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Call centers are large, complex organizations that receive or transmit massive volumes of telephone calls every day. Inbound call centers are used to provide individualized support to customers for their inquiries about specific products or services. These phone calls are fielded by call center agents.
Call center success depends on many different factors, but one of the first things to consider is who the contact center agents are and whether or not they know how to interact with customers.
Important skills and qualities to consider in an agent include:
• active listening
• effective communication
• enthusiasm or positivity
• problem-solving mindset
Successful call centers are also impacted by objectives. It’s important to know how and what KPIs are measured to determine if the objectives are met. Metrics like customer satisfaction levels, hold times, first call resolution rates, the average speed of answer, and agent turnover rate are all important to keep track of in customer support call centers.
Finally, call center managers are important in the key to success. It’s important to consider how they organize and support their agents on a day-to-day basis. Do they support a customer-centric customer journey or are they more concerned with the bottom line, treating employees poorly and looking for any opportunity to cut operating costs?
Contact center jobs can be difficult and fast-paced. Managers should prioritize hiring people who always have the customer experience in mind and who enjoy interacting with others. By selecting the best people for the job, you can reduce employee turnover.
Building a knowledge management base for employees will help empower them to perform their jobs to the best of their ability. By providing them with the latest information on how to resolve common issues, you can ensure that the service level from agents is top-notch. Using knowledge management tools like ViiBE with your CRM will help customer service interactions go as smoothly and efficiently as possible.
A job is made so much easier or more difficult simply based on the tools that are available to employees to complete their missions. Call centers need a good CRM as well as interoperable tools that facilitate easy customer interactions. ViiBE’s real-time video assistance solution helps agents escalate issues when a phone call isn’t sufficient to solve complex problems. It has a ticket archiving system that integrates seamlessly with CRMs so that support tickets can be easily updated with documents, photos, videos, and comments from support interactions.
The key to success in call centers is to constantly look for areas of improvement. There are so many factors that contribute to the success of a call center, so it is important to analyze all areas, from hiring, management practices, the tools used, and how employees are supported and kept up-to-date with the latest customer support information.
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