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Feb 02, 2023 Melissa Gilbertson

How to Work With Your Call Center Agents for Optimal Performance

Agents blogCustomer service representatives are the front-line workers of any business. They interact with customers, address their inquiries, handle their complaints and play a crucial role in a company’s overall customer experience

That’s why it’s essential to work closely with your call center agents to ensure they are doing the best job they can to help your customers and represent your brand. With that in mind, here are four ways you can optimize the performance of your agents

1. Share information

Proper training is the foundation of any successful call center, and agents should be trained in a variety of customer service skills, such as active listening, empathy, and conflict resolution. But they also need to be knowledgeable about the products or services they are representing. 

It’s important to provide your customer service representatives with the information they need to succeed. By sharing information about these products and services, businesses can help ensure that call center agents are able to provide accurate and up-to-date information to customers.

To help agents speak passionately about the company, information such as company history, mission, and values, should also be shared with agents. By sharing this information, businesses can help call center agents understand the context in which they are working and better align their efforts with the goals of the company.

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2. Set clear expectations

Setting clear expectations is a vital aspect of ensuring a successful partnership between businesses and call centers. It is important for both parties to understand what is expected of them and what their responsibilities are in delivering excellent customer service.

Service level agreements (SLAs) are one way to set clear expectations if you are working with an outsourced call center. SLAs outline the minimum level of service that a call center must provide, such as response times, resolution rates, and call handling procedures. By setting clear SLAs, businesses can ensure that the call center is meeting their expectations for customer service.

For internal teams, it’s important to analyze and evaluate agent performance. Understanding agent strengths and weaknesses will give you the actionable insights you need to deliver targeted training and improve performance even further. 

Call handling procedures are another important aspect of setting clear expectations. These procedures outline the steps that call center representatives must follow when handling customer calls, such as how to handle difficult customer situations, how to de-escalate issues, and how to transfer calls. By setting clear call handling procedures, businesses can ensure that call center representatives are providing consistent and effective customer service.

3. Establish open communication

Establishing open communication is key to ensuring a successful working relationship with your agents. This requires regular and transparent communication, where both parties feel comfortable sharing information and providing feedback to each other.

Regular status updates can help businesses stay informed on data surrounding customer satisfaction, response times, resolution rates, helping your business to better measure the success of your customer service program.

During these meetings, businesses can also provide call center representatives with updates on new products or services, changes to existing offerings, and any relevant information that will help them better serve customers. Call center representatives can provide feedback on customer needs and preferences.

Additionally, these meetings can provide an opportunity for both teams to identify areas for improvement and to establish action plans for addressing any gaps in customer service. By working together, businesses and call centers can ensure that everyone is on the same page and working towards the common goal of delivering exceptional customer experiences.

4. Take feedback seriously 

Customer feedback is a crucial component in delivering the best customer service. Call centers are often the first point of contact for customers, so they have a unique vantage point to gather customer feedback and insights. When businesses receive this information, they have an opportunity to improve their offerings and address any pain points that customers are experiencing.

By taking customer feedback seriously, businesses can ensure that they are making data-driven decisions to continuously improve their products and services. 

Working closely with call center agents is essential to delivering exceptional customer service. By following these best practices, you can ensure your call center agents are well-equipped to handle customer inquiries, leading to increased customer satisfaction and a stronger, more successful business.

Interested in learning more about optimizing agent performance, or want to find out how an experienced outsourced contact center can improve your customer service efforts? Contact Advantage Communications today.

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Published by Melissa Gilbertson February 2, 2023
Melissa Gilbertson