Blog Archives - Page 24 of 36 - Etech Global Services

Leveraging Your Live Chat: A QA-Based Approach

Live web chat is one of the most advanced channels in customer contact centers, and is a critical medium to provide unparalleled levels of customer service. While traditional nonverbal cues such as tone of voice, pauses in speech and other aspects are missing from these types of interactions, developing unique quality standards for live agents is a must. And for that reason, quality monitoring live chat interactions is vital. Personalization Is Key Scripted responses are useful in any contact center, but agents must be permitted to be personable and to tool their chats uniquely to the needs and sensibilities of each client. It’s alright for an initial acknowledgement of the customer’s presence to be pre-written, but allowing the rest of the communication to flow naturally and be extemporaneous is more likely to make clients feel valued. Offer Other Channels as Alternatives Live chat is incredibly convenient for many people. However, the agent should trust his or her judgement in cases when the request is complex, lengthy or involved. Other contact methods should be offered if this is the case. Listening Applies to Text-Based Interactions, Too In the quality monitoring process for live chat, it’s imperative to observe a representative’s listening skills. True, conversations are not being exchanged through an auditory medium. However, bringing an interaction to life with interpersonal exchanges, as well as empathizing with the client, are key tools for an agent to build rapport and trust. Paying attention here is crucial. Go Beyond the Metrics While speed to answer, length of interaction, and first call resolution statistics are useful for web-based contact, be careful not to fall prey to “tunnel vision.” The ultimate priority is customer satisfaction. Double-checking to make sure the inquiry has been answered is vital, and providing the client with additional information in case further support is needed is helpful. Equip Your Agents While professional writing skills should always be a priority, it’s even truer for live chat representatives. Agents must clearly communicate with the written word, and proper spelling, punctuation and grammar; uphold a professional image. Also, staff should be trained to quickly determine what the customers need and resolve the problem promptly, while maintaining a warm rapport. Quality Assurance for Continuous Improvement All of these practices work to improve live chat sessions. Meanwhile, it’s helpful to think of the quality monitoring process not only as a diagnostic but as a tool for crafting the interactions. Watching how clients respond in a text-based environment provides a lot of information on how to create standards, train staff, and focus on improvement. The end goal is a personalized, positive experience for customers. This blog was first published on LinkedIn.

Top Tips to Boost Your Tech Support Team

Good tech support with proper diagnosis and response is critical to customer satisfaction and a driving factor in achieving first call resolution. Make sure that you can provide the best tech support possible by implementing these six tips that will boost your tech support team and enhance their capability. Do not Jump to Conclusions. Listen Carefully and Evaluate the Problem Depending upon various factors, there could be a number of issues and causes associated with a technical problem. Therefore, it is important that the technician takes the time to ask all necessary questions. To aid in keeping customers calm, it can be helpful for technicians to explain why they must ask certain questions as they continue the troubleshooting process. This keeps the customer engaged by including them in the progression and assures them that the technician is working to address their issue. Gauge the Customer’s Technical Abilities I can’t tell you how many times I have been on the line with technical support and have repeated the same steps over and over not only myself, but with different tiers. This can become very frustrating to the user. When a tech support team member engages a customer on a reported problem, a technician may gauge a customer’s level of technical capability based on responses to specific questions. If a technician becomes aware that a customer may not be very familiar with the functionality of the equipment and/or software, it may help them in pinpointing a potential underlying issue with usage and allow the tech to respond accordingly by addressing the correct subject and not walking a user to unneeded troubleshooting procedures. On the other hand, those clients that seem quite proficient technically will need to be handled differently. Before support walks them through a seemingly endless list of procedures, it may prove beneficial to simply ask what steps they have already taken and go from there. Utilize Support Ticketing System Tickets are an important aspect of monitoring technical support and can be very useful in quickly addressing issues, especially if the customer has experienced similar instances in the past. Tickets will also provide a knowledgebase of information for future problems. In such cases, a clear support ticketing system can help a technician walk the customer through the same steps or suggest a new path, if the previous solution did not work. A proper support ticket should briefly describe: System and/or Software being used The Actual Issue Being Experienced History (If any) Date/Time Reported Contact Information Technician Assigned Known Changes (if any) Immediately Prior to Issue Once Closed (Include) Date/Time Closed Resolution Narrative Suggest Self-Service Solutions Many customers prefer the ability to find and implement solutions on their own or at their own pace. Therefore, the right self-service solutions can prove very beneficial to your technical support setup. An efficient self-service mechanism should provide solutions to common problems that customers have frequently faced in the past. Video tutorials and Knowledgebase are two of the most common self-service tools. Either way, it is a good idea to provide an a la cart format that allows individuals to narrow their search down to particular subjects, then comb through common issues and solutions associated with that topic. There should also be an option for customers to escalate to a technician should they not be able to solve the issue themselves. Going back to item (2), the technician can take the steps the customer has already taken into consideration when troubleshooting the problem. Simplify the Process Everyone loves short and sweet! Make sure the technical support process is well defined and understood by the technicians responsible for using it. It is usually best to avoid being too technical when providing solutions to customers. Whether it is self-service or technician lead, try to keep solution steps simple and to the point, and only provide step-by-step information when necessary or requested. Gathering feedback on the solutions offered is also critical to ensure their effectiveness. Feedback should come from the customers as well as the technicians themselves. Know When to Escalate It is important that technicians who serve as the first point of contact (Tier One) know when to escalate an issue to another team member or a higher tier. This is important to keep handle times down, ensure a higher percentage of First Call Resolved transactions, and drive up Customer Satisfaction Scores (CSAT). It also ensures traffic continues to flow smoothly and there is no backlog buildup. As you look to advance your tech support team, consider these tips. Not only will they help to keep your customers satisfied, but they may also help to ensure that your team runs smoothly and efficiently.

5 Ideas to Influence the Spirit of Your Contact Center

The happier your employees are, the more productive they become. You don’t want your call center employees to fall into the all too common trap of thinking that their job is boring or monotonous. Happily, there are some things you can do to influence the spirit of your contact center and turn it into an energetic and positive environment. Here are five surprisingly simple ideas: Create a Suggestion Box Your agents may have a lot on their minds, but do they feel free to express their opinions? A suggestion box gives employees an easy way to submit their thoughts. You can even make the box anonymous, which will encourage agents to be frank. Hold regular meetings to discuss which suggestions you may be able to implement into the workplace. Rotate Roles There is nothing like a fresh perspective to help your agents feel energized. Begin training employees to take on multiple roles. When they feel like they are learning something, job satisfaction will increase, and boredom will be less of an issue. This strategy can also boost retention, meaning that you spend fewer resources on juggling a revolving door of employees. Smile! It may be tough for your agents to maintain a positive outlook, particularly when they deal with irate customers. Give them a reason to smile. You can do this by printing out over sized, goofy photos. Each agent can keep one or two of these pictures at their desk so they can look up at any time and find a reason to chuckle. You can also try things like sending out funny emails and always having something encouraging to say. Use Automated Call-Backs When your call center gets busy, this can drive hold times into the stratosphere. When customers finally get to talk to an agent, they are frustrated, and the agent will have to deal with that negativity. When you use automated call-backs, hold times become a thing of the past, meaning that every conversation can begin on a positive note. Automated call-backs are also a great way to help meet the contact center’s service goals. Play Sports Boost off-site team-building by creating a few sports teams that your employees can join. Choose sports that are accessible for every level of athleticism. You’ll feel closer to your team and learn things about them that you never knew before! These fresh ideas will boost the spirit in your contact center and make your inbound & outbound call center operations as effective as possible. This blog was first published on LinkedIn.

Guarantee Outbound Sales Success with Metrics

On the surface, your call center is functioning just how it should. Your agents are regularly making calls, your employees are engaged with each other and they seem to be invested in the company. While it may appear that everything is going well, the only way to really judge your success with outbound sales is with metrics. Metrics are the cold, hard pieces of information that tell you exactly where your strengths and weaknesses lie. Call center metrics help you evaluate the value of leads, the strength of the call script, how every agent is performing, and the speed of the technology your agents are using. All of this is valuable information when it comes to making your outbound customer service calls more successful. Call Attempts and Contacts If you want to know if your team is on track, the first place to start is with the rate of calls going out per agent, per campaign and per team. This is called attempts. Once you have your data and numbers in place, you have a comparison point for future campaigns. Now look at contacts from attempts. Looking at the call contacts can help you determine which teams/agents are struggling and which are being successful. Once you’ve pinpointed which are functioning correctly, look to them to figure out how to make your other teams successful. Is it the intro they are using? Is it the technology or agent behavior like dispositioning? Is it a combination of several different things? Once you have a grasp on the data, you can implement new practices that will increase your sucess. Conversion You can make a thousand calls, but unless they turn into actual sales, your campaign will go nowhere. It’s vital that you are measuring outcomes for each lead: Not a real number or invalid Don’t call again or not interested Interested, but needs more time Not the right person to call or unqualified Successful lead converted to sale When you can compartmentalize every connection you make, you can determine if you need to improve your scripting, dialing window, offers, etc. Call Time Your agents should be spending their call time asking the correct questions, fleshing out the main points and coming up with the right solutions. While a script is important to your campaign, you must also be able to let the conversation naturally flow. Keep your agents on point and on message even as they build a relationship with the customer. The amount of time actually spent on a call can directly affect your leads that turn into real sales. Power dialing, CRMs, automation and screen pop ups help save time, but your agent needs to know how to manage their time on the phone. Metrics Forecasting Used correctly, metrics can help you forecast how your campaign will go, and give you an idea of which trends work and which don’t. Using metrics allows you to determine if you are using the right dialing systems, sales techniques, lists and call scripts. You can also set goals that are more realistic for future campaigns or jobs. Metrics can also be used to help you forecast which times of the day are busy and which are less successful. The Template Application Over time, as you pay attention to call center metrics, you can build a template that works for your call center. Adapt this template to each campaign, and your chances of success increase greatly.

Three Techniques to Take Back Control of Your Job

Self-motivation in the workplace is hard. It takes knowing yourself: your strengths and weaknesses, desires and character. Then, you have to turn that awareness into action. It takes discipline to be a self-leader. If you find yourself getting off track, a self assessment might be necessary. Ask yourself these three questions to help realign yourself with the job at hand. What Do I Want From My Job? It is important to know what you are hoping to get out of your job. Maybe you are looking for good working conditions, interesting work and promotion to a leadership position. Remember that not everyone has the same desires. Communicate with your supervisor. Tell them what you want from your job. If your immediate manager is unwilling to help, try to think of other people that might provide assistance in achieving your goals. Take control of the outcome. Now that you know what you want, focus on what it takes to get there. Do I Have Assumed Constraints? Sometimes our work environment creates constraints and sometimes we do. It is easy to become complacent. If you do the same thing over and over with the same result, you can become dejected. Don’t let these assumed constraints hold you back. Try something new. Think outside the box. Sometimes a new perspective is all you need to get past a plateau. Don’t let you be the thing that is holding you back. Am I Being a Leader in My One on One Meetings? Come to one on one meetings prepared to lead. Have an agenda prepared in advance with discussion points already laid out. Show up prepared with recommendations and solutions to problems. Take control of the meeting by leading the conversation. Don’t be content with letting the other person constantly talk over you. On the other hand, taking control and being prepared don’t mean you have to monopolize the conference. Direct the meeting in a professional manner. Listen to your colleague and respond accordingly. Having a conversation where you make your presence known without bulldozing the other person goes a long way in directing your career path without burning bridges along the way. Follow this guide to regain control of the reins. Once you know what you want and can see places you are holding yourself back, it is easier to approach each day and each circumstance with confidence and poise. Leadership requires balance in pursuing your goals. Make people want to follow you on this new path to a more successful you.

How to optimize Customer Service with Quality Monitoring Technology

Any business leader knows that maintaining good relationships with customers is critical to the success and growth of any organization. If customers are happy, they’ll continue using the services you provide. If they’re not satisfied, they’ll go elsewhere. While no business leaders or employee can completely control a customer’s actions, there are steps you can take to optimize customer service and keep clients coming back. Ensuring employees are well trained to provide excellent service will go a long way toward making customers happy. Good customer service is as important in a call center as it is anywhere else. It takes skill for agents to respond to concerns and provide answers customers are looking for. One way to train employees to perform this work effectively is to identify areas where they can improve and steps they can take to make adjustments. Call monitoring technology is available for organizations to review all calls and work with employees to get them to the levels where you need them. With monitoring software, you can record all phone interactions between customers and employees. Then you can meet with the agents one on one and go through every second of the call. By doing this, the employee can hear what mistakes they might have made as well as areas in which they excelled in taking the call. Call monitoring technology allows the employee to understand how they can ask better questions, if they need to change the tone of their voice and how their attitudes and responses can optimize customer service. I f you run a call center, you probably have firmly established protocols on how long calls should take for certain issues and what topics should be covered and avoided. Call center quality assurance is significantly enhanced when you use monitoring software. The use of call monitoring technology helps all parties involved in the call. It benefits the customer because it increases the likelihood they’ll be speaking with a better-trained agent who has learned from mistakes and gained more confidence. The customer will have a better experience and will therefore leave more satisfied. Employees will be equipped with more information and tools to make better decisions for each call. This will help them feel more comfortable in their role and will go a long way in building job satisfaction. Each phone call your call center agents take is important. Make the most of each interaction and use monitoring technology to optimize customer service in each instance. For more advice on creating a Quality Monitoring Solution that helps improve CX or if you would like to learn more about Etech, feel free to contact us at info@etechgs.com. This blog was first published on LinkedIn.

Want to Avoid Revenue Loss? Outsource Inbound Call Centers

While every company thirsts for growth, that increase in business could leave your revenue parched. It makes sense that you and your team want to handle every aspect of your booming business, but taking on too much in one area could leave other areas neglected. To balance your revenue with your business growth, consider outsourcing inbound call center services. The Truth About Call Center Services While answering the phones are considered a typical part of operating a business, employees who already have full plates may not devote as much time and attention as they should to taking care of callers. If those callers feel their needs aren’t being met, or that they’re being rushed off of the phone in order that your employees can work on something else, they may take their calls and business to your competitors. By outsourcing your inbound call center, you and your employees don’t have to hit the pause button to answer the phone. Thoroughness Consumers often feel as if they’re treated more like nuisances and less like customers whenever they call a business. While you and your employees may not mean to be brusque over the phone, a hurried tone can easily come off this way. With outsource call center services, you can be sure customers are treated with patience in order that they get the information and time they need to know your company cares. More Than Answering Questions Another great thing about outsourcing your call center is that customer service representatives can do more than just answer questions, they can also upsell and recommend your products and services as well a gather information regarding customer buying habits. Now you’re taking full care of your customers while increasing your revenue even further. Focused Employees While the phone has to be answered, some of your team members may wish to focus solely on the job for which you hired them. Their expertise may not be in customer service, and their lack of knowledge in this area can cost you business. Once their time is freed up by not having to answer the phone, they can put the entirety of their focus on their regular duties, ensuring their responsibilities don’t fall to the wayside. An Improved Order Process Call center staff members are specifically trained to take superior care of customers and their needs. Their talents go a long way in expediting the order process for the customer, making it as efficient as possible. Once your customers realize how quick and easy it is to order from you, they’re bound to keep coming back for more. Reduced Stress Depending on how many phone calls your business gets a day, your employees can easily feel stressed and burned out attempting to juggle phone calls and take care of their other duties. This often results in poor work performance and compromised job satisfaction. With outsourcing, you take care of both your customers and your employees. You have much more to gain than just revenue by outsourcing inbound call center services. Try it for yourself to explore the full range of benefits.

Moving Beyond Intrinsic Motivation

For years, the leading theory in motivation has involved extoling the virtues of intrinsic motivation over extrinsic motivation. However, the latest research indicates that even intrinsic motivation is not enough to gain optimal performance in the workplace. The newest results of research points out the legitimacy of moving beyond intrinsic motivation and assigning value to the work they do. As many people know, extrinsic motivation is based on tangible rewards that a person receives. This type of motivation occurs outside of the individual and can include fiduciary rewards such as money or emotional rewards, such as favoritism or an alteration of behavior based on what is received. Research has always pointed to the failings of extrinsic motivation as a temporary measure that cannot be sustained long term. The reason for these failings are two-fold: motivation will lag once the reward is removed or increasingly larger rewards have to be granted in order to sustain motivation. Another threat to extrinsic motivation is that the individual will start to feel overwhelmed by the work. Traditional studies on motivation point to intrinsic motivation as long-term and sustainable. Intrinsic motivation theory relies on the fact that good feeling of accomplishment. Intrinsic motivation is internalized to the individual and relies on the principle that work is its own reward. Therefore, it is considered more sustainable and long term. However, modern research suggests that while intrinsic motivation is important, it is not the end of the motivational spectrum. Modern leadership theory holds that in order for a person to truly remain motivated, that a sense of ownership must be involved. This increased sense of ownership creates three sets of optimal performance: Alignment, where an individual’s goals are in synchronization with that of the company. With alignment, ownership is implied because the person strives to what is in the best interest of the company and sees that as the same interest he or she holds. Integration, where implied ownership exists because the person sees an organizations goals as meaningful and purposeful. Inherent, where the company’s goals follow instinctual goals of the individual. Ownership is apparent because the goals of the company fall in line with the individual’s sense of self. In terms of employee motivation, moving beyond intrinsic motivation involves the positive influence of encouraging workers to take ownership of their work. In many ways, this ownership can be likened to that of any ownership relationship versus that of leasing. Owners tend to invest more time and care into something that belongs to them, assigning it value based on that stock that they have. Employees who value their product and see it as an extension of themselves will produce more in less time and of better quality.

Canned Responses: an Important Tool for Live Support

There’s no question that live chat is a robust channel for customer engagement and resolution. Besides training staff to handle each contact in a professional and personable manner, it’s important to consider that some common interactions may benefit from pre-written scripts designed for rapid answers. For example, a live chat quick response may be appropriate if it’s a simple question about return policies, bill payment methods or refunds. During a session, it’s vital to give agents access to a bank of these responses to aid them in speedy yet complete resolution. Ready When Your Agents Are A “canned response” is a short script written ahead of time with enough details to assist the customer with an inquiry. If a live chat platform supports an in-application database of these scripts, this is especially useful. With some simple navigation, representatives can import the text into their chat sessions. Shorting response times and reducing the probability of errors and typos are just a couple of the benefits. Know When to Use Them A mix of personal interaction with a live chat quick response is ideal. The experience is still built around the needs of the client, while offering the benefits of speed and accuracy to both customer and representative. Then, live chat support becomes a powerful resource and medium, and is best positioned to serve customers. When drafting your pre-written scripts, craft greetings to be short, simple and professional. Also, include some appropriate replies for common situations, such as: Finding more information Admitting a mistake — and offering to correct it Telling a customer that he or she is unable to comply with the request and Involving other staff to obtain a resolution. Also, draft text to address typically questions — for example, items that might be found in a business’ frequently asked questions (FAQ) file. Don’t forget that a simple yet cordial wrap-up is also needed. Ideally, the text should encourage the client to reach out to the company again if additional support is required. A Bit of Discretion It’s vital for agents to understand appropriate scenarios in which a live chat quick response should be used. Everyday questions are fine, but for more complex situations, it’s best to rely on more customized personal responses. Not everything can be handled with a scripted reply, and it’s important for representatives to remember this. Live chat support is one of the most powerful tools in a contact center. In addition to providing a speedy and convenient channel for customers to reach a business, it’s also an opportunity to build rapport with them. As one of the many resources in web chat, canned responses are key time-saving items that add to positive customer-business relationships. This blog was first published on LinkedIn.

Five Steps to Qualify for a Job Interview

There is no doubt that interviewing for a job is a stressful experience. It can feel like you are being judged, and, in a way, you are. Remember that your interviewer is a person too. Most hiring managers are looking for a qualified employee who can be trusted to do the job well. Stand strong behind your qualifications, and present yourself in a confident and trustworthy manner. There are some basics of interviewing that will help you build that trust in an interview. Proofread Your Resume There is no excuse for spelling errors or grammatical mistakes in your resume. Take the time to thoroughly proofread it before sending it to prospective employers. Careless mistakes on a resume reflect poorly on your attention to detail and cast doubt on your work quality. Go beyond spellcheck and grammar check on your word processor. Take the time to read your resume out loud. Have another person review it; they are more likely to catch mistakes you have looked over. Take advantage of tools like grammarly.com, and start out on the right foot. Research the Company Do your research. There is a lot to be said for a candidate that cares enough to know the company he or she is interviewing for. Scan over the LinkedIn profiles of your interviews. This simple step goes a long way to build trust. Educating yourself on an organization also gives you the confidence to answer questions in a way that relates back to the company and its goals and objectives. Be Humbly Confident You are there to show off your expertise, but do it in a gregarious and professional fashion. Assuming you know more than your interviewer and bashing them over the head with your knowledge will get you nowhere. Focus on using “we” language instead of “me” language. Tell about your group projects and collaborating with team members. Give credit where credit is due. Be Honest and Transparent Be honest about your skills. Do not be able to shine a little light on your weaknesses as well as your strengths. A certain level of vulnerability comes across as genuine and authentic. But don’t be afraid to explain how the awareness of weaknesses has actually strengthened you. Send a Thank You Note Thank you notes are not a thing of the past. Follow-up quickly with an electronic note. It doesn’t hurt to send a handwritten note soon after as well. This solidifies you in your interviewer’s mind and shows you truly care. This gesture goes a long way in this fast paced world. These trust-boosting behaviors will leave your prospective employer confident in your abilities. Enter your next interview with your head held high because you have followed these simple tips.

Four Things to Know Before Merging AI to CX

Before you make the switch to utilizing bots which can be more cost effective and less frustrating to deal with, it is vital to keep in mind that they are a means to an end. Implementing them into your current strategy can be advantageous, but keep the following things in mind before merging artificial intelligence in customer service to CX. Not all customers will be satisfied One thing to keep in mind is that introducing bots into your strategy is not for everyone. It is true that now is the time for implementation and some people are open to the idea of dealing with bots, however, not all people are not convinced. Some prefer to deal with humans and will not be satisfied solely communicating with robots. Keep in mind also that despite your belief that the customers will not be able to tell, this is not true and it is wise to have a human being ready to take over for a customer who is frustrated with a robot. It is crucial to script your bot correctly If the bots are not set up properly, the customers will more likely become frustrated. Bots run mainly on scripts because they are not as sophisticated as Al-driven machines. If the script of a bot takes a customer astray, they will become even more frustrated and this can have detrimental effects on your business and reputation. In some cases, customers may even start to migrate to alternative companies and spread the work that their experience on the phone was frustrating. Bots are an agent’s best friend When a bot is capable of taking care of part of the call such as confirming an order or resetting a password, this helps avoid wasting the agents time and keeps them available to answer more specific customer questions or concerns. Bots are not able to provide care to customers Despite common beliefs, it is not possible to form relationships with bots and customers may miss the experience of connecting with a human being on the phone. When there is only one person, the emotional element of the conversation is missing and this can affect the customer’s overall experience. It is undeniable that people appreciate the value of human interactions. Carefully implementing bots into your current strategy can be beneficial to both your profits and the company as a whole. It is important to keep in mind, however, that the value of human interactions is priceless and delivering a high quality customer experience should be a top priority.

6 Strategies to Optimize Call Center Quality Assurance

Quality assurance involves maintaining a desired level of quality and it is crucial for your call center to be aware of the ways to do this. In order to optimize call center quality assurance, take advantage of these six strategies. Focus on quality as a behavior One strategy to utilize is to evaluate the quality of your agents during training. Keeping them informed about the call selection process and telling them how well they are doing will keep them more engaged with the calls and more willing to improve. QA evaluations also allow you to measure the performance of your agents. Use analytics Another strategy is to use analytics to your advantage to find higher value calls. A few examples of higher value calls include calls that were tagged by an agent, called that were placed multiple times, calls which involved transfers, calls that were extremely long or short and calls that were directed to specific numbers within a small time frame. When you are able to pinpoint high value calls, you can detect issues you’re having and correct them accordingly. Automate QA workflow Something else to consider is to classify calls and collect data which can help determine criteria for quality monitoring. An automated QA workflow helps monitor calls with long handle times and identifies specific causes. Once again, you can pinpoint issues and decipher where the main problem lies. It can also help monitor calls with a lot of transfers and help you determine if customers are even calling the right numbers. Increase agent feedback Another strategy to consider is to speed up the feedback you give to agents. A few ways to do this is to make QA evaluations more frequent, allow the agent to have time before the call to review some information, provide call reviews on a regular basis, implement peer to peer coaching or even rotate the coaches to keep your agents from getting bored or comfortable with the same supervisor. Frequent calibration sessions A fifth way to optimize call center quality assurance is to schedule calibration sessions more frequently. This can eliminate the differences between supervisors on how they view various skills and agents may be less likely to object their ratings based on specific supervisors. Auto-scoring Lastly, you can use a speech analytics tool to use auto-scoring. Speech analytics software allows for you to set up buckets for various categories such as greeting, call recording disclaimer, contact terms and more. Utilizing these six strategies and focusing on improving call center quality monitoring can improve your call center and enhance the excellence of your agents as well as improve your customers’ experiences on the phone. This blog was first published on LinkedIn.

5 Steps to Increase Efficiency and Effectiveness in Your Quality Monitoring System

When quality monitoring for a call center is only focused on problem detection and resolution, it falls short of its full potential. A methodology that also identifies opportunities for building customer loyalty is essential for supervisors, upper management and strategic planners. These advanced, robust technologies should not forgo the “personal touch” — in fact, they are ideal opportunities to better incorporate it. These suggestions will aid anyone seeking to successfully fine-tune a call center quality assurance system. Make Sure Basic Protocols Are Followed Quality monitoring is a vital tool for ensuring that best practices in a contact center are observed. Placing new agents — as well as continuous improvement for current representatives — involves follow-up to determine if additional training is required. It is important to make sure agents get the basic protocols for call handling right, such as greeting, putting callers on hold, engaging the caller while researching information, and closing the call. With observation, it is easier to catch undesirable practices before they stick. Use Metrics Effectively Information does no good unless it is actually applied. Once gathered, it should be leveraged in order to train and develop agents as well as improve overall center performance. Call length, speed of answer, first time resolution percentage rates and other data can also be used to set performance standards, which can be evaluated and retooled as needed. Create Systems Gradually It is tempting to jump in feet first, but this can lead to being easily overwhelmed and decreases changes of meaningful application from a quality monitoring approach. Staring with simple monitoring is always a good start, and it assists with creating the building blocks for a future call center quality assurance plan. Make Data and Feedback Available Information and training intersect well when performance statistics are not only shared, but used to improve agent performance and motivate representatives who already demonstrate high levels of call handling and resolution skills. Group sessions are great for sharing best practices, and individual metrics can be used in performance reviews as well as awarding incentives. Build a Specialized QA Team Assembling a quality management team is crucial for operations. Once it is in place, these individuals must be given the necessary training and support. Identifying internal staff for this team or hiring externally based on needed skillsets are both options. Implementing call center quality assurance can often be a challenge. However, a properly executed system provides a host of benefits. Ensuring basic protocols are followed, using metrics effectively, building gradually, using the data and building a QA team are all keys in a successful plan.

Getting Smart With: Project Implementation

When project managers plot out a course for a project, they all too often take missteps that ultimately result in a project’s failure. Managers may have to deal with an unrealistic outlook, limited resources, a budget that is less than ideal, and other factors that can sabotage a project’s success. With so many obstacles in front of a project, whether that project is call center campaign implementation or anything else, how can a manager set up his or her team for success? These five best practices may help: Objectively Analyze Issues All aspects of the project should be analyzed objectively, without emotion and with a focus on clarity. This means that the project manager needs to always consider the interests of third-party vendors, stakeholders, and everyone else who is involved. This process should continue throughout the project’s duration. Create a Realistic Schedule Call center management is a delicate balancing act; you want to be optimistic about reaching objectives, but you don’t want to be so optimistic that you set yourself up for failure. Take into account the project’s limitations and potential roadblocks so you can draft a production schedule that aligns with your goals and does not put undue pressure on you. Keep a close eye on the project’s progress, and regularly discuss key dates in the project with your team. Use Real Time Monitoring Unless you constantly stay on top of a project’s progress, you may think that all is well when it is really not. How have things gone so far? Are all the pieces in place for the next phase of the project? Use metrics and other indicators so you have a clear view of both the project’s past and future. Set and Manage Expectations Avoid setting your heart on overly optimistic deployment dates and unrealistic goals for deliverables. Don’t put on your rose-colored glasses. From the get-go, set practical goals for each stage of the project, and make sure that everyone involves understands these goals and keeps them in mind. You don’t want your team to get bogged down by everyday details and forget the project’s overall objective. Take Advantage of External Audits Getting a fresh perspective from someone outside the project can help you objectively monitor its progress. You can also get new ideas on how to improve implementation, and you may get the reassurance you need to set aside any doubts and misgivings you have. Try to find a true implementation expert to help with these audits. Project success is never a given, but the above best practices can make it more likely that you’ll reach your goals.

5 Call Center Vendor Management Best Practices

As the call center vendor manager, you have a company’s success balanced on your shoulders. While the business has its share of risks, you want to make sure to minimize those risks as much as possible. After all, not only is the business at stake but so is your reputation. Here are five practices that will help you succeed. Assess Compatibility of Values When it comes down to talking to a vendor, you need to make sure that the vendor’s values align with the company’s. The best way to check this out is to take a look at their website and find out what their mission is. Look into their social media and get a feel for the organization. The more information that you can learn about the company, the more you’ll understand what’s important to them. This can help with communication and trust in the future. Establish Prices Right Away If a vendor is secretive about the price of their services, this is a big red flag. During those first conversations, you want everything to be laid out on the table. Their prices and agendas shouldn’t come as a surprise later on. You should also follow this advice and be completely transparent. If a vendor is honest, what do they have to hide? Push Boundaries and Ask Questions Have you ever been in a conversation and thought to yourself: this is too good to be true? It’s important for you to look at your potential vendor’s critically. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Even if they seem to be saying all of the right things and don’t have any flaws, you need to push those limits. Ask the hard questions so that you can see their true colors. Track Quality and Set Goals One of the keys to call center vendor management is to make sure that you know what goals your vendor has. It’s hard to get anything accomplished without a plan as to where you might be going. Talk to your vendors regularly, track their progress, quality and make sure that you’re all on the same side. Discuss Vendor Time Commitments Time management is critical to success. As a call center vendor manager you should stay on top of your vendors. Make sure that they follow through with their goals and time commitments. This will keep productivity rolling. When it comes to vendor management, it’s important that you keep success at the forefront of your mind. Hopefully, with these five practices, you will be able to meet your goals alongside your vendors.

Top Five Secrets of Vendor Management

Today’s economy is vastly different from that of the past, and it requires an increased attention to building and maintaining meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships. Not only do you need to build relationships with your customer base, but you should also make every effort to create strong relationships with your vendors. Here are a few tips to help you get started with ideal vendor management. The Relationship Is Everything When working on building trust between your company and the supplier, make sure to be completely open, honest, and professional. There is simply no room for anything else in supplier relationships. By listening to your suppliers’ concerns and keeping them involved in your process, you’ll increase your chance of strengthening your relationship and keeping your supplier around for the long haul. Identify Weaknesses In order to continue to grow as a company, you must be able to take a careful look at your successes and weaknesses. Work with your supplier and regularly evaluate the supplier data to pinpoint weaknesses in both companies. By doing this, you’ll both be able to improve your businesses, and together, you’ll be stronger. Build a Partnership Call center vendor management relies upon a partnership with your suppliers. When you treat your suppliers like the valuable partners they are, both parties will benefit. Benefits from creating a strong partnership include a willingness to collaborate, higher quality outcomes, dependability, and reduced costs. Increased Opportunities If you’re hoping for financial prosperity, you’re most likely to achieve this when you have a relationship with your vendors. Supplier relationship management often results in lower risks, higher efficiency, and increased financial benefit for all parties. All businesses tend to thrive when there’s a collaborative effort on all accounts, from managers, to employees, to suppliers. Do your best to connect and maintain positive relationships with everyone you work with, and you’re on your way to a successful business. Use the Technology Available Technology is evolving quickly, and there are many different systems you can use to simplify the process. SRM technology can be extremely helpful to both your company and the supplier, as valuable information is at your fingertips in an easy to digest presentation. With the data you need just a click away, make sure to routinely analyze this information to get the most out of supplier relationships. By utilizing the technology available to you, you’ll be able to keep your communication with suppliers strong and continually evolve your business to improve upon weak areas.

7 Incorrect Ways of Call Quality Monitoring

Keeping your customer service quality at the top of its game is an important tool for your company’s continued growth. This truth drives the central purpose of call quality monitoring, which is to ensure that customers get what they need in an accessible, professional way every time they call. Maintaining this standard is about more than just developing quality assurance evaluation criteria that work for your customers. It is also about making sure you avoid these seven major missteps that take your call quality in the wrong direction. Monitoring Only Agents IVR systems are a major point of customer dissatisfaction in a lot of situations where call centers wind up getting less than stellar reviews. By monitoring when customers opt out of the IVR system, when they hang up, and how they use it to complete their calls without needing an agent, you are able to build a better idea of how it is working for you, and eventually a better system. Without that information, you will never even know if your IVR is the problem. Failing to Provide Training and Support The entire purpose of call quality monitoring is defeated if employees receive ratings and feedback but not training and support to effect change. If you want to see real results from your quality team, they need to use feedback as a pivot, moving from issues into direct strategies employees can use to be successful. Yes/No Evaluation Criteria Just like a failure to provide training, a failure to provide nuanced feedback really keeps employees from following through on quality goals and improvements, because it doesn’t provide them with the information they need to successfully navigate the situation. Failing to Get Agents on Your Side Your quality program is only as good as its support within the department. If agents view quality feedback as policing, or as unproductive, then they tend not to follow through with the steps needed to grow and to attain the objectives that define the purpose of call quality monitoring. This means that in a situation where you do not have the backing of the agents, it is likely that quality assurance is not working at all. Individualized Interpretation of Guidelines This is an issue for any organization, but if you hold regular calibration sessions, it does not need to be. Most employees will do their best with guidelines and instructions, but only by reviewing the expectations together in an environment that allows for questions to be asked and clarification given can you be sure everyone is understanding the goals and procedures in the same way. Being Secretive Your best results are obtained when employees understand how and why they are being evaluated, as well as what to do with the information they receive. By being secretive about sampling, monitoring, or any other aspect of your ongoing evaluations, you only work against your own objectives. Failing to Reward Staff for Improved Satisfaction Last but not least, quality programs fall apart when staff does not feel invested in quality. That means that when your program starts to reach its objectives, you reward the agents and other staff involved in making it to this new benchmark. By steering clear of these seven wrong ways to do quality monitoring, you begin to carve a path toward a sustainable, consistently improving quality program. This blog was first published on LinkedIn.

Enhance Call Center Productivity With HR Involvement

If you run a call center, your main focus is probably on efficiency at all costs. Of course, call centers rely on efficiency to gain the best results, but you might be surprised by how to attain a high level of efficiency from employees. Improve Employee Morale Call centers are notorious for producing unhappy employees, and in turn, productivity suffers. Some call centers attempt to break the cycle of disinterested employees by implementing a rewards system for placing more calls. However, this often backfires, as the pressure to make more calls increases and the employees actually end up feeling more discouraged than before. While incentives have the potential to work well, bringing in a strong HR team to a call center environment has a much bigger chance to have a positive result on employees. Create Happy Staff The ultimate goal of HR in any company is to create a work environment that both employees and employers can feel comfortable in. Without a qualified and experienced HR team in place, it’s likely that your workplace will suffer. It’s essential that every employee be treated fairly as a valued member of the team to keep call center productivity high. In call centers, it’s easy for these employees to simply feel like a cog in the machine. This leads to a drop in meaningful work, and the final result is a blow to the company as a whole. If your main priority is keeping your employees happy, take the steps toward hiring an HR team to help you reach your goals. Change Your Business to Reflect Customer Needs As customers continue to enjoy engagement with companies, call centers are wise to change their policies to reflect this desire. In order for employees to be effective in all channels of communication, HR should step in to provide training and guidance. When every employee is confident in his or her abilities and is excited about the work, your business will thrive. Act Quickly If you do not currently have an HR team for your call center, consider starting the process to hire an HR leader immediately. However, be sure to take some time to conduct a bit of research on what to look for in HR professionals before hiring. For best results, consider applicants with previous experience in HR, or those with HR or communications degrees. Once you add a team of HR professionals to your workplace, it’s likely that you’ll notice a change in call center employee engagement.

3 Ways to Create Authentic and Relevant Connection with Your Team

In order to have an authentic connection with people at your workplace, you need to show a certain level of vulnerability. Your leadership journey should start with a Leadership Point of View. Wickline describes this in an August issue of Blanchard Ignite as a story about, “. . .the people and events that have shaped who you are. It also speaks to your values, your beliefs and what drives you as a leader.” This is not always easy. Many people find opening up to be scary and emotional. Wickline suggests a couple of first steps to get you started on your journey. Take Time to Reflect Look back on where you’ve been and how you gained your current perspectives and values. Your past is part of your leadership journey as well as your present. Reflecting back gives you a lot on insight into who you are now. Even Wickline gained value from this exercise. “When I started working on my Leadership Point of View, I had to think long and hard about my current attitudes and how they came to be. For example, when somebody tells me I can’t do something, I immediately fight against that and do whatever it takes to prove them wrong. Where on earth did that come from?” Tell A Story Many times reflecting back will bring to light stories. Stories help you connect with people. An employee relationship is easy to build when you present your authentic self through these successes and failures. Wickline expounds on the importance of stories: “People remember stories. If I just say, ‘Here is a list of things I think are important,’ people won’t remember that. But when I tell stories about experiences I’ve had or share something I learned from my mom or dad, it makes a connection.” Creating a Deeper Connection As you open up to people, they will start responding to you. A leader is more than just a boss. A leader is someone you respect and want to follow. Through your stories you allow people to connect with you in a more meaningful way. Your leadership experience helps guide others in their own journey. Good things to share include life events that have shaped you, people who have influenced you and everyday happenings that keep you motivated. Wickline shares the benefits of this process by saying, “People who put the time and energy into this process consistently look back on the experience as something that helped them rediscover the values and beliefs they hold dear. Sharing your story with your team creates a deep connection.” So don’t be afraid to share a bit of yourself and allow yourself to be vulnerable every now and then.

Is Your Call Calibration Integrated to QA Scoring and Coaching?

During a call center interaction between a representative and customer, a third participant sometimes monitors the call to ensure quality. This is called call calibration, and it is a very effective way to ensure that the quality of your customer service remains high. Businesses score the quality of the call using the call quality guidelines and quality monitoring form to provide representatives with feedback. If there is a problem with your call calibration, it will inevitably lead to customer service issues. Read the information below to determine if your call calibration is properly integrated with your coaching and scoring technique. The Benefits of a Uniform Approach Your calibration sessions will only be helpful if everyone has agreed to adhere to a single set of standards and objectives. If all participants have not agreed, there will be no uniform scoring method. It can take a while for your workers to adjust to a uniform set of guidelines, but once they do, your calibration sessions will allow you to enjoy the following benefits. Calls are measure consistently, regardless of which calibration professional scores it. Call monitors understand how to properly evaluate calls and adhere to performance standards and objectives. Representatives or agents receive fast, consistent feedback regardless of which QA monitor issues it. Calls are evaluated uniformly by all supervisors and QA monitors. Coaching improves because everyone is on the same page and uses the same approach. Tips for Successful Calibration Sessions There are numerous ways to ensure that your call calibration sessions are successful, including the following. Classify the nature of your calls, and select them according to your own QA needs. Devote at least one hour to each calibration session. If you need to determine which participants need coaching, send a copy of the recorded call to a QA monitor, and have them score it prior to the session independently. Record these independent scores for your own records. Have a single person give a summary of the call. Discuss variations in scores and review objectives with participants. Once a call is scored, ask the scorer for an explanation. Summarize lessons learned at the end of each session. Help each member understand whether or not they met the standards, and review the standards after each discussion. Take notes for future reference and for your own records. Prior to each session, go over the Call Quality Guide. Scores may vary, but you should always set an acceptable variance standard. Once the participants get used to the new guide, you can lower the window of variance to five points or less. If you are utilizing recorded calls, you may want to post the scores so that any variance will stand out. If you prefer to utilize live calls, you can have the participants score them one at a time. Just be sure that you go over the results with each scorer. Review the guide with participants before the start of each calibration session. Following the tips above will help you make the most of your calibration sessions. It will also ensure that the participants have a non-confrontational and supportive environment to voice their opinions and concerns in. This blog was first published on LinkedIn.

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