kids to play and my wife and I can sit, enjoy a meal, talk and even do some playing on the park equipment (a sight to see if you know me). We have a great time! The park has several features that my kids love including a play fort with several levels, slides, bars to hang and slide on, tires, chains, stairs, swings, and ramps. The “wooden fort” has holes in the floor with ladders to other levels and a bridge that takes you from one section to another. It has a balance beam and contraptions that allow you to slide/swing from one end to the other. Like a Spartan obstacle course, the playground can be an amazing amount of work to navigate. My children think I am up to the challenge each and every time we go. We have made some real memories there just playing. One such memory had a different lasting impression. My daughter, a very petite six-year-old and small for her age. She is often confused for being much younger. She was using one section of the park that has a fence which separates equipment that is usually used by younger, smaller children from the parts used by older, bigger children. There is a path that allows everyone the ability to travel from one section to the next. This fence is made from wood and smaller children can’t see what is happening on the other side of the fence. We can see her over the fence but if she doesn’t look up, she can’t see us. I hear her calling “Mom, Dad” and then “MOM, DAD” with that tone. That tone that alerts me to the fact that she is increasingly becoming worried, scared, and anxious. She doesn’t know where to go or how to get there. She can’t hear us calling her because fear has started to creep in further to her mind and clouds her senses. Fear starts to take over everything and her pace is quickened along the fence line while her brain is wondering which direction she should go. She is struggling to maintain her composure and her voice is betraying her confidence with the emotions hidden within starting to find the way out. We all have had times in life when we temporarily lose sight of what brings us confidence. As a trainer we see it happen with each class. The collective class will have this ebb and flow to their confidence levels that mirror the amount of new content that is being rolled out. Great building blocks are a foundational level(s) to their learning transfer, and we will build confidence within our trainees. If we don’t it will be almost as if we can see their confidence get up and leave the room. Sometimes this will happen even when we have built the right foundation as people struggle with change on many levels. Change can be a confidence killer! What can we do to bring everything back into focus and restore their confidence? We can do the following: Provide working examples or situations to work through (practice) Stop and take a moment to recap what they knew and then summarize the additions Repeat, repeat and repeat. Repetition is key for learning to occur Use the relationship that you have built with them, the role as a Subject Matter Expert (SME), coupled with a genuine desire for them to be successful to show them how much they know Be present, show them you are a support mechanism for them while demonstrating other resources Practice (yes, it is purposefully on here twice) For my daughter, her confidence was gone, and stress was gaining a grip on her reality. Then, out of nowhere, at that seeming last possible moment she sees her mom and me over the fence line and everything is okay. Life returns to normal without incident. She is just a little clingy for a minute or two before her confidence is renewed and she is off again. Her trust is in us as her parents and this trust builds her confidence. Our trainees must trust us as trainers to take them where they need to go which will build their confidence. We must use that trust to bridge the gap from learning to do the job to actively contributing to production. The examples above will help us to be trustworthy. This blog was earlier published on LinkedIn.

How You Can Improve Efficiency of Your Call Center Using Workforce Management

According to Forbes, engagement is the key to effective workforce management. With estimates claiming that only 30% of employees are engaged, managing the workforce becomes a lot more difficult than it used to be. Some managers say prior generations were easier to manage because they were more predictable. Employees worked their 40-plus hours per week at a call center and went home with little complaint. Their primary expectations were job stability, a pay check and good benefits, making them relatively easy to please. This is not the case today. Here’s how you can improve efficiency of your call center using better workforce management techniques. Understand the Millennial Workforce While there are certainly exceptions, millennials are more well-known for valuing corporate social responsibility, flexible work hours, remote work opportunities and work-study benefits. Why is this important? Baby boomers are either in or nearing retirement. As a result, millennials now make up the largest generation share of the American labor force. This is especially the case in a call center workforce, where employers often attract younger workers. Thus, a big part of effective workforce management now depends on the ability to understand, motivate and compensate millennials. Depend on Accurate Data When managers better understand their workforce, they can then use that knowledge to increase efficiency. One page that employers can take from the “internet generation” book is the love for technology and a reliance on apps. Software allows employers to use data to provide objective feedback to employees and make effective adjustments. Some key data that managers should employ tech to track in a cell center environment include the following: • Average customer wait time • Average handling time • Conversation rate • Average talk time • Customer rating • Upsell rates Call centers can also use data to better serve customers. Many call centers keep track of customer preferences, purchase history and other valuable information. Agents in turn can use this information to better assist callers and upsell products and services. Setting Data-Driven Schedules Another important use of data is to create schedules. This prevents the likelihood of having too many or too few agents on site during slow or peak hours. How so? Managers should pay close attention to data related to how many customers call hourly, how long they must wait in the queue before receiving assistance and how long it takes on average to resolve their queries. By compiling and analyzing this information, managers can create shift schedules that reduce customer wait time and increase customer satisfaction. Better schedules also help to reduce work overload during the busier times, as well as prevent boredom when call volumes are low. Finally, employees are in a better position to choose their shifts. Provide Solid Succession Plans When it comes to industry turnover rates, call centers are among the highest. One contributing factor is the failure to provide solid succession plans. A good succession plan should come in two parts. The first is that employees should have trained at least one person to replace them. The second involves a mapped route for promotional opportunities. If employees believe that their current position or pay rate is as good as it is ever going to get, then advancing will mean leaving the company. It may also create the mental perception of the company as a temporary opportunity or a stepping stone, leading to limited investment on their part. Remember that employee turnover is expensive. By increasing retention rates call centers can save money and maintain productivity, thereby increasing efficiency. Prepare for an Agile Workforce Workforce management solutions are fairly easy to apply in an office space, but remote work is gaining traction in customer service. While employees typically enjoy working from home, it may become more difficult to keep employees engaged. Forbes notes that in these instances, managers who are used to hands-on managing or even micro-managing, will have to get comfortable with a certain degree of uncertainty. Again, this is where getting to know the team on a personalized level comes in handy. This makes it easier to keep everyone actively engaged through various tactics, such as company newsletters announcing developments and introducing team members, planning regional get-togethers or hosting meaningful and well-planned conference meetings. As the job market continues to change, many companies find it easier to outsource call center workforce management to capable hands. This allows them to focus on what they do best, i.e., creating a product or service that best serves their target market. If this is an arrangement you would like to consider, contact Etech at info@etechgs.com to see how we can help make this a reality for your company today.

How To Create a Culture of Accountability

In business school, a commonly spoken mantra is that team leaders can delegate virtually every aspect of their work — except accountability. When Leaders practice this by also holding themselves accountable, team members pay attention. It shows that no one is above the simple principle of individual responsibility for their work. Here are a few tips to help you build an effective and efficient culture by encouraging your team to celebrate a greater sense of “ownership”. Set Clear Goals   Entrepreneur.com points out that before a company can hold team members responsible for contributing to goals, it must first be clear about what those goals are. Goals should include not just corporate or even department-level objectives, but the expectations of that specific team member. The company may need to make $2,000,000 worth of sales this month, but how much of that dollar value will be assigned to each team and subsequently each person? Entrepreneur.com believes the best goals meet the following criteria: • Written • Relevant • Achievable with effort • Measurable and specific • Constrained by resources and time Eliminate the Culture of Punishment   According to Forbes, for a culture of accountability to thrive, leaders must first eliminate the culture of punishment. If team members believe they will be punished harshly even for small steps out of line, they are less likely to share or act on brilliant ideas. No one will want to try anything new for fear of rocking the boat and being expelled from it. Note that there is no innovation without some level of risk. Even so, inadequacies do need to be addressed. Remember to tie these missed objectives back into the goals and not into shortcomings of the actual person. Entrepreneur.com recommends trying to understand why the team member is falling short rather than berating them for doing so. By helping to discover the cause, you can then help to craft the solution. Empower Your Team   While leaders should never attempt to delegate accountability, they should delegate authority. Doing so empowers team members by giving them the freedom to think and act on their own without a lengthy bureaucratic process. This benefits customers too by shortening the length of time they wait to be served. Imagine the difference in satisfaction between these two customers: • Customer A shares a unique problem with Customer Rep Z who comes up with an agreeable solution and implements it within 24 hours or less. • Customer B shares the same problem with Customer Rep Y, but gets transferred across multiple departments and then up the hierarchy to find one person who is authorized to resolve the issue. Foster Opportunities for Teamwork   Companies often strive to create highly competitive environments that then pit team members against each other on an individual level. Team members may compete for individual monthly bonuses, promotions or the opportunity to work on coveted projects. Inc, however, recommends using collaboration rather than competition to encourage a sense of personal responsibility. In fact, according to Harvard Business Review, the best teams are those that hold themselves accountable. How does this work? Research cited by HBR showed that top-performing teams are those where teammates confront each other immediately but respectfully to address problems that may arise. Put simply, when it is in the best interest of the team, anyone should be able to constructively hold another person responsible for their commitment. This is called universal accountability. Hire and Train Accountable Team Members   Team members make up the building blocks of an organization, and therefore, its culture. This makes workers the easy starting point when trying to change organizational culture. Some leaders immediately turn to hire more accountable people to resolve the issue, but this can create friction. The new team members acting on universal accountability in a workplace where this did not previously exist could be seen as confrontational, causing others to become hostile to them. Because of this, training existing team members is also important. This may not necessarily make the existing workforce accepting of employees who come “ready-made” with this value ingrained. Still, it does make it clear that accountability is an organizational value that is important. This can make all the difference in how individuals react to that first incident when another team member asks them directly about a missed commitment that impacts the team. Partner with Responsible Companies   Accountability is the most critical part of any organization, especially when it comes to contact centers. Etech team members and leaders spend a great deal of time not just representing clients but keeping your most prized assets happy by ensuring commitments are met, i.e., your customers. By embracing a culture of individual and shared accountability, we maintain honesty and integrity as key values in our everyday work lives. For more information about our contact centers, send us an email at info@etechgs.com. This blog was earlier published on LinkedIn.

Effects of Servant Leadership on Personal Life of Employees

Servant leadership is buzzing in business circles, and for a good reason, it works. Servant leaders understand the value of focusing on employees and company culture over corporate growth and profit. Employee burnout is a risk to not only organizational success, but more importantly, to employee satisfaction at work and home. By choosing the servant approach to leadership, a company can still maximize their potential while improving the lives of the workers that make such things possible, which leads to greater company commitment from employees. While it may seem hard to believe the same principles that make the servant style of leadership beneficial to companies, also enhances the personal lives of employees. Workers can emulate the environments they are in. Therefore, if leadership in a call center is closed off, leading to the increased stress of employees, then those same employees may be closed off and stressed out at home, leading to troubling personal struggles. However, servant leader business models use several key factors that have been proven to improve the lives of employees through emulation. Inclusion   Servant leadership helps to encourage employee happiness through inclusion. One of the main objectives of this style of management is to improve collaboration and to blur the lines between the more traditional top-down management styles of the past. By including employees in discussions about responsibilities, objectives, and company culture and success, leaders make workers feel connected to the business, which produces a certain level of pride in their work. Also, this happiness is then transferred to the home, where the worker feels the drive to be more inclusive with their family. Empathy and Conflict Resolution   Another critical aspect of servant leadership is empathy and conflict resolution. Workers in crisis tend to be less productive and more stressed out, which is why it is crucial to handle problems quickly and with care and understanding. Most leaders learn the process of active listening to aid in conflict resolution, which means making sure that everyone is heard. When the details from all sides are acknowledged and understood, it is easier to find a resolution through cooperation, which, in turn, creates a more pleasant place to work. The roles of empathy and conflict resolution in the home are essential tools in creating a healthy and well-balanced family life. By learning how to communicate with empathy and compassion, an employee can find that their personal relationships improve and their overall satisfaction outside of work improves as well. Loyalty   By reducing employee stress, servant leadership can enhance employee loyalty and avoid high turnover rates. The collaborative nature of servant models breeds loyalty because employees feel connected to the corporate culture and the services the company provides. If employees emulate such a leadership style at home, then they may see an improvement in family commitment and balance. Involvement   Again, servant leadership is about collaboration, which hinges on the involvement of every employee. While not every worker will bring the same skill-set to the table, each is valuable to the overall objectives of the business. The promise of that involvement produces levels of pride and satisfaction in the workplace, which are often combined with reduced stress and greater happiness. The satisfaction one feels at work will often transition into the home, where a happier and more energetic worker transitions into a more involved and engaged partner, friend, and parent. Productivity   While it may seem strange, the family role is foundational to the role and effectiveness of servant leadership. The entire business model is developed around the idea of creating a culture and familiarity within the varying levels of a corporation. By encouraging and supporting employee development and involvement, businesses see higher productivity and success, and when emulating such leadership, employees find greater fulfillment in their personal and professional lives. The constant focus to evolve and build a greater version of the corporate image results in the same effort being taken on the individual front, leading to greater satisfaction, less stress and ultimately happiness at work and home for many employees. Servant leadership is not just a philosophy for improving corporate culture and employee satisfaction. It is an ideology that is boundless, spreading beyond its intended purpose and improving on the lives of all those practicing and exposed to its principles. At Etech, we have a similar goal of improving our client’s businesses through enhancing consumer experiences. Our customer-focused culture is the perfect addition to help your business experience more significant gains through actionable insights and data-driven recommendations. Reach out to one of our representatives today, and discover what Etech can do for you.

Do We Need AI to Truly Transform the Customer Experience for the Better?

According to a Gartner Report, 85% of customer interactions will take place without human involvement by 2020. Put simply, artificial intelligence is transforming the way companies interact with their customers. But, do we really need AI to maintain high levels of customer satisfaction, or can we rely solely on human intelligence? To answer this question, here are some of AI’s transformative qualities and how they complement human intelligence. Constant and Immediate Availability   When customers call customer service or initiate a chat, the wait time is longer without the help of artificial intelligence. Bots can at least begin the greeting process while customers wait for an available agent. Bots can also help to confirm what kind of help customers need, ensure they are communicating with the right department and redirect them if they’re not. Forbes notes that because bots never need to sleep, they can handle these tasks even when there are no available agents, because it is outside of business operating hours. This is especially important for business with restrictive hours, such as the post office, banks or government institutions. Artificial intelligence also reduces the pressure on contact centers to schedule more agents to work at nights. The Financial Times notes that night shifts present a fundamental biological challenge to the human body. People who work nights generally sleep less. Note that routinely getting less than six hours of sleep can increase mortality risks by 13%. Improves the Work Process for Human Agents   Sorting calls and verifying that customers are on the right line is the less exciting part of customer service. It can also be the one most frustrating for customers because they hate to be transferred. When bots handle the sorting in chats or automated operators handle this on the phone, people can focus on aspects where human intelligence is best applied. Humans are more urgently needed for the real people skills and creative problem-solving. These are the aspects where artificial intelligence may fall short, no matter how brilliant the coding is. Bots may, for instance, fail to understand a message riddled with typos or which is written by someone who does not speak English as a first language. Humans would pick up on these errors, whereas bots tend to need more specific parameters to act. When bots can handle sorting, scheduling appointments and other small tasks, it further helps to make work easier for human agents. It reduces the bottleneck they may otherwise meet in the morning when they begin their shifts. Bots can also help to reduce the pressure when centers are short-staffed during an unexpected incident related to the client’s products and services, such as a service outage. Provides Actionable Data and Predictions   Artificial intelligence may also provide personalized information on customers. Depending on how advanced the system is, this information may even include predictions based on a customer’s purchasing behavior. For example, agents may see current subscriptions, how long customers have done business with the company and even ratings on the likelihood of successfully upselling certain products and services. By arming agents with this valuable information, it prepares them for higher levels of success in interactions. This is true even when the customer begins the conversation frustrated or upset. Forbes notes that this personalized data helps companies to tap into the coveted 1% of the customer pool. These are the highly discriminating customers worth more than 18 times the value of a regular buyer. One bank even uses it to maintain unsolicited but helpful contact with customers. When a customer of the Royal Bank of Scotland continuously overdrafts their account, bots flag the account for a follow-up. The best employee for the job then calls the customer to offer financial advice. The Bottom Line: The Argument for AI in Business   Put simply, artificial intelligence is an indispensable part of transforming the customer experience for three main reasons: • It reduces the cost companies would otherwise sustain for providing 24/7 customer support and a strong commitment to customer satisfaction. • It reduces the workload for customer service agents, while increasing their effectiveness through personalized data. • It keeps customers happy. It does this by helping companies to better cater to a buyer’s individual needs, while being available right around the clock. At Etech, we are in the people business. We believe that the role of AI in transforming customer experience is to complement the work of our amazing team by taking over menial work. This allows workers to shine at the tasks that require creativity and interpersonal skills. For more information on how we use artificial intelligence at our contact centers, email us at info@etechgs.com. This blog was earlier published on LinkedIn.

How Artificial Intelligence Is Revolutionizing the Customer Journey

As traditional brick and mortar stores continue to struggle in an increasingly global economy, businesses have been forced to shift their approach to customer engagement just to survive. While metrics, such as carrying a superior product or offering the lowest price, may have attracted consumers in the past, almost 90 percent of companies are now focusing their competitive energy on providing an elevated customer experience. The successful integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into a front-end interface is one of the most important factors when it comes to delivering the personalized encounters that customers now expect. AI is revolutionizing the customer experience in so many ways, that it’s becoming vital for businesses to adopt AI technologies to stay relevant into the 21st century. The Customer Engagement Process Is Streamlined. AI has improved front-end efficiency so much that over 67 percent of consumers now expect the option of chatbots or messaging apps to help them resolve a problem before speaking to a live customer service agent. The benefit of fusing technology into your business model is twofold: providing a fast and personalized method for resolving common high-volume issues with customers while live service agents can focus on more complex problems that require human intervention; delegating the bulk of consumer interactions to AI, which provides a superior customer experience while improving the cost-effectiveness of your live chat agent training resources. Market Potential for Visual Search Options Has Exploded. As smartphone technology continues to improve, customer engagement has become centralized on pictures and graphics instead of written descriptions. Today’s consumers expect companies to offer phone applications that can search, track, and order past-history purchases while intuitively filtering products and services based on their needs by offering a simple, visually organized format. AI has disrupted the customer experience so much that 72 percent of internet users now expect access to visual content before deciding on a purchase. Businesses that fail to adapt to the “one-touch” smartphone shopping concept, ushered in by technological advances, will likely falter in the current marketplace. Consumer Insight Capabilities Are Rapidly Advancing. An influx of customer data will not be helpful without adopting the latest AI programs to collate it efficiently. A quality Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system capable of tracking purchase data while also building targeted consumer profiles and alerts, such as reminders to send a follow-up marketing email, can dramatically improve your customer engagement. What’s more, an AI-backed CRM system can help you retain more customers while building a brand based on the highly personalized experience that’s expected in a global economy. And with an average return on investment (ROI) of $8.71 for $1 spent on CRM implementation, your business will only benefit from integrating this technology into your consumer interface. AI-powered CRM’s can also be very valuable in information pass-through and ensuring the customer doesn’t have to repeat information at each interaction point, thus significantly reducing customer friction points. While the global marketplace of the 21st century has created a hypercompetitive economy, developing a focus on the elevated customer engagement that today’s consumers take for granted can give your business the best chance of success. Adapting to rapidly evolving technologies by putting them to work for your company is one of the most important ways to improve front-end customer interface. AI systems and software can revolutionize your customer’s journey, which in turn, help you develop a strong brand while attracting and retaining a steady customer base. With over 20 years of experience in providing superior customer engagement solutions across a wide range of industries, Etech is a world leader in helping companies integrate the latest artificial intelligence automation that allows them to compete in a diverse and globalized marketplace. Contact us today to learn how we can assist you in utilizing technology to advance your business. This blog was earlier published on LinkedIn.

Worried about the Capital One Hack? Here’s what to Do

According to IBM and the Ponemon Institute, 50% of data breaches in the financial sector are caused by malicious or criminal attacks, while 27% results from system glitches and 23% from negligent employees. Organizations are already threatened with this, as well as many other such statistics, and an incident that has recently happened, disturbed us again. And this time, Capital One is the victim. A data breach to Capital One servers is one of the most threatening incidents that happened recently. This renowned financial corporation has announced that 106 million individuals holding a Capital One card or who had applied for a Capital One card, had their personal and “protected” data breached. Recently, Capital One disclosed that over 100 million individuals that had applied for credit had their information compromised. Among those, 140,000 had their social security number stolen, and about 80,000 had their linked bank account information swiped. The FBI arrested the one they believe is responsible, and it turns out this individual was an AWS engineer that exploited a firewall vulnerability. Are you holding a Capital One card or have applied for credit from Capital One?   Follow the below crucial steps to avoid any financial loss: 1. Freeze your credit   Security experts are unanimous that a credit freeze is an essential step to protecting your data and halts scammers from creating fake accounts in your name. Freezing your credit at the three credit reporting bureaus is now free, and can be done online or over the phone. You’ll need your name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, and other personal information, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Each credit bureau will give you a PIN, which you can then use to lift your freeze when you need to apply for credit, such as a mortgage or a car loan or a new credit card. The three credit reporting agencies are Equifax, Experian, and Transunion. “This is the best way to prevent a criminal from opening an unauthorized account in your name. Security experts note that a freeze is much more effective than a fraud alert. Credit freezes don’t affect your credit score, but they prevent loans and other services from being opened in your name without your consent. A fraud alert is simply a red flag alerting companies to the fact you may have been the victim of fraud. 2. Enable two-factor authentication   Adding an extra layer of security to your logins can help prevent scammers from gaining access to your accounts. The most common form of two-factor authentication is when a business texts you a one-time code that enables you to access your account. That means a hacker would need to have access to your mobile phone as well as your account information to gain access to your accounts. 3. Sign up for credit monitoring   These services can help you keep close tabs on your accounts, alerting you if someone opens an unauthorized account in your name or even another family member’s name. Some sites offer free access to credit monitoring, such as Wallet Hub’s free monitoring of TransUnion credit accounts. However, the most thorough credit-monitoring services generally will cost you anywhere from $10 to $30 a month, according to CBS partner site CNET. Due to a reported breach of the Equifax credit bureau, many consumers can take advantage of the Equifax settlement and sign up for free credit monitoring this week, but experts say it’s not clear when that will actually kick in. “The settlement with Equifax is pending so there’s no guarantee about when that will take effect until we see something that says, ‘On this date, you will receive your award,” said Charity Lacey, vice president of communications for the Identity Theft Resource Center. 4. Don’t get phished   We have discussed phishing in-depth as it is one of the most common ways cybercriminals will attempt to obtain your data. Ignore unsolicited requests for information, which could be phishing attempts, or when hackers pretend to be a trusted company or individual. If you haven’t asked to be contacted and not expecting the communication, don’t respond to the email. Check with the organization or individual and verify validity if you feel it’s necessary. Otherwise, ignore and delete. Capital One is asking that consumers who believe they receive a fraudulent email seeking their data forward the email to abuse@capitalone.com. After forwarding the email, the company recommends deleting it. 5. Change your passwords regularly   You can also protect yourself by taking a step that most don’t follow: Changing their passwords. And of course, too many individuals continue to use easy-to-guess passwords like “123456”. Use a password aggregator such as LastPass to ensure secure, unique passwords for all of your logins. More than 8 in 10 U.S. adults re-use passwords, which is a significant security vulnerability. If you are notified or think your information was affected, consider the following:   Immediately change your passwords Monitor your bank and credit accounts for malicious activity As stated earlier, take advantage of free credit monitoring services. Know the warning signs that your information has been compromised Withdrawals and/or charges on your accounts that you cannot explain Charge accounts being opened in your name or using your information Unfamiliar accounts are appearing on your credit report Debt collectors calling about debt that is not your You stop receiving expected mail Be Safe and Secured A data breach at a major US bank like Capital One has exposed troves of sensitive information, putting thousands of people at risk of online fraud. It’s one of the most disappointing affairs of all time. Don’t forget to take these right precautionary strides and keep your finance protected.

How to Improve Customer Experience and Sales With Voice of the Customer Research

Companies offering inbound call center services often train their employees to believe that the customer is always right. When it comes to customers’ knowledge of their own needs, expectations, preferences, and dislikes – that is, the voice of the customer – the adage is correct. VoC research, obtained through both qualitative and quantitative methods, gives a company insight into how well its products or services are going to fare with its target customer base. Researchers at MIT identify four aspects of VoC outcomes: • Customers’ needs • Hierarchical ranking of those needs • A prioritized list of importance • Customers’ perception of products or services Through the use of research methods such as focus groups, interviews and surveys, data collectors gather statements in customers’ own words about how the inbound call center services the company offers should meet their needs. The list they compile is sorted into primary, secondary, and tertiary needs to discover what the customers want most and what specific things can be done to satisfy those desires. The information gleaned from the customers is also used to arrange needs according to their relative importance to customers. Finally, customers are asked to weigh in on the performance of products or services on the market that fulfill the needs discussed or, if no such product or service currently exists, on how they satisfy that need without it. By understanding their customers better, companies can improve customer experience. An improved experience, in turn, improves customer retention and sales. The Relationship Between VoC and the Customer Experience   According to Oracle’s 2011 Customer Experience Impact Report, 86% of customers are willing to pay more for excellent customer services experience. Conversely, 89% have no qualms about taking their business to a competitor if their experience with a company is bad. Customers expect to be treated well, and if they have any problems or concerns, they expect those issues to be addressed and resolved promptly. Information gleaned from VoC research is helpful because it offers detailed insight into how to improve the customer experience across multiple levels. It improves marketing and measures the effectiveness of the product or services offered. When VoC is utilized effectively, the features of the inbound call center services that are most helpful to customers are continued and improved, and the features that don’t satisfy customer needs are retired. Customers notice when their feedback is taken seriously, and they are likely to remain loyal to a company that uses their input to drive decisions. The Benefits of Using VoC Research To Improve Customer Services   Listening to customers leads to clearer direction and focus. When companies seek to improve call center services through VoC research, they can expect certain benefits: • Stronger Customer Relationships   – Good relationships depend on mutual knowledge and trust. Customers typically know the companies they patronize frequently, but how well do those companies know their customers? Through VoC research, companies gain knowledge of what the customers want and need as well as the role the companies play in fulfilling them. The process itself humanizes the customer, making service providers even more excited to make them happy and build a lasting rapport. • Retention of Current Customers   – No matter how great inbound call center services are, problems are bound to arise occasionally. The efficiency and professionalism with which the company resolves customers’ problems improve their perception of the company and VoC can help make this process go smoothly. In fact, companies that use VoC effectively may experience up to a 55% increase in customer retention rates. • Increase in New Customers   – Satisfied customers are walking, talking advertisements for their favorite companies. When companies use VoC research to help improve services for their existing customers, the customers tell their friends. Companies who take advantage of the information they glean can improve their sales. • Improvement of Existing Products or Services   – Negative feedback can be a positive sign. It is proof that customers are invested enough to care how inbound call center services perform, and this input can lead to vast improvements in what the company already has on the market. • Inspiration For New Products or Services   – Information from VoC research helps companies identify needs that are not being met by their current offerings or the market in general. This gap can lead to the creation of innovative new products or services. When a company takes an interest in not only in its customers’ preferences but also their aversions, it can see a marked increase in customer satisfaction, marketing strategy success, and its bottom line. VoC research helps improve inbound call center services to inspire loyalty in existing customers and pique curiosity in new ones.

5 Strategies for Effective Call Center Operational Performance

Working in today’s call center is a demanding job. The simplest of transactions are now often handled via self-service tools, leaving more complex work left to today’s agent. Effectively leading today’s call center agent can be even more challenging. From handling escalated calls, upset customers stressed-out agents, and endless to-do lists; the list of challenges tends to get longer and longer. This leaves an interesting question – how do you lower stress levels for your team members? How do you keep their moods up, so that they are bright and cheery treating each new customer as if they were their first of the day? How do you improve call center performance to ensure your team member, company, and clients get the necessary results they need? Here are five clear strategies to implement for effective call center operational performance. 1. Effective Sourcing   An ideal time to hire call center agents is at the start of their career, usually when they are entry level. Be open to those with little previous work experience. By starting the development process early, you can prepare workers with valuable experience to become not just high-performing agents, but future supervisors and managers. There are many ways to attract employees who are at the start of their careers. Here are just a few tactics to consider: • Provide paid internships for students fresh out of college or during their college breaks. • Attend workshops and conferences at high schools to market your company as a desirable employer. • Allow flexible work schedules, so that students may work part-time, while attending college. 2. Employee Incentives   Once you’ve increased the pool from which you can draw permanent workers for your call center operations, the next step is to be a desirable employer. If your goal is to attract mostly young workers, then it’s important to note that flexibility and work-life-balance are extremely important to millennials and Gen Z, often even more so than a high salary. Here are some incentives you should consider that will benefit your older call center workers, as well: • Opportunities for professional development • Fun and creative experiences • Innovative tech in the office • Flexible work schedules • Give back initiatives 3. Employee Training   Many call center operations leaders make the mistake of believing employees only need training for their first few weeks on the job. Others have training programs in place just for the sake of having them, with no real process and no real way of measuring their effectiveness. By investing in proper and frequent employee training, you are building an unstoppable workforce. In fact, Forbes recommends frequent employee training as the key to organizational success. Besides the obvious knowledge improvement, how does this benefit call center operations? See below for a few key benefits: • Reduced need for supervision • Increased productivity • Lower turnover rates • Improved efficiency • Decrease in errors • Improved morale 4. Employee Empowerment   One great benefit of employee training that deserves a section to itself is employee empowerment. By providing call center employees with the knowledge and tools they need to make informed decisions, management can turn its focus back to admin and strategic functions. The workers, in turn, can focus on achieving company goals without a manager breathing down their necks. As mentioned above, employee empowerment leads to a reduced need for supervision, which in turn helps to flatten the organizational structure. Flat organizational structures are more efficient and more adaptable to change. They also boost customer satisfaction as workers reduce resolution times by resolving issues on their own, thereby reducing the need to forward customers through multiple channels. 5. Health & Wellness Focus   According to a 2014 study published by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, there are some health conditions that become a risk for workers at call centers. For starters, because of the 24/7 nature of call center operations, many people are usually working at times when they would have otherwise been sleeping, causing disruptions to their internal clock. Interpersonal relationships with family and friends may also be negatively affected, often resulting in unhealthy lifestyle habits. Additionally, the need to suppress negative emotions to please customers may also lead to depression and anxiety. Because of this, it’s very important that companies focus on health and wellness programs for employees. Some perks, such as a creative space for breaks, can help with this. However, there should also be solid employee benefits for both mental and physical care. In addition to this, employers should implement measures to reduce or prevent employee burnout. Every call center has its own organizational culture and strategies in place to ensure high call center performance. However, sometimes organizational culture can work against improvements and sometimes strategies become outdated. By making small tweaks to those original strategies, however, you can transform your call center business, keep your workers in great shape and generate a return for stakeholders. For more information on how partnering with Etech can help, contact us at info@etechgs.com. This blog was earlier published on LinkedIn.

5 Strategies to Enhance Proactive Customer Service

Proactive customer service is about foreseeing client needs and meeting them before they have to ask. This type of service is also aimed at increasing retention rates while boosting performance. Unfortunately, many companies do not employ proactive strategies. Instead, they flounder with reactive services, which means that they are always behind the curve when it comes to customer satisfaction. Before truly understanding the difference and highlighting proactive strategies, however, it is necessary to draw attention to proactive approaches, specifically messaging. Types of Proactive Messaging Many reactive companies struggle to limit customer turnover or suffer from flooded inbound call center services. Often, these struggles are due to poor communication between a brand and its customers. For instance, some companies fail to explain or notify consumers when updates or changes to service are going to occur, meaning that when those things happen customers are rightfully confused and sometimes upset. Also, reactive companies often fail to retain customers who do not fully understand the benefits offered by their products or services. These situations can be avoided with the use of the two types of proactive messaging. • Broadcasting – Broadcast customer service messages are aimed at early influence. These messages do not depend on specific user data or timelines. Instead, they are designed to highlight broader aspects of a product or service. For instance, these messages may display as pop-ups or banners notifying all customers of product updates or outages. Primarily, this messaging tactic is used to inform and reduce confusion in the event of product or service changes. However, broadcasting can also be used to deliver announcements of newsletters and other customer-friendly information. Remember knowledge is power and in this case informative power. • Trigger-based –Trigger-based messages are automated and designed to suggest a user takes action at a specific time. For example, these messages could be used to encourage nonactive users into action by offering support material, or the messages could encourage a customer to use certain aspects of the system that they have not explored yet. In either case, trigger-based messaging is directed at a more specific piece of the customer cycle, and as with all proactive messaging it is designed to encourage user or customer participation whether that is to explore a new feature or purchase an upgrade, service or product. 5 Strategies for Proactive Service While implementing a proactive approach is ideal, it does take work and should not be rushed into recklessly. Implementing this type of strategy requires the identification of common issues and customer concerns as well as the collaboration of ideas for the development of appropriate solutions. However, any successful plan will develop its solution around five tried and true strategies. 1. Acquisition – During the acquisition phase, proactive customer service will guide customers throughout their buying experience. This can be done through live chat services or even guides that help customers understand how and what to fill out in a form. 2. Influence – When discussing influence, proactive service is all about highlighting new or compatible products or services. Therefore, if a consumer places an item in their cart, a message would alert them to similar items. 3. Education – Trigger-based messaging is often used to educate consumers. However, unlike physical customer service, these messages are likely automated and provide instructions or advice on unused features. 4. Support – While many reactive companies can become overburdened with support tickets, leaving their call center services in a constant cycle of angry customers, a proactive trigger-based or even broadcast message can be displayed for those instances of shared issues, like outages or glitches. 5. Retention – While there is no great method for customer retention when discussing reactive companies, there are numerous proactive solutions. Customer service centers can be alerted to users who are not actively participating in the provided service through trigger messages. Therefore, inactive customers will experience a personalized message, encouraging them to remain loyal and active users. Reason Proactive Service is Superior The main difference between reactive and proactive customer service comes down to wants and needs. Reactive services are only concerned with the immediate want of a client, ignoring the greater need. Sure, they will still sell products and services, but their retention and satisfaction rates will likely suffer. Proactive service is about resolving the underlying needs of consumers, resulting in improved customer experience with higher retention and satisfaction rates. Is your company suffering from high levels of user turnover? Is your call center overwhelmed by repetitive consumer complaints surrounding similar issues? Don’t waste another minute being reactive. If you are interested in implementing a proactive customer service strategy, then contact Etech services, where serving your customers is the only priority. Yours in service David A. Carrizales

Why You Need Omnichannel Customer Engagement Solutions?

When a company is set in its ways, it can be a hard rush to encourage managers to create lasting change. This is as true for call centers as it is for other types of businesses. One aspect where companies can become stubborn is communication. A business that has excelled from taking only phone calls at their contact centers, for instance, may not be willing to open up new lines of communication through email, live chat, social media, and other omnichannel customer engagement options. Unfortunately, this would be to the detriment of the business. Here’s why. Some customers do prefer a phone call, but others may prefer to type a few words in a Facebook chatbox. Thus, by keeping multiple lines of communication open, i.e., offering omnichannel solutions, a company makes it easier for customers to resolve issues. Estimates say that 98% of your customers expect you to communicate consistently across multiple channels. If it is instead easier for a customer to engage with a competitor to start a new service than it is to reach your company to resolve their issues, you may lose that customer. They may also take a few family, friends, and followers with them. Shaping Customer Experience Customers generally have three points of contact with a business. The first occurs when they purchase a product or service. The second occurs during the use of the product or service. The third is if or when something goes wrong with the product or service, or the customer has a query. Depending on the type of business, customers come in contact with agents for at least two of these three points. As a result, contact centers play an integral role in shaping the customer experience, irrespective of their encounter with the actual product or service. 96% of consumers agree that an essential determining factor of whether or not they remain loyal to a company is the customer service experience. However, phone calls are not enough. More than half of customers prefer to text rather than call when seeking customer support. Forbes also notes that live chat is preferred by 41% of customers. Omnichannel customer service is especially important when a company’s main offering is a service. When there are intangible components of a business, customers may rely on the contact center team even more for support issues, such as troubleshooting a website glitch or questions regarding successful completion of an online course. When a customer has the option of accessing that support through multiple channels, the likelihood of them viewing the company more favorably tends to be higher. Benefits of Providing Omnichannel Service Higher customer satisfaction is the benefit most frequently cited for the use of omnichannel customer solutions, but it is not the only one. See below for some additional advantages of applying this strategy: Reduced Costs: When it comes to implementing big changes, one of the first things companies look to is their bottom line. The good news is that while there is an initial investment, switching to an omnichannel approach reduces call center costs over time. One reason for this is that self-help omnichannel solutions reduce the need for agents to tackle every potential issue themselves. A customer may find the answer on their own through FAQ web pages, branded videos, or even chatbots. Additional Insights: Social media, live chat, forums, and other aspects of the omnichannel strategy provides the opportunity to gain additional insights. Through these channels, companies can learn what customers love best about their products and services, what they hate most, why they stay, or why they chose a competitor. Increased Employee Productivity: Customers aren’t the only ones with a preference for certain communication channels. Some employees may also be better suited to texting or creating DIY videos than just taking phone calls. By matching employees with the communication channels that best suit them, you may increase employee engagement, motivation, and productivity. Reduction in Turnover: Companies are often so focused on customer retention that employee retention often falls by the wayside. Contrary to what many employers believe, providing employees with the option of manning the different forts of an omnichannel may increase employee retention for the reasons highlighted in the point above. It also introduces the element of choice and reduces monotony. In short, an omnichannel customer engagement strategy allows companies to communicate with people on their own terms, wherever they feel most comfortable. Customers are currently demanding better service and more accessibility to their favorite brands all around the world and this is one way to deliver this experience seamlessly. Would you like to introduce omnichannel customer solutions at your contact center? Contact Etech today to get the process started.

How Big Data Analytics Is Gold for Call Centers?

Call centers generate data like no other department within a company. Information coming in from the outside, such as customer demographics, common questions, and favorite product features are gold mines for marketing, development, and customer engagement. Data gleaned from internal processes such as hold times, how long it takes to resolve an issue, and the number of calls managed per shift provides valuable information for departmental and company management. Best of all, the automated nature of a call center means that almost everything is recorded, cataloged, tracked, and measured with accuracy. As a bonus, it’s available indefinitely for future analysis and decision making. How Can Companies Use All This Data? • Unstructured data : Unstructured data can be defined as “information, in many different forms, that doesn’t hew to conventional data models.” An example is voice recordings from callers to a call center. The efficient call center software can analyze the tone of voice, content, and emotion. That knowledge can help a representative gauge the caller’s mood even before the conversation starts. This kind of processing is also called speech analysis or natural language processing (NLP). • Text data analytics : Call center is something of a misnomer as consumers now interact with companies via social media, email, messaging apps, and more. Text analytics programs can evaluate all those forms of communication, looking for themes and potential issues. The software can perform this kind of study on messages going out as well as those coming in. • Cross channel analytics : Customers use multiple avenues to interact with vendors, and it’s critical for businesses to understand those methods. For example, if a customer makes most purchases online, the company will want to make sure the client knows that he or she can get support the same way. Knowledge of how customers interact lets a company put more resources into the most used forms of engagement. • Quality control : Every call center has metrics related to customer service and the engagement experience. The data gathered through the call center makes this easier. Friction points become clear, and areas of difficulty for your agents are easier to spot. Also, all this data is prime material for training new agents, and better-trained agents mean improved customer metrics. The Process of Using Big Data Big Data analysis is a four-stage process: 1. Defining the data sources : This involves setting forth a description of all the pathways by which data is collected. You’ll want to include social media, email, and all other forms of communication. 2. Data gathering : This data involves the transformation of raw data into something manageable and organized. Depending on the nature of the data, this may or may not be a traditional database. Unstructured data requires more work to put into a manageable form. 3. Modeling : The data is used to create a hypothetical model for testing and evaluation. Big data gives you a laboratory to try out new ideas in a safe environment. 4. Deploying a model : At this stage, the company takes some action based on the information from the models. The management team has more confidence in decisions based on hard evidence. Get Started Now Businesses from healthcare to banking to manufacturing are finding uses for the big data collected through their call centers. Whether it’s artificial intelligence, machine learning, or predictive analytics, big data is becoming a priceless resource. If you’re ready to make the most of the information flowing through your call center, you have many options, and Etech Insights can help you with data insights for your organization. Contact Etech to find your way to improved customer experience and increased profitability through the use of data you’re probably already collecting. This blog was earlier published on LinkedIn.

How to Connect Data and Artificial Intelligence for Personalized Touch Points

Artificial intelligence is currently being propagated as the consumer experience champion and for a good reason. The ability and evolution of computer learning have led to improved efficiency, personalization and excellent analysis of big data, thereby transforming the e-commerce landscape and created a standard of expectation from customers. It is no longer feasible to appease the base with stagnant, unresponsive platforms. Patrons expect businesses to be not only accommodating but personable in both physical and digital locations. The expectation of such customization and personalization is only possible and cost-effective through the implementation of automated and analytical systems. However, many companies struggle with implementing such machine learning structures, which is why it is vital to understand how to connect data and AI with business objectives. Identify Problems and Seek Solutions   While big data offers tremendous insight into operations and corporate structure, it does nothing without the computational ability to analyze and produce actionable information succinctly. Incorporating AI into existing products and services is likely the best place for most businesses to start. Review your products, services, and operations to see where machine learning, natural language processing or image recognition could be used to streamline data and eliminate redundancies. Seek Value Not Reinvention   It is easy to get caught up in the technological advancements offered through AI platforms, but it is not wise to embrace it in its entirety. While these systems are excellent tools for data analytics and insights into the consumer experience, they should not be used at the detriment of your business and brand identity. If your model is built on approachability and personable communications with consumers, then implementing chatbots for all consumer interactions will only dilute that image. Do not reinvent the business for the sake of being technologically advanced. Do implement AI strategies that add value and help the company in finding improved efficiency and effectiveness. Know Your Capabilities   A large corporation with many big data sets is going to require more robust solutions than a small business with a limited consumer base and digital footprint. While every company can grow to the point of needing complex analytic tools that are housed in high-security facilities, not all businesses require such extensive technologies currently. Know your capabilities and where you want your business to grow. Don’t over-implement AI systems because it is what the larger corporations are doing. Your computer systems and processes should grow with the business and not necessarily surpass it. Integrate Integral Data   Though big data is the foundation for the success of automated systems, many corporations are plagued by redundancies in these data sets. Before implementing any advanced computer learning system, a business should weed through their data and eliminate any unnecessary or repetitive information. Once a new system is in use, it should only be fed integral data, allowing it to learn what information is valuable. Set Up Tests and Start Small   As mentioned, AI does require training which is why it is essential to manage the implementation of such systems. It is best to start small and tests the results, only moving further when the machine proves its capabilities on limited data sets. This structured implementation can be used in every aspect of your business from the front-end consumer experience to back-end operational usage. No matter the desired result, slow and structured is the path to a successful installation. Big data is only a piece of the implementation puzzle when it comes to artificial intelligence. While AI can help to transform a business into a consumer-focused and efficient machine, it can also inhibit a company’s progress if it is utilized too quickly and with little forethought. Therefore, if you are looking to incorporate advanced analytics and computer learning in your business model, then contact Etech to discuss and discover a customizable solution. This blog was first published on LinkedIn.

Eight Tips to Ensure Call Center PCI Compliance

Every good business leader knows there will always be times when risk-taking is beneficial to your organization. We have all heard the adage, “The Greater the Risk, The Greater the Reward”. However, when it comes to regulatory compliance in the contact center industry, taking risks should never be considered as an option. Adhering to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is one of the most important ways to operate your business with integrity. Developed in 2006 by five major credit card companies to protect consumers from fraud, data breaches, and identity theft during business transactions, PCI DSS standards are enforced by the PCI Security Standards Council. There are several risks associated with non-compliance to PCI DSS standards; Monetary Fines, Damaged Reputation, System and Process Forensic Audits; Loss of Business; Legal Action; and the list goes on. The good news is there are several easy to follow guidelines to ensure your company achieves and maintains full PCI compliance. Maintain a secure network. Nearly 80 percent of companies that experience a data breach doesn’t have a reliable firewall in place. Avoid putting your customers at unnecessary risk by investing in robust security controls for your online network. If you’re unfamiliar with industry standards for establishing a safe network, hire a reputable IT firm to help you get started. Understand where all your access points are. Document your data flows and ensure there are measures to protect the data at rest and in transit. Ensure your web hosting is PCI compliant. Call center security begins with a web host that routes valuable consumer financial data through a private, dedicated server to protect sensitive information from unauthorized users. While this option can be more expensive than a shared hosting plan, the peace of mind it can give you and your customers is well worth the expense. Do not allow mobile devices in secure work areas where Protected data is present and/or displayed. While it’s important to hire and train contact center agents who are ethical and trustworthy, you also need to accept the reality that a data breach could begin with a someone importing sensitive customer data onto their mobile device. Reduce the risk by prohibiting personal mobile device use in secure areas. If mobile devices are part of your employee working toolset, ensure you have robust MDM (Mobile Device Management) and DLP (Data Loss Prevention) policies in place. Encrypt all sensitive data. We have all heard the saying, “There are two types of organizations, those that have been breached, and those that don’t know they’ve been breached”. If data becomes compromised, can the malicious actors do anything with it? A fundamental element of PCI compliance is shielding customer personal and financial information with strong cryptography. Cryptographic controls are important for data at rest as well as data that is in transit. You should be utilizing a minimum encryption key strength of 256 bits, and for an extra security safeguard, if you utilize a third party to store your customers’ data, they should not have access to the encryption key. Redact and protect recorded calls containing sensitive information. You would be surprised at the number of companies recording calls that never think about the protected data on those recordings. While call recording is an invaluable training tool, it can also put the security of your organization and your customers’ data at risk. Recorded calls are subject to the same PCI DSS standards as any other method of capturing private consumer information, so consider investing in a call monitoring system that will allow redaction of financial information on the recording. Also, ensure recordings themselves are protected through proper encryption methods and access controls. Establish role-based security. One of the basics of PCI DSS compliance is limiting who can access your customers’ financial information on a strictly need to know basis. That’s why it’s essential to implement role-based credentials in your contact center. Follow a Policy of Least Privilege. This will ensure that each team member has only the access needed to adequately perform their job duties without unduly exposing them to sensitive consumer data. Provide appropriate contact center employee training. Your contact center agents are part of your security/compliance team and each is an invaluable tool in maintaining PCI DSS compliance. Make sure they understand the fundamentals of PCI standards, why they are important, and how a data breach can negatively impact your business. By establishing your agents as the front line in preserving contact center security, you’re providing one of the strongest defense systems to your customers. Don’t underestimate the importance of system testing. Less than 30 percent of companies remain PCI compliant a year after becoming certified, usually because they fail to maintain and upgrade their network and data security after the initial installation. Security is not a one and done project. It is continually evolving to counteract cybercriminals attempting to remain one step ahead. Protect your investment by scheduling regular testing of all firewalls, encryption methods, redaction methods, credential audits, and call monitoring. Commit to enhancing your security systems as needed so they meet or exceed all current industry standards. When instituting PCI compliance within your organization, remember that you, and not the consumer base you serve, are the gatekeeper of sensitive data. At Etech, we have maintained full PCI DSS certification for several years, and we realize that we and not our clients are primarily responsible for meeting all security and compliance requirements for each program within our contact centers. We provide our clients with a dedicated team of regulatory compliance experts to give them peace of mind in all aspects of their program management. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you create a PCI DSS compliant security system that will give your customers the protection they deserve.

Are You Adapting Omni-Channel Customer Support?

Customer support was originally handled through three information channels: telephone, letter or in person. As technology advanced, however, the available communication tools evolved, moving toward digital and cloud services. Now, businesses must handle customer service communications through a multifaceted approach known as omnichannel. As defined, this new approach streamlines and unifies consumer information across all corporate and client touchpoints to provide seamless, universal and informed service, and it can be further defined through the four Ps: Pain-free The first P refers to the seamlessness of the customer experience during the point of contact and finding a solution. Is your business’ currently facilitating this process in the best way possible? Proactive Is your current service reactive or proactive? The second P is about being ahead of the curve when it comes to solutions. Therefore, provide answers to problems that customers haven’t asked yet. Personalized How attentive is the business to client needs? The third P requires a personalized approach, meaning that the old ways of one-size-fits-all don’t work in today’s customer service environment. Productive Lastly, the fourth P is focused on productivity. Are your service agents empowered to make unilateral decisions, or does everything have to go through upper management? Streamlining the decision process is the focus of omnichannel customer service. If your business is not yet in tangent with the four P’s, it is not too late to start. There are several steps your company can take to improve the consumer experience and better align itself with the principles of multichannel service. Understand Customer Behavior   The basis of business and customer support is to understand customer behavior, and in the current economic climate, it is more important than ever before. To understand consumers is to understand their behavior, and to acknowledge their actions. It is difficult to establish successful communication channels if you do not know where your client-base spends their time online. Knowing that the majority of your clients use platforms like Twitter and Facebook will allow you to divert budgetary dollars from other social platforms. Capitalize on Mobile Platforms   Also, while omnichannel efforts where once limited to desktop and laptop computers, there are now multiple ways for customers to use business platforms and to contact support. You will be hard-pressed to find consumers without mobile phones or tablets. Therefore, it is essential that companies design for mobile platforms. Allow for Self-service   Additionally, it is not always necessary to flood your patron’s inbox with personalized messages or to provide information only through a real person. Some people prefer a more introverted customer experience, meaning that they prefer self-service. Companies can accommodate these types of shoppers by providing thorough and robust FAQ pages. Integrate SMS   Omnichannel support often depends on a personal approach to consumer relations through the utilization of technology and its platforms. Therefore, to push your support features to the next level, offer SMS capabilities. The availability of text messaging and its nearly universal appeal make it a reliable way to provide service and support. Incorporate Live Chat   When discussing personalized service, you can’t get any better than offering live chats. While chatbots have their place in the streamlining process, a real person can provide empathy and relatability. A machine is not able to provide accurate as well as emotional support and understanding. Don’t Forget Email   Granted, it is easy to forget the old methods of letters and email, but each still holds value in the customer experience. By incorporating both personalization and technology, businesses are capable of crafting targeted email campaigns that can lead to satisfaction and further purchases. While technically optional, omnichannel customer service is an appreciated customer service approach that yields real results. However, for true effectiveness businesses must be capitalizing on this approach across every touchpoint. If you are interested in incorporating this multichannel strategy into your business, then contact Etech for a customized solution.

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