Call Center Software | Calibration & Remote Supervisors | Envision
Feb 27, 2007

Calibration & Remote Supervisors
Posted by: Connie Smith

Measurement: Flickr photo courtesy of Walkabout Wolf













During today's Webinar with Andrew Roberts of Free & Clear®, one of our guests inquired about making sure that evaluations between home-based supervisors and supervisors within the corporate offices were consistent.

As a best practice, I would say that the key to consistent evaluations, regardless of where supervisors are physically located, is calibration. I have written a few entries in the past about calibration that you may want to reference as you are setting up your QA programs:

Ultimately, your program will be most successful if you have open lines of communication and hold regular calibration sessions.

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flickr photo courtesy of Walkabout Wolf

 
Calibration & Remote Supervisors - 4:43 PM | General | Add Comment (0) |
Feb 21, 2007

Customer Service
Posted by: Connie Smith

Today, Seth Godin wrote a blog entry titled Starting Over with Customer Service. In his entry, Godin states that companies are getting bogged down by the rush to get customer service done in "real time." In an age of social networking and media, single incidents of customer service gone right or wrong now circle the globe. Which is all the more reason why contact center agents are called to "get it right," servicing the customer in a timely and courteous fashion.

In this day in age, we have many tools to empower agents to deliver legendary customer service in real-time. The voice of the customer can be delivered across the enterprise and issues (or "wows and saves") can be recognized and rerouted immediately. As Godin suggests, you can collect customer data on the front lines--in the contact center--and deliver the voice of the customer anywhere within the enterprise. Decision makers can now hear exactly what it is the customers are demanding straight from the source. Agents are even empowered to forward calls to their supervisors with the press of a button. On the flip side, as issues are identified through communications within the contact center, managers can create and distribute training clips directly to the agent desktops. This keeps agents informed and better prepared to meet (and exceed) customer needs, providing legendary customer experiences.

What do you think? Can we provide legendary customer experiences given the infrastructures that companies have today, or should we truly start over with customer service centers?

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Customer Service - 4:11 PM | Coaching & Agent Effectiveness | Add Comment (0) |
Streamlining Evaluation Forms
Posted by: Connie Smith

Flickr photo courtesy of Emily's Mind








I was recently asked by one of our customers for assistance in streamlining their current evaluation form. I was happy to hear that they wanted to streamline, as I am a big believer in only measuring what matters and simplifying whenever possible. If you are considering streamlinling your existing evaluation form, here is an article that will help you re-evaluate your existing evaluation form and hopefully make changes for the better!



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flickr photo courtesy of Emily's Mind.

 
Streamlining Evaluation Forms - 10:19 AM | Call Center Best Practices | Add Comment (0) |
Feb 14, 2007

QA Programs: Beyond Big Brother
Posted by: Connie Smith

Flickr photo courtesy of Limna








Yesterday, Tom Vander Well wrote a great post about the reasons why you should start a QA program. He spoke of companies who argue against QA programs and call monitoring because they’ve “done fine” in the past without monitoring calls.
 
I couldn’t agree with Tom’s commentary more. Those that believe quality monitoring is a “Big Brother Program” aren’t doing it for the right reasons. Sure, you will catch things the CSRs shouldn’t be doing, but the purpose is to evaluate, coach and develop agents so that they are more successful, confident and comfortable in their jobs. As they progress, so will your efficiencies, performance and satisfaction scores.
 
Also, if companies have their QA programs set up correctly then they will have properly aligned their evaluation criteria to their department goals and they can use the quality program to drive results. For instance, if a company is trying to increase sales then what type of criteria would be beneficial to evaluate and coach to?
How about:

  1. Asking probing questions
  2. Identifying customer needs
  3. Asking for the sale
By evaluating and coaching to these skills, you will see an increase in sales.  
 
There are plenty of ways that you can get creative with quality monitoring and I would encourage all of us to step back and make sure that we’re setting up our QA programs for the right reasons – so that we can reward a job well done and coach agents to perform up to their potential.

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flickr photo courtesy of Limna.

 
QA Programs: Beyond Big Brother - 4:03 PM | Coaching & Agent Effectiveness | Add Comment (0) |
Feb 09, 2007

Attracting Top Contact Center Talent
Posted by: Connie Smith

I recently received a phone call from a call center manager asking how to attract more frontline reps to their company.  With unemployment rates at an all-time low in many parts of the country, I’m guessing this might be a problem for many of you.  My recommendation was to work with your internal marketing and HR departments to come up with a campaign to introduce your company, job openings and benefits of joining your team.  Be creative. Recently, one of the large centers in my area invited candidates out on a dinner boat cruise where they could get to know one another, talk to current personnel and learn more about the company.

Do you have any ideas that you would like to share when it comes to attracting possible job candidates? Here are a few online resources that may help you set-up a contact center program that attracts top agents to your company:

 

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Attracting Top Contact Center Talent - 12:45 PM | Coaching & Agent Effectiveness | Add Comment (1) |
Feb 02, 2007

Supporting Home-Based Agents
Posted by: Connie Smith

Home Office: Flickr photo courtesy of Scott C.








One of the questions that was posed during this week's Envision Exchange centered around supporting home-based agents when they have system breakdowns or issues. Here are the responses that I heard:

  • Some companies put home-based agents through basic IT training so that they can handle minor IT issues that come up
  • Many have a support number for home-based agents to call into for home-based support
  • Some local home-based workers are asked to bring their computers in to be looked at
  • Some companies will send IT support out if the issue cannot be resolved remotely
I do think this is one of the top considerations when developing a home-based program and procedures and guidelines would need to be put into place for when system issues occur. What is your company doing to support home-based agents' systems?

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flickr photo courtesy of Hummy

 
Supporting Home-Based Agents - 2:32 PM | Call Center Best Practices | Add Comment (0) |