April 13, 2017
In a contact/call center environment, much of the work that an agent performs on a daily basis is non-cooperative. They field calls on their own, handle customer complains on their own, and sometimes even drive sales on their own. While this provides an agent with a bit of autonomy in their approach, it can lead to agents feeling uncertain about their job performance. It can be difficult to tell which of their coworkers are performing well and how they stack up. This can lead to confusion and conflict if an agent is one day told that they need to step up their performance.
To counteract this dynamic, we recommend utter transparency in the contact/call center, and this is best achieved through workforce management solutions.
Utter Transparency and Data Analytics
The strategy is simple. At every step and in every way possible, be completely transparent.
- During the Interview: When a new applicant is brought in for an interview, explain the job accurately, thoroughly, and without sugar-coating. Tell them what the job requirements are, what the performance metrics are, and what will be expected of them daily. This provides them with baseline expectations and a clear understanding of the role, should they accept the position.
- In the Trenches: As an agent works, give them open access to their performance metrics. Allow them to view, at their own discretion, how many calls they have fielded that day, average time per call, average response rate, and any other key performance indicators (KPIs) the agent is accountable for. This gives the agent full awareness of how well they are performing and whether they need to push harder to meet standards.
- During Job Performance Reviews: Transparency removes the surprise from an agent’s performance reviews. Rather than debating whether an agent is or is not working hard enough, the conversation can focus on how to improve.
- Be Proactive: The benefit of complete transparency through call analytics is that it presents an opportunity to intervene early if an agent’s performance is beginning to dip. Contact/call center work can be repetitive. An agent may just need a temporary shift in responsibilities or a new task to reignite their motivation for the job.
Workforce Management Is the Key
Central to this strategy is the ability to accurately collect call analytics in the contact/call center and display them for your agents to peruse. There are a few ways to accomplish this, but the most effective method is through workforce management software. Workforce management typically provides a web interface that the agent can access. Within the interface, the agent can find their call analytics, call recordings, and more.
Transparency is vital for an efficient, effective contact/call center. If there are no secrets, there are no surprises.
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About Mindsight
Mindsight, a Chicago IT services provider, is an extension of your team. Our culture is built on transparency and trust, and our team is made up of extraordinary people – the kinds of people you would hire. We have one of the largest expert-level engineering teams delivering the full spectrum of IT services and solutions, from cloud to infrastructure, collaboration to contact center. Our highly-certified engineers and process-oriented excellence have certainly been key to our success. But what really sets us apart is our straightforward and honest approach to every conversation, whether it is for an emerging business or global enterprise. Our customers rely on our thought leadership, responsiveness, and dedication to solving their toughest technology challenges.
Contact us at GoMindsight.com.