Tips to Reduce Call Wrap-Up Time

Introduction

Call center agents hold the first line of defense for customer support services. They handle a wide range of customers with different behaviors, which impact the call wrap-up time. Customers seek assistance from call center agents when they feel stuck; they are mostly agitated. It is well-known that irritated customers take more time compared to patient customers, as the call center agents must calm them down before knowing their issues and resolving them.

Reducing the wrap-up time is essential for improving call center efficiency, increasing agent productivity, and enhancing customer satisfaction. In this blog post, we will learn more about the tips to reduce call wrap-up time in a call center.

What is the Wrap-up Time?

The wrap-up time refers to the time it takes for an agent to complete a call and move on to the next one. This time is crucial for the call center’s success, as it directly impacts the number of calls that can be handled in each period. The longer the wrap-up time, the fewer calls an agent can take, and the more agents are needed to address the same call volume. Therefore, reducing the wrap-up time in a call center becomes essential to aid more customers and improve the call center’s performance.

1. Provide Efficient Tools and Software

One of the most significant factors affecting wrap-up time is the efficiency of the tools and software used by call center agents. To save costs, call centers have a laid-back attitude toward using the latest tools and technologies. Call centers must ensure that call center agents can access the latest tools and software to help them automate specific tasks and streamline their workflow. This can include tools like automatic call distribution (ACD) systems, which can route calls to the right agent based on various criteria, such as agent availability, language, or expertise.

Tools like customer relationship management (CRM) software can help the call center agent access customer information and transaction history quickly, reducing the time spent looking up information and resolving issues.

Overall, providing the latest tools and technologies to the call center agents allows them to handle more customers efficiently and wrap up the call quickly by resolving the issues.

2. Implement Standardized Processes

Standardized processes can help agents streamline their workflow and reduce wrap-up time. Call centers can create a standard checklist that agents can use to ensure they cover all the necessary information during a call. This checklist can include information such as the customer’s name, the reason for calling, issue resolution, and next steps.

Also, with the help of leaders and trainers, call centers can create a standard script that includes basic customer queries and the solutions to such questions. A standardized process can also help new agents onboard quickly and reduce training time as they can follow the same script as experienced agents.

3. Train Agents Effectively

Training is an important part of a business to help employees grow and upgrade their skills and performance. Proper training is essential to assist call center agents in reducing wrap-up time. Call centers should continuously train agents to ensure they are current on the latest tools, software, and processes. Training can include simulations or role-play exercises to help agents practice their skills and reduce their time to resolve issues.

Agents should also be trained in soft skills such as active listening, empathy, and effective communication. These skills can help them resolve issues quickly and reduce the need for lengthy calls. Moreover, specialized training can be provided to the call center agents based on the individual’s areas of improvement.

4. Provide Real-time Assistance

During a call, the agents may encounter complex issues that require additional support. Customer issues are only sometimes straightforward, and sometimes the agents may need help from their superiors to resolve the issue. Call centers should provide real-time assistance to agents, such as a supervisor or a dedicated support team that agents can reach out to. This can reduce the time agents spend looking up information and ensure that the issue is resolved quickly, ultimately reducing the call wrap-up time.

5. Monitor Performance Metrics

To survive in today’s aggressive and competitive markets, continuous improvement is essential for a business. To improve the call centers’ and agents’ performance, it is crucial to establish a monitoring process and create a training program. Monitoring performance metrics is essential in identifying areas where agents can improve and reduce wrap-up time.

Call centers should track metrics such as average handle time (AHT), first call resolution (FCR), and customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores. By monitoring these metrics, call centers can identify areas where agents may be spending too much time and implement targeted training to address these areas.

6. Simplify the Call Flow

Simplifying the call flow can reduce the time agents spend on unnecessary tasks. This can be achieved by identifying common customer issues and creating a streamlined process to address them. For example, if most calls are related to a specific product, agents can be trained to quickly navigate to the relevant information and provide the necessary assistance.

Also, the calls must be transferred to specialized call center agents. Transferring the calls to a non-specialized agent takes more time to resolve the issues. If a call is transferred to a specialized agent, it allows the agent to resolve the customer’s problems, offers a positive customer experience, and wraps up the call quickly.

7. Use Automated Responses

Digitalization has been changing the business world for the last few years. Businesses are adopting digital tools and technologies to aid their employees. Similarly, the call center has adopted various technologies to help the agents run operations smoothly.

Automated responses can help agents reduce wrap-up time by quickly responding to common issues. Call centers can use chatbots or interactive voice response (IVR) systems to provide customers with automated responses to common queries. This can reduce agents’ time on repetitive tasks and free up more time for complex issues. Whenever human interactions are required, customers must be provided with the option to interact with the call center agents and get their issues resolved.

8. Identify and Eliminate Unnecessary Tasks

Identifying and eliminating unnecessary tasks can help agents more efficiently complete tasks after a call. For example, if a task is no longer required or is redundant, it should be eliminated from the agent’s workflow. By eliminating unnecessary tasks, agents can focus on completing the essential tasks and reduce their wrap-up time.

9. Encourage Knowledge Sharing

Encouraging knowledge sharing can help agents reduce wrap-up time by learning from their peers. Sometimes, if a new issue arises, a specialized call center agent may resolve the issue; however, a non-specialized agent may not be able to resolve the issue. Sharing knowledge can help call center agents improve their skills and reduce the time duration of resolving the issue.

Call centers can create forums or chat groups where agents can share their experiences and learn from each other.

10. Use Customer Feedback to Improve Processes

Customers hold a significant place in running a successful business. It is essential to get customer feedback and reviews to improve the services and the experience being provided. Customer feedback can be used to identify areas for improvement in the call center’s processes. This can include identifying customers’ everyday issues and finding ways to address them more efficiently. Using customer feedback to improve the ongoing processes, agents can reduce their wrap-up time and provide quality customer service. Also, customer feedback will make them feel valued and loyal to your business.

11. Provide Incentives

Rewards are considered one of the most significant motivators in the business world. Incentives can motivate agents to complete tasks more efficiently after a call. This can include incentives such as bonuses, recognition, or extra time off. By providing incentives, agents can become more motivated to reduce their wrap-up time while providing quality customer services. However, it must be made sure that the call center agents are doing more than just wrapping up the calls for the sake of completing their tasks.

Conclusion

To boost your business and be successful, customers must be retained. Customers tend to be loyal when a positive experience is provided, and their issues are effectively resolved. Reducing the call wrap-up time is essential; however, the call center agents should take time to the next call to achieve their targets. The call center agents and resources can be utilized in other operations by managing the wrap-up time. A call center must adopt effective measures to maintain a proper balance between resolving the issues quickly and providing a positive experience rather than moving to other calls.

With a call center solution like NEQQO, you can grow your business by managing quality, increasing productivity, improving the customer experience, and maintaining compliance. You can now book a quick demo and see our product in action.

Business Trends to Watch in 2023

Introduction

As we move into 2023, looking at the emerging business trends that shape how companies operate in the coming year is essential. It’s becoming increasingly clear that the business world is changing rapidly. New technologies, emerging markets, and shifting demographics all contribute to a landscape in constant flux.

In this blog post, we’ll look at the top business trends in 2023 and explore what they mean for companies and customers.

The Rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automation

AI and automation have been transforming the business landscape for several years, and this trend will continue in 2023. AI and automation can help businesses streamline processes, reduce costs, and improve efficiency. From chatbots and virtual assistants to predictive analytics and machine learning, businesses can benefit from these technologies in various ways. Automation will be used across multiple functions, including customer service, marketing, sales, and operations, to streamline processes and reduce costs. Conversely, AI will analyze large amounts of data to provide insights to help businesses make better decisions.

One area where AI and automation are expected to impact significantly is customer service. Chatbots and virtual assistants can provide customers with quick and accurate answers to their queries, while AI can help businesses anticipate customer needs and provide personalized recommendations. Companies will also leverage AI-powered chatbots to offer 24/7 customer support, reducing the need for human intervention and improving response times.

As the technology becomes more sophisticated, we can expect to see even more businesses incorporating AI and automation into their operations. Companies must invest in training and development to ensure employees can work effectively with these new technologies.

Sustainability Becomes a Business Imperative

For a good reason, sustainability has become a buzzword in recent years. Consumers are becoming more conscious of their environmental impact, and businesses are noticing. In 2023, businesses will prioritize sustainability, incorporating environmental and social considerations into their operations and strategies. This will require firms to reevaluate their supply chain, product design, and packaging to reduce waste and minimize their carbon footprint. This includes everything from using renewable energy sources to reducing waste, creating eco-friendly products, and investing in carbon-offset initiatives.

Sustainability will also be a critical consumer consideration when purchasing, leading businesses to adopt sustainable practices as a competitive advantage.

This trend will likely continue, with businesses expected to adopt more environmentally friendly practices and products. Companies that fail to address sustainability concerns risk losing customers to more ecologically responsible competitors. Companies can attract environmentally conscious consumers and improve their reputation by demonstrating a commitment to sustainability.

Remote Work is Here to Stay

The COVID-19 pandemic has forever changed the way we work. In 2023, we can expect more companies to embrace remote work as a permanent employee option. This means investing in technology and tools to support remote workers and rethinking traditional office spaces to accommodate a more flexible work environment. Businesses will increasingly rely on remote workers to reduce costs and improve productivity. This trend will also drive the adoption of cloud-based collaboration tools, video conferencing, messaging apps, and project management tools, allowing teams to work together seamlessly, regardless of location.

However, businesses must also be aware of the challenges of remote work, such as maintaining communication and collaboration among remote teams and ensuring that employees have the necessary tools and infrastructure to work effectively from home.

Growth of E-commerce

E-commerce has been rising for years, but the pandemic accelerated its growth significantly. In 2023, we expect more businesses to invest in e-commerce to reach new customers and increase sales. This includes everything from traditional retailers adding an online component to their business to startups launching new e-commerce platforms.

However, e-commerce isn’t just about selling products online. It’s also about embracing digital transformation in all areas of your business. From marketing and customer service to supply chain management and accounting, companies that need to adapt to the digital age avoid falling behind their competitors.

Increased Investment in Cybersecurity

As more companies rely on technology to conduct their business, they must prioritize cybersecurity to protect their data and systems from cyber threats. In 2023, businesses must invest in robust cybersecurity measures, including employee training, regular security audits, and using the latest encryption and authentication technologies. Companies prioritizing cybersecurity will be able to protect their customers’ data and preserve their reputations in case of a data breach. This includes everything from implementing multi-factor authentication to hiring dedicated cybersecurity professionals.

Businesses must also invest in providing training to their employees. Employees can need to improve an organization’s cybersecurity defenses. Cybersecurity training helps employees recognize and avoid potential threats.

Focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

The past few years have increased awareness of workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion. In 2023, we expect to see more companies taking concrete steps to address these issues, including setting diversity targets, investing in training and education, and creating more inclusive company cultures.

Focusing on DEI is not only the right thing to do but can also provide a competitive advantage for organizations. By creating an inclusive work environment, organizations can attract and retain top talent, increase innovation and creativity, and build stronger relationships with customers and clients.

Customer Experience (CX) takes Center Stage

CX has become a key differentiator for businesses in today’s hyper-connected world. To grow and last in these aggressive and competitive markets, businesses must focus on providing excellent customer service. This means understanding customer needs and preferences and leveraging technology to deliver a seamless and personalized experience at every touch point.

In 2023, we expect to see more companies invest in CX initiatives, from personalized marketing campaigns to responsive customer service. Customers are likelier to remain loyal to a company that provides excellent customer service and a positive overall experience. In fact, according to research, 73% of customers say that a good experience is critical to their loyalty to a brand.

Adoption of Blockchain Technology

Blockchain technology has existed for over a decade but is still in the early stages of business adoption. However, more and more individuals and corporations are learning about blockchain technology to be consistent with the digital business world.

In 2023, we can expect to see more companies exploring the potential of blockchain for everything from supply chain management to secure data storage. This includes creating new blockchain-based products and services and partnering with existing blockchain startups to leverage their expertise.

One of the key benefits of blockchain is that it enables secure, transparent, and decentralized transactions. This can help businesses reduce the risk of fraud and increase trust with their customers and partners.

Overall, businesses’ adoption of blockchain technology is driven by the need for increased security, transparency, efficiency, traceability, and trust. As technology evolves and matures, we expect more businesses to leverage its benefits to drive growth and innovation.

Hyper-personalization

Customers today demand personalized experiences, and businesses must cater to their needs to stay ahead of the competition. In 2023, companies will increasingly leverage AI and machine learning (ML) to analyze customer data and personalize their offerings. This hyper-personalization will be used across various channels, from marketing and sales to customer service and support.

Businesses will use customer data to provide tailored recommendations, personalized products, and customized marketing messages that resonate with their target audience. This will help companies to increase customer engagement, loyalty, and satisfaction, leading to increased revenue and growth.

Increased Use of Data Analytics

Data analytics has become increasingly important in recent years, and this trend is set to continue in 2023. Businesses use data analytics to gain insights into customer behavior, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions.

In addition to traditional data analytics, businesses are also exploring new technologies such as AI and ML to gain deeper insights from their data. By leveraging the power of data analytics, businesses can improve their operations, reduce costs, and increase their competitiveness.

Digital Transformation

The pandemic has accelerated the pace of digital transformation, and businesses will continue to embrace this trend in 2023. This will involve adopting digital technologies to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and drive innovation. Companies will leverage technologies such as the cloud, big data, AI, and the Internet of Things (IoT) to transform their operations and customer experience.

Digital transformation will also require businesses to adopt a “digital-first” mindset, focusing on delivering a digital experience that meets the needs and expectations of their customers. This trend will be significant in healthcare, finance, and education, where digital technologies can significantly improve outcomes.

Rise of Social Commerce

Social media has been a powerful marketing tool for years, but in 2023, it will become an even more critical part of the e-commerce landscape. Social commerce allows businesses to sell products directly through social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook. As more consumers spend time on social media, businesses must develop strategies to engage with customers and sell products through these channels. Also, collaborating brands with influencers allows businesses and their products to reach a more comprehensive marketplace, resulting in higher brand recognition and profits.

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)

The use of AR and VR in business is still in its early stages, but it is expected to take off in 2023. AR and VR can enhance CX, create immersive employee training programs, and even revolutionize product design.

In retail, AR and VR can create a virtual try-on experience, allowing customers to see how products look on them before making a purchase. AR and VR can visualize product designs and make real-time adjustments in manufacturing, leading to greater efficiency and cost savings.

Wrap Up…

In conclusion, the business landscape constantly evolves, and companies must stay current on the latest trends and developments. From the rise of AI and increased focus on sustainability to the growth of e-commerce and social commerce, businesses must stay sharp to survive and grow in such competitive markets. From benefiting the environment through sustainability to focusing on CX, the business trends in 2023 have something for everyone.

Top Contact Center Conferences and Events to Anticipate in 2023

Introduction

Contact centers have become critical to many businesses’ operations, providing customer support, sales, and other essential services. As the customer support industry grows, conferences and events keep contact center professionals updated with the latest trends, technologies, and best practices.

In this write-up, we’ll explore the top contact center conferences and events for 2023.

Customer Contact Week (CCW), Las Vegas

CCW is one of the world’s largest and most respected contact center events. The 2023 conference in Las Vegas will bring together thousands of industry professionals, vendors, and thought leaders to discuss the latest trends, technologies, and best practices in customer service. The event features keynote speakers, interactive workshops, and networking opportunities designed to help contact center professionals stay ahead of the curve. Attendees can expect to learn about AI, automation, workforce management, data-driven digital transformation, and customer experience. The event is scheduled for June 19-22, 2023, at the Caesars Forum in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Key Speakers: Mark King (CEO, Taco Bell), Rebecca Jarvis (ABC News), Jenn Lim (Delivering Happiness), Jon Dorenbos, Abby Wambach (Harry Walker), and many more.

ICMI Contact Center Expo

The ICMI (International Customer Management Institute) Contact Center Expo is another major event for contact center professionals in the industry. The 2023 conference will allow attendees to learn from leading experts in the field, participate in workshops and roundtables, attend over 40 sessions, and network with other professionals. The topics covered are customer experience, employee engagement, leadership, and emerging technologies. The expo will occur in Orlando, Florida, from October 16-19, 2023. ICMI Contact Center Expo also offers a virtual option for those who cannot attend in person, starting May 17-18, 2023.

Key Speakers: Yet to be announced.

Enterprise Connect

Enterprise Connect is an annual event covering a wide range of enterprise communications and collaboration topics. The conference includes sessions on contact center technology, cloud communications, video conferencing, customer experience (CX), wireless communication, and more. Participants can hear from industry experts, participate in workshops, and network with peers. This conference houses the decision-making authorities of the IT sector and the specialists, professionals, and vendors.

The 2023 event is scheduled for March 27-30, 2023, at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

Key Speakers: Dilip Kumar (Amazon Web Services), Adam Mitchell (Voya Financial), Javed Khan (Cisco), Behshad Behzadi (Google), Nicole Herskowitz (Microsoft), and many more.

Customer Service & Experience West

CSEW is a two-day event that focuses on shifting the momentum of CX to support business growth by enhancing customer services. The event focuses on data-driven strategies to invest in CX initiatives, call center agents’ expectations and experiences, supportive digital tools, etc. Attendees can expect to hear from industry leaders, participate in hands-on workshops, and network with peers. This event is in San Diego from May 10-11, 2023.

Key Speakers: Dilip Bhatia (Lenovo), Nicole Rafferty (AT&T), Wilson Nieves (Citizen Watches), Jenny Hall (Carhartt), Roger Rohagti (British Petroleum), and many more.

CX Exchange for Retail

CX Exchange for Retail is an event focused on CX in the retail industry. As post-pandemic times have changed the retail market with e-commerce, it is alarming for the CX leaders to be consistent with the upcoming changes. Attendees can learn about the latest trends, best practices, and technologies in the industry. The event is scheduled for July 11-12, 2023, in London, UK.

Key Speakers: Yet to be announced; however, previous speakers include Mira Samani (Diageo), Arthur Zhuravsky (Farfetch), Paul Porter (The Lego Group), Jonathan George (Holland & Barrett), and more.

CX Next BFSI Summit

CX Next is an event focused on the future of CX and is being organized in London for the first time. This summit focuses on the significance of CX in the banking, financial services, and insurance sectors. The event brings together over 20 keynote speakers, interactive workshops, and opportunities. Attendees can learn about the latest trends, best practices, and technological advancements in the industry. The event is scheduled for May 24, 2023, in London.

Key Speakers: Anuj Agarwal, Andrew Clayton, Donata Peksa, John Woods, and more.

CRMXchange virtual conferences

CRMXchange is a leading online resource for contact center professionals, and they also host virtual conferences throughout the year. These events are free to attend and offer a convenient way for professionals to learn about the latest trends and technologies in the industry. These conferences will be conducted on various dates and different topics. These conferences will cover omnichannel customer service, AI, automation, and more.

Dates (2023): March 14–16, June 5–9, and October 30-November 9.

CXPA CX Leaders Advance

The CXPA (Customer Experience Professionals Association) CX Leaders Advance is a must-attend event for professionals in the CX field. This event will focus on the challenges the CX leaders face and how they tackle them. Attendees can expect to learn from leading experts in the field and participate in interactive sessions and workshops. This conference will also allow the attendees to dig deep with the experienced leaders based on the nature of the businesses. The conference will be held in Rosen Shingle Creek, Orlando, from May 15–17, 2023.

Key Speakers: Not available

Elevate CX

Elevate CX is an event for individuals wanting to learn from the experience of customer support service leaders. This event includes two days of learning, networking, specialized events, and workshops. The focus of this event will be the evolution of the customer support sector and a way to stay on par with the changes. The event is scheduled for April 27-29, 2023, in San Diego, USA.

Key Speakers: Mercer Smith (PartnerHero), Jessica Yoo (Akamai), Matt Dale (MoxieCX), Sarah Hatter (CoSupport), and more.

European Customer Centricity Awards

It is a celebration of the accomplishments of European CX leaders, along with learning programs. This event recognizes the exceptional CX provider, learning opportunities, networking, and learning through case studies. The virtual conference of this 2023 event is on September 19, and the virtual awards ceremony is on September 20.

CX Innovation Digital Summit

This digital summit is an event that allows the participants to rethink or refresh their CX strategies. Participants will learn more about the challenges, their experiences, advanced tools, and technologies, and much more with like-minded experts. Apart from this, the participants can experience workshops and make new connections. This event is scheduled for March 7-9, 2023.

World CX Summit

This event focuses on the contact center industry in the global market. This event features keynote speakers, collaborative workshops, and networking. The topics of this event are CX loyalty, CX strategies, hyper-personalization, chatbots, virtual assistants, and more. Attendees can learn about new trends, the best methods or measures, and technologies. The event is scheduled for May 17-18, 2023, in Singapore.

Key Speakers: Nakul Gaur (Unilever), Miao Song (GLP), Nikki Taylor (UPS), Balaji Uppili (GE Healthcare), and more.

Digital Customer Experience Strategies Summit

The Digital Customer Experience Strategies Summit is an event focused on engagement, loyalty, and a positive customer experience. The event features speakers, workshops, and networking opportunities. The topics for this event are customer journey maps, digital experiences, omnichannel, analytics, and so on. Attendees can learn about the latest trends, best practices, and technologies in the industry. The event is scheduled for November 7-8, 2023, in Toronto.

Key Speakers: Not Available

Customer Contact East

Customer Contact East is an event that brings together professionals in the contact center and customer experience fields. This 2023 conference will be held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and will feature customer engagement, digital transformation, and AI sessions. Attendees can also participate in roundtable discussions and networking events. The event is planned for April 23–26.

Key Speakers: John Riordan (Shopify), Sourjo Basu (Samsung), Christina Pletnewski (AutoGlass), and many more.

Games and Activities Designed to Boost Call Center Agent Productivity

In today’s fast-paced and competitive business environment, call centers are critical in providing customer support and delivering a superior customer experience. Call center agents are the backbone of these operations, as they are responsible for answering customer inquiries, resolving complaints, and providing information about products and services. However, call center work can be stressful and demanding, affecting agents’ productivity and performance. Call center managers and team leaders can use games and activities to boost agent productivity, morale, and engagement to overcome this challenge.

Let’s explore effective games and activities that call center leaders can use to enhance agent productivity.

1. Role-playing Exercises

Role-playing exercises are powerful tools that can help call center agents develop their communication and problem-solving skills. These exercises simulate real-life scenarios that agents may encounter during customer interactions. For example, an agent may be asked to handle a demanding customer who is angry or frustrated. By practicing these scenarios, agents can learn how to handle difficult situations, manage customer emotions, and resolve issues effectively.

Role-playing exercises can also help agents become more comfortable handling different inquiries and improve their listening skills. By actively listening to the customer and asking the right questions, agents can gather the information that can help them provide more accurate and personalized solutions.

Managers can conduct role-playing exercises during team meetings or one-on-one coaching sessions. They can also provide feedback and suggestions to help agents improve their performance and skills.

2. Zip Code Bingo

This is played similarly to general “Bingo” but with a twist. Call center agents must deal with customers from different states or countries in this game. The agents must cross zip codes after interacting with customers from a particular state or country. The call center agent who crosses off all the states or countries on the cards wins a prize.

The game allows call center agents to be more skilled and effective during interactions. This can be done while playing zip code bingo and crossing the codes one after another during customer interactions. However, it is also essential to ensure that the call center agents are not rushing the calls, impacting the customer experience.

3. Knowledge Quizzes

A knowledge quiz is an excellent way to test call center agents’ knowledge of their products or services. The quiz can be designed to cover various aspects of the products, including features, benefits, and pricing. This activity can help agents become more confident in their ability to answer customer questions accurately.

In addition to testing agents’ knowledge, a quiz can be used as a motivational tool. For example, the agent who scores the highest on the quiz could be rewarded, such as a gift card or extra break time. This can help create friendly competition among agents, boosting their motivation and productivity.

4. Goal-setting Exercises

Goal-setting exercises can be a great way to motivate call center agents and improve their productivity. This activity asks agents to set specific, measurable, and achievable goals. These goals could be related to call handling time, customer satisfaction, or other metrics.

Once the goals have been set, supervisors or trainers can work with the agents to develop an action plan to achieve them. This action plan could include training, coaching, or additional support.

Goal-setting exercises can be done individually or in groups. Group goal setting can be more effective because it allows agents to share their goals and support each other. It also creates a sense of accountability among the group members.

5. The “Customer Experience” Game

This is one of the most exciting games focusing on customer experience. In this, the things that add to the customer experience are ticked off on a sheet. The call center agents must do the same for a day. However, it has a catch, i.e., only one tick is allowed per customer. When the sheet is filled, it can be exchanged for a lottery ticket. The leaders must set a specified time to draw out the tickets.

The essence of this whole game is to provide the call center agent with an understanding of positive customer experiences and ways to boost those experiences.

6. Team-building Activities

Team-building activities are a great way to improve call center agent productivity. These activities help create a sense of unity and camaraderie among agents, which leads to better collaboration and teamwork. Team-building activities can also help agents become more motivated and engaged.

Team-building activities include team lunches or dinners, team outings, and team-building games. The supervisor or trainer can plan and organize these activities, or the agents themselves can manage them.

7. Recognition or Incentivized Programs

Recognition programs are a non-competitive form of gamification that can be used to motivate and engage agents. These programs involve recognizing agents who demonstrate exceptional performance, such as achieving high sales numbers, resolving complex issues, or providing excellent customer service.

Recognition programs can take many forms, including shout-outs in team meetings, public recognition on a company bulletin board, or even small rewards such as gift cards or company merchandise. By recognizing agents for their hard work and dedication, companies can create a culture of appreciation and recognition, which can help boost morale and productivity.

8. Training Simulations

Training simulations are another way to use gamification in call centers. These simulations involve creating a virtual environment that mimics the call center, complete with simulated customer interactions and scenarios. Agents can practice their skills in a safe and controlled environment without the pressure of handling real customers. It is just like virtual reality, but the call center agents talk to the virtual customers rather than seeing things.

Call center businesses may not adopt this method due to its high cost; however, it can be considered an effective way to engage employees and improve their skills simultaneously.

Training simulations can train agents on various skills, including handling demanding customers, resolving complex issues, and making sales. They can also be used to train new agents, allowing them to become familiar with the call center environment and the company’s policies and procedures.

Please don’t force it!

The purpose of these games and activities is clear, i.e., to engage the call center agents and improve their understanding and skills. However, it is significant to know that if such activities and games are forced on the call center agents, they aren’t fun anymore. Moreover, some agents find it uncomfortable to compete publicly. Rather than forcing every game or activity on the agents, it is better to let them choose the game they’re interested in. Leaders/Managers can also ask the agents to suggest games or activities. This also gives the call center agents a voice and makes them feel important, resulting in a higher engagement rate.

Wrapping it up…

Call center agents are the first line of defense who handle customers with different behaviors. Therefore, it becomes essential to be in a positive and helpful mood. This gives rise to the proper engagement of the agents; therefore, the leaders must understand the need regarding the same. Agents may learn new things daily; however, leaders must maintain an effective working environment to keep the employees engaged. Organizing fun activities and games can also help with employee engagement.

Introduction

In customer support services, everything depends upon the services the businesses provide. With top-notch services, companies can compete in this aggressive market. A business must uphold the significance of positive customer experience if it wants to succeed. Good customer services go a long way, whereas poor services impact customer retention rates, brand value, loyalty, etc. This allows the customers to look for the needed services or products elsewhere, causing financial harm to the company. Poor services are estimated to cost the business industry about $75 billion – 1.6 trillion per annum. 

On the other hand, call centers prioritizing customer satisfaction and training their employees tend to have lower churn rates, better brand reputation, and increased revenue.

Let us move forward and learn about bad customer service, its examples, and ways to avoid them.

What is Bad Customer Service?

Customer service means poor or inadequate support provided to customers by a service provider. It includes businesses like call centers handling customers’ calls or chats. This can be unhelpful or unresponsive employees, lengthy wait times, inconsistent or incorrect information, poor problem resolution, or a lack of attention to customer needs and preferences. The impact of bad customer service can range from frustration and inconvenience for customers to a loss of business and damage to a company’s reputation.

A call center providing bad customer service is one where the employees must be appropriately trained, understand the products or services they represent, or care about delivering a positive experience for the customer.

The foundation of a thriving call center depends on its agents’ performance; however, multiple factors are at play, and it is not all on the call center agents. Instead of blaming the agents, it is crucial to identify the problems and finding out solutions.

There are various stories on which we can focus; however, below are a few examples of bad customer service:

#1 Slow Response Time
This is one of the most common reasons for bad customer service. Customers often need help when waiting on hold for an extended period. This can lead to customers hanging up and going to a competitor.

Solution: To resolve this issue, the call centers must bring your queue times as low as possible. You must also check your staff’s response time and monitor the average waiting times. Quality assurance scorecards can also help track your agents’ performance and customers’ call times. It will also inform you whether your call center agents respond quickly.

#2 Negative/Aggressive Attitude
Customer service may demand you to be pleasant despite putting up with many furious customers with negative behavior. However, there are times when customer service employees set the tone. Unfriendly or unprofessional employees can damage the customer experience, leading to negative reviews and lost business.

Solution: The proper use of language and tone is only one component of an excellent customer service attitude. Even if the customers are rude, they still want to believe that your agents know how to solve disputes. To make them feel confident in your overall service level, the agents should accept that they cannot provide the required support rather than avoid the fact. To reduce the possibility that the customers may terminate interactions with a negative experience, it is crucial to train the call center agents to maintain positivity and address problems with a willing attitude.

#3 Not Being an Active Listener
The call center agents should be able to quickly capture data from first-time callers or get information about an existing customer (name, call history, calling frequency, and so on.). They mustn’t ask the same questions repeatedly because this should remain on their screen and be easy to scan during talks.

Multiple requests to provide the same personal information, describe the nature of your issue, or do anything else are all avoidable examples of poor customer service. 

Solution: First, giving time to your agents to ask the right questions to gain clarity without rushing into closing the call is essential. Also, if the call center agents have any particular set of targets to accomplish, they rush the call to meet their targets. Let your agents know that it is crucial to close the call only when the customers are satisfied and leaves with a positive experience.

Train them to note the details and write down customer issues actively. Notepad or sticky notes may help as it is handy and helps save the data.

#4 Lacking Empathy
Customers want to be heard and understood, but employees who need more empathy can make the customer feels dismissed or frustrated. When a product or service is flawed, customers expect an agent to stand up for them and offer an apology on behalf of the business. They want the agent to apologize and express regret for the inconvenience.

Suppose the call center agents fail to relate with the customers and follow the script without any emotional connection. In that case, the customers believe there is no acknowledgment of blame or sincere apologies. They can become so infuriated by this that they may end the call or move toward escalation.

Solution: Significantly, the leaders must ensure to have some metrics in place to evaluate how emotionally responsive and engaged the call center agents are. Regularly monitoring the response may allow you to keep track of their attitude and performance.

It is crucial to set an example to avoid repetitive mistakes. Leaders can also set up a mechanism where one or two occurrences of such mistakes can be passed off with a warning, ultimately leading to the agents’ exit. 

Treat your staff respectfully so they have the right attitude to offer informed and sympathetic decisions.

#5 Automated Systems
While automated systems can save time and improve efficiency, they can also be frustrating for customers who need help finding the information or cannot speak with an agent.

Talking to a clumsy replica of a human can be much more frustrating than being unable to communicate with a real person. From uncooperative to inconceivable, terrible bots may raise irritated customers.

Solution: Rather than using a talking bot, leaders must focus on managing the required staff based on the frequency of calls. Leaders must ensure sufficient staff to reduce the waiting period and provide human support to the customers.

Customer support businesses must only use chatbots for situations requiring a small set of questions. Moreover, bots should only support the call center staff to work quickly and smartly.

#6 Lacking Flexibility
Customers always want to interact with helpful and cooperative call center agents. They want the call center agents to go out of their way to help them if required. A typical example of poor customer service occurs when policies are strictly followed, even when they could’ve been avoided. This problem is more prevalent while dealing with larger businesses.

Solution: The customer support staff must follow established guidelines and rules. However, finding a way to help the customers can resolve their issues and provide a positive customer experience. Instead of having strict guidelines, your business must establish policies more like a roadmap.

Also, call center agents to need the authority to perform specific tasks, resulting in a bad customer experience. Leaders must ensure that the agents have the power or authority to take actions to offer customer support.

Additional Ways to Avoid Bad Customer Services

Here are some additional tips for avoiding inadequate services in call centers:

Provide proper training: Employees should be adequately trained on the company’s policies and procedures and how to handle customer inquiries and complaints.

Hire the right people: Onboard employees who are friendly, empathetic, and can handle stressful situations.

Implement wait time management: Use call queue management tools to keep wait times minimum and provide customers with an estimated wait time.

Multiple contact options: Give customers various ways to contact the call center, including phone, email, and live chat.

Encourage customer feedback: Ask customers for their input on the call center experience and use this information to improve customer service.

Foster a positive company culture: Create a positive work environment where employees feel supported and valued. This can lead to higher job satisfaction, translating into better customer service.

Our Two Cents

In conclusion, providing excellent customer service is critical for success in the call center business. By avoiding common behaviors of bad customer service and following the tips listed above, call centers can improve the overall customer experience and increase customer loyalty.

With a call center solution like NEQQO, you can grow your business, increase productivity, improve customer experience, and maintain compliance. You can now even book a quick demo.

About NEQQO

A single platform that combines quality management, business insights, and advanced reporting capabilities for contact centers.

Sources: Mindlandstech

Introduction

In customer support services, delivering top-notch service is always a must. To be successful, an organization needs to learn and grow continuously. Organizations must know the areas they lack and ways to improve them for continuous improvement. The rising demand for excellent customer service is forcing businesses to shift their focus to quality improvement. Enterprises are adopting various techniques to improve and grow, including the Quality Assurance (QA) calibration program. 

In the call center industry, QA calibration is necessary to ensure that all the call center agents and the organization’s operations are evaluated using the same criteria. This process enables consistent and fair scoring of agent interactions, which, in turn, impacts job satisfaction and motivation.

Implementing a successful QA calibration program requires various steps. Let’s look at the steps to guide the call center on quality assurance calibration.

1. Develop a Calibration Process
Before moving towards full-fledged QA calibration, it is essential to create a calibration process. This is considered the first step of QA calibration. There are multiple approaches for creating a calibration process, one of which involves reviewers and the call center agents reviewing and discussing the calls together. However, reviewers can also monitor the calls separately and deliver the feedback to the agents afterward.

Being clear and transparent is the key to improving human resources’ performance. If an agent and reviewer work together, it allows the agents to be a part of the monitoring process and lets the agent show their concerns.

2. Establish a Standard Evaluation Form
The calibration process’s second step is establishing a standard evaluation form. This form will serve as a guide for QA specialists to evaluate the call center agents consistently. The evaluation form should be comprehensive, including all relevant evaluation criteria. The form should also be easy to use. A standard evaluation form is crucial in achieving consistency in scoring and feedback. This form is used by the QA specialists while reviewing the call recordings or live interactions between an agent and a customer.

3. Provide Training
After establishing an evaluation form, the next step is to provide Training for all QA specialists. The Training should cover the evaluation criteria for the form and guide how to use the form to score agent interactions accurately. Ensuring that all QA specialists are on the same page and have the same understanding and skills to consistently evaluate the call center agents is essential. The Training should also include examples of excellent and poor agent-customer interactions to provide a clearer picture and better understanding.

4. Conduct Calibration Sessions
The next step is to conduct calibration sessions. In these sessions, a group of QA specialists listens to the same recorded agent interaction and scores it using the evaluation form. After scoring the interaction, the group should discuss their scores and come to a consensus on the final score. These calibration sessions’ primary purpose is to ensure that all QA specialists consistently use the evaluation form and scoring agent interactions. This step is essential for consistency and fair scoring.

5. Self-scoring Agent Calibration Sessions
As the name states, agents listen to and score the same customer interaction recordings in such calibration sessions. Once scoring is done, the call center agents can discuss the scoring to be on the same page.

This step allows the call center agents to participate in the calibration process. Such sessions also allow leaders to learn where their agents could be improved and will enable them to design specialized training programs.

6. Use a Quality Assurance Tool
As businesses progress towards digitalization, a digital QA tool is becoming essential. Calibration sessions create a huge pile of data, making it difficult to do manually. A wide range of digital platforms can do these manual works.

One of these platforms is NEQQO which has in-built calibration functionality to schedule and conduct the sessions and identify the inconsistencies.

7. Document Calibration Results
It is essential to document the results of each calibration session. This documentation should include the scores assigned by each QA specialist and each call center agent, the group’s consensus score, and any notes on areas of disagreement and improvement. Documenting calibration results is crucial in tracking progress and identifying areas that need further Training. The documentation also helps track the program’s progress and adjust as required.

8. Review Calibration Results
After each calibration session, reviewing the results and identifying any areas that need improvement is essential. For example, if there is a significant difference between the scores assigned by different QA specialists and agents, this may indicate that more Training is required. Reviewing the results regularly will help ensure that the calibration process is effective and that the evaluation form is used consistently.

9. Form and Process Adjustment as Required
Over time, the process must be adjusted to align with your call center’s goals and objectives. Reviewing the form, Training, calls, and scores regularly and making changes as required is essential. Any changes to the QA process must be communicated to the operations and production teams. Such information must be shared with the teams before changes are implemented.

10. Calibrate Continuously
Calibration is not a one-time event. To maintain consistency, the calibration process must be conducted regularly. The primary purpose of continuous calibration is to find opportunities and areas for improvement. As business metrics change continuously, adopting and implementing such changes in your process is crucial. By constantly training and monitoring your agents’ interactions, you can ensure they consistently offer excellent customer service. If not, then ongoing training and monitoring help with continuous development.

Conclusion

Calibration is a critical process in a call center’s QA program. It ensures that all QA specialists use the same criteria to evaluate agent interactions and provides consistency and fair scoring. By establishing a standard evaluation form, providing Training, conducting calibration sessions, documenting & reviewing results, adjusting the evaluation form as needed, and continuously training and monitoring, you can ensure that your quality assurance program is effective and provides valuable feedback to your agents. This ultimately leads to delivering quality services, higher customer satisfaction, better agent performance, and increased efficiency.

With a call center solution like NEQQO, you can grow your business by managing quality, increasing productivity, improving the customer experience, and maintaining compliance. You can now book a quick demo and see our product in action.

Key Steps for Contact Center Cloud Migration

Introduction

In today’s technological advancements, everything is moving onto digital platforms. A few decades ago, this was impossible as it involved various internal hurdles and nervousness about a novel technology. However, those obstacles are falling as businesses migrate more of their activities to the cloud.

Modernizing your call center is a must in these digital times, and the “why” is straightforward. The best way to make the transition without damaging or disturbing systems and services that have been operating correctly for many years, if not decades, is still a mystery.

The most challenging question of them all could be where to start.

However, learning about call center cloud migration is necessary before moving on to the essential steps.

What is Call Center Cloud Migration?

A call center cloud migration is the process that involves the movement of a call center’s operations from an on-site setup to a cloud-based setup. This involves transferring all data, applications, and systems to a cloud-based environment. Call center cloud migration can be a complex and challenging process. Still, with proper planning and execution, it can also bring significant benefits to your business, including increased efficiency, scalability, and cost savings.

The process typically involves:

• A thorough assessment of the call centre’s current infrastructure.
• Identification of the cloud solution that meets the call center’s needs.
• A step-by-step implementation plan to ensure a smooth transition.

Key Steps to Migrate

Businesses are still hesitant to switch to cloud-based services, even after all the popularity and benefits, especially for customer service, including call centers. Migrating call center operations and systems to the cloud requires addressing many issues and topics from a business and technology standpoint. Such movements may disrupt the business if they are not done with appropriate planning and guidance.

As we all know, every organization, including call centers, is uniquely based, but some common steps must be completed in every cloud migration.

The cloud migration of the call center can be divided into multiple phases to ensure a successful movement. This includes:

Phase 1: Planning

Step 1: Assess the Current Environment : Before migrating to the cloud, it is essential to assess your current call center infrastructure and identify the requirements for the new solution. This includes determining the size of your call center, the types of interactions handled by your call center agents, and the technology currently in use. It’s also important to consider any existing processes, workflows, and customer data that must be transferred to the cloud.

Step 2: Requirements and Solutions : It is essential to know the limits of your call center based on its financial and technological status. This includes creating realistic goals and anticipating related challenges. This step involves redesigning existing applications (not exhausting previously used ones) or innovating new call center applications or solutions. Try including cloud-related features, which may save the cost once the movement is completed. This step will make all the suggestions for designing a new system.

Step 3: Product Demo : Getting started with product demos are always a smarter choice to understand the know-how of any new tool. Similarly, to check whether a product or service satisfies your business needs, trying a sample of such a product or service is essential. Such demos are provided to the supervisors, agents, and customers and can be customized per the business’s needs. Such demos must offer a clear picture of what cannot be achieved or can be achieved by using a cloud system.

Step 4: Plan the Migration : The next step is to develop a detailed migration plan. This plan should include a timeline for the migration (to be followed to the core), a list of resources required, and any potential roadblocks that may arise during the process. Make sure to involve all relevant stakeholders, such as IT, operations, and customer service teams, in the planning process to ensure everyone is aware of their responsibilities and the impact on their work.

Phase 2: Implementing

Step 5: Choose a Cloud Provider : With the growing popularity of cloud-based call center solutions, many options are available in the market. Research and compare various providers to determine which fits your business needs and budget. Look for a provider that offers robust security, reliability, and support, and consider the integration options available with your existing systems and tools.

However, if you’re a full-fledged IT team that can create your cloud, you can skip this step.

Step 6: Prepare for Data Migration : Before switching to the cloud, it is crucial to correctly back up all data, including customer information and call records. Ensure that the data is properly formatted and ready for transfer to the cloud and establish a process for verifying the accuracy of the transferred data.

Step 7: Training : Specialized training programs must be created and executed by your call center’s training team, including a new system and technology. This ensures that the call center agents fully accept further modifications or cloud migration.

Step 8: Test and Validate : Before going live with the new cloud contact center solution, thoroughly test it to ensure it meets your requirements and functions as expected. This includes testing the migration process, data transfer, and system integration, as well as conducting user acceptance testing to verify that the new system meets the needs of your customer service team.

Before going live, appropriate plans must be made to ensure minimum disruption.

Step 9: Go Live : With all preparations in place, it’s time to switch to the new cloud call center system. This may require updating your existing systems and processes and providing support to your customer service team. To minimize disruption to your business, stagger the migration over several days or weeks to ensure any issues are quickly identified and resolved.

Stage 3: Support

Step 10: Monitor and Optimize : After the migration is complete, it’s essential to continuously monitor and optimize the performance of your cloud call center. This includes monitoring key metrics, such as call volume, wait times, and customer satisfaction, and making necessary adjustments to ensure the solution remains adequate and efficient. Continuous reviewing and updating of the cloud call center system will help ensure its ongoing success.

Wrap Up…

In conclusion, call center cloud migration can be a complex process, but with careful planning and execution, it can deliver significant benefits to your business. By following the steps mentioned above, you can ensure a smooth and successful migration, allowing you to focus on providing the best possible customer experience.

See how NEQQO can help expedite evaluations, streamline QA, and improve CX. Book a quick demo!

Call Center Sales Improvement- Best Practices

Introduction

The first and foremost aim of the call center business is to offer the best possible services to the customers; however, simultaneously, sales generation is an essential part of all businesses to survive for an extended period. Effective customer interaction allows you to identify the customers’ requirements and offer them what they want.

Sometimes, call center business fails to generate sales effectively when the customers only engage with the agents regarding answers to their problems. In today’s times, call center businesses are involved in cross and up-selling, and the requirements of well-skilled call center agents are also on the rise. The appointment of skilled call center agents leads to quick and excellent customer service and improves sales.

Best Practices

To be a well-established and growing call center business, the management team must focus on call conversion rates, customer experience, ongoing & upcoming trends, sales rates, and average lot sizes.

There are various ways the adoption of which leads to improvement of call center sales. Following is some of the best practices to improve business sales:

1. Prioritize Quality Management

This is considered the first stepping stone to sales improvement. Before improving the call center’s sales, the leaders must focus on call handling and its quality. Customer experience must be at a high rate in which the customers are satisfied, i.e., their issues are timely resolved, and such customers feel delighted. If quality call services are not provided to customers, the call conversion rate also diminishes. This includes long hold calls, low empathy from the call center agents, poor communication, and so on.

The call centers must focus on managing the call quality to improve the call conversion rate leading to higher sales. This can be done by employing skilled call center agents, providing general and specific training, and offering quick and convenient solutions to customer issues.

2. Recognizing Follow-up Opportunities

Follow-up calls are one of the great opportunities to reach out to customers. This improves the brand name, brand value, and call conversion rates. Follow-ups after the calls are excellent ways to sell products and provide services. Significantly, training is provided to the agents for taking a follow-up where they can establish a connection between the initial and the follow-up calls.

This can be understood with an example, let’s say that a customer comes with a tech issue on an electronic item. The call center agents can resolve initial matters; however, tech issues are unavoidable for an electronic item. Follow-up calls display agents’ empathy and create a chance to offer a repair plan to cover the imminent problems.

3. Boost Upselling and Cross-Selling

Upselling and cross-selling are the most seamless manners to join forces of customer service with sales. Sometimes, the call center operations also include obtaining sales orders. For this, adequate training must be provided to the call center agents for offering the add-on services or products as sales.

While interacting with the consumers regarding a product, the call center agents must also inform the customers about the benefits of other products to satisfy the customers’ requirements. This is called “Cross-selling.” It can be understood with an example, i.e., if a customer calls about buying a TV, then the agent must suggest adding a set of speakers to their purchase for an immense experience.

Besides offering other products, the call center agents can also suggest upgrades or add-ons enhance the customer experience. This is called “Upselling“. Such upgrades must be promoted in such a way that it improves the order value and the customer experience. It can also be understood with an example if a customer is calling for a smartphone, then the agents can also suggest getting a protective cover or tempered glass.

4. New Thought Practice

The likelihood of selling to a current satisfied customer is far higher than dealing with a new customer. Dealing with happy clients is significantly more straightforward for various reasons, not the least of which is that they can be a great source of referrals for the sales staff. Your customer service team directly influences the operations of your sales team’s effectiveness. To enhance the customer experience and boost closure rates, advanced and creative call centers provide sales training to the team to interact with sales and customer care personnel.

5. Dwell over Developing Customer Trust

Training agents must identify the resemblances between sales and customer services. A small portion of a salesperson’s daily tasks involves closing deals. It takes a third of their total selling time. They devote their remaining working hours to building relationships like customer service representatives do. Such representatives’ checks-up with the customers to see whether their wants are met, and their concerns are heard and constantly connect with them to ensure that the customers give sales opportunities to their business (or continue to do so).

During a first sales call, sales representatives must exhibit empathy, understanding, and respect to build a customer’s trust. Gaining the customers’ trust through call center sales training enables them to start to picture a future relationship with the business, which is the first step to closing a transaction. The ultimate objective should be to give the consumer a seamless experience, whether they deal with sales or a customer support team.

6. Agents’ Personal Touch

Making sales is a continuous route of building a relationship with the customers to be more successful over time with developing respect and trust. It isn’t a one-time thing.

This includes appointing agents with adequate soft skills, training them to show empathy and emotions, and offering personalized information and recommendations through their point of contact (emails, phone calls, or texts). The agents must also have basic manners or courtesies of showing appreciation towards the customers, responding politely, and so on. It is convenient to close a deal when the customers feel respected.

Conclusion

As we all know that call centers are the first line of defense, and customers must be offered some room to share their issues and get proper solutions. A call center business is established by building a team of well-skilled agents who can expect the customers’ wants and resolve their issues through real-time interactions. It makes sense to unify the sales and customer service teams to boost or improve sales.

By taking advantage of sophisticated technology solutions like NEQQO, contact centers can streamline their processes and run more efficiently while maintaining customer satisfaction.

6 Efficient Ways to Reduce Repeat Calls in Call Center

Introduction

Everyone and all the customers have some other essential things to go to. They want to avoid spending time arguing with the call center agents or waiting hours on a helpline. Irritated customers are not considered a good sign for a business; therefore, customers must be provided with timely and quick resolution of their issues. The reason behind repeated calls is that the customers’ problems still need to be resolved, or the desired assistance needs to be provided to the customers. It becomes monotonous for customers and call center agents to interact about the same issues repeatedly.

How to Reduce It?

Repeated calls are a sign of a low satisfaction rate and low conversion rate and lead to a falling customer retention rate. For a growing call center business, improving first-call resolution is its primary goal to reduce repeated calls.

It becomes vital to reduce such calls, and some of the effective methods to accomplish that objective are:

1. Connect with the Correct Agent

Identifying the precise reason for the customer’s call before matching the request with the appropriate agent. This is a crucial stage in call centers’ repetitive call reduction strategies. In this digital era, most businesses have implemented digital tools like Interactive Voice Response (IVR), etc., to find the appropriate agents for customers’ issues.

Customers eventually grow impatient if all their complaints must be satisfactorily addressed, increasing the number of repeated calls the customer service team receives. Proper routing and resolution are also essential to elevate customer happiness and retention. To accomplish this, call centers need to appoint well-skilled employees or implement digital tools for effective call routing.

2. Call Analysis to Identify the Reason

Repeated calls frequently stem from a problem that agents are unable to resolve. Call center agents must highlight the causes of the client’s repeated requests for assistance. The management/leadership team reviews the recorded calls to determine the reasons for the repeated calls. Then such reasons are informed to the agents, and specialized training is provided once agents are aware of what the consumer needs, they can provide prompt assistance, reducing the number of difficult calls from customers.

3. Effective Training Programs

The management/leadership team must create effective general and specialized training strategies. Available training is provided to each agent at the beginning of the appointment. However, technical training is offered to improve the agents’ skills continuously. Such training is provided based on the agents’ skill sets or the arising issues. Training offers an overview of how to respond to customers and resolve their problems once and for all. Once the issues are resolved, the repeated calls tend to decrease.

4. Develop a Great FAQ Page

You might not have realized it, but a strong FAQ page can significantly reduce the number of repeated calls. Customers can find helpful information on the website’s FAQ page, which can be accomplished by updating the information, adding links to the appropriate sites, and removing old information. Sometimes, the FAQ answers are so simple that they could be more helpful to customers. When multiple customers ask a question, add it to your FAQ page with a thorough response. Make sure your responses are brief, transparent, and straightforward. If the information on the FAQ page is helpful, it can reduce the number of repeated calls as customers’ issues could be resolved through such pages.

5. Develop a Knowledge Platform

There are several occasions when call center agents cannot resolve a new issue satisfactorily. Sometimes, the agents need help to reach their seniors while looking for answers. The business must have a place where the agents can look for answers. Businesses create a knowledge center as a hub where call agents can access, look up the answers, and contribute to policies.

Businesses frequently use knowledge centers, which it later classifies as organizational knowledge assets. In addition to receiving training, agents should have access to a resource center with opportunities for problem-solving and sharing solutions with other team members. The less stress they experience, the easier it will be for them to access the knowledge. This allows them to provide appropriate assistance to the customers instead of rushing the clients off the call.

6. Post-Call Check-ups

After assistance is provided to the customers, it is significant that post-call check-ups are conducted. Such check-ups give the businesses an overview of the interaction, the status of the issues (resolved or not), and so on. Such calls or check-ups not only show the agents’ performance but also that of the overall business. These check-ups can be used to monitor and highlight the areas of improvement. If necessary, a callback to the customer on their preferred channel can be made to finish the post-call process. Once the process is completed, the leadership team can work on specific strategies to improve the operations, reducing repeated calls.

Conclusion

Customer satisfaction holds an important place in the growth of call centers. Repeated calls are the indicators of unsatisfied customers, which has an impact on the business as well. Such calls increase the operating costs, negatively impact the brand name, and can also affect the future growth of the business. So, the above mentioned methods help the company improve call centre metrics, provide practical solutions, and reduce repeated calls.

Artificial Intelligence in Call Center – Advantages & Disadvantages

Introduction

Two decades ago, Artificial Intelligence (AI) was still emerging; however, this technology took the business world by storm. It has also revolutionized call center businesses by handling customer support services for different sectors. Technology plays a significant role in changing the way of call center operations. However, some strategies remain constant such as few static scripts, call managing strategies, etc.

With such advanced call center technologies, the management team has a particular group of data to be in the driving seat of customer interaction. Such data groups include-

• frequency of calls per customer,
• types of interactions,
• marketing campaigns viewed by the customers,
• ways to look for new customers in the future, and so on.

AI is one of the many technologies which call centers leverage. AI, like machine learning tools and cloud services, has explosively boosted the growth of call centers.

Advantages of AI

There are various advantages of using AI tools and services, which are as follows:

1. Handling Large Sets of Data

The creation of data is dependent on the number of customers and the number of interactions with them. But no matter how brilliant your staff is, manually evaluating such massive volumes of data is practically impossible. There is too much data for humans to compare and process. However, AI-powered technologies can easily assess large amounts of data quickly. So, by evaluating past and present customer data, such technologies can forecast their future behaviour and learn more about the customers.

You may, among other things, use this information to develop focused marketing efforts or identify your customer’s most typical problems and grievances. However, if you want to benefit from AI’s data processing capabilities, a customer relationship management tool can be used. The outcomes are better when it has more data. However, AI will only function well if its sole data sources are a few spreadsheets.

2. Predict Upcoming Trends

One of AI’s most significant benefits is that it offers predictions and supports the detection of trends. However, such forecasts and trends depend on a massive data load. AI can ascertain current trends based on performance, calls, number of customers, and so on. It also helps project future trends. Such information can be used to develop effective strategies to improve customer service and determine the success of the new service or product. AI determines the current functions and industrial situations and predicts the future.

3. Minimizes Average Handling Time

Are you looking for a strategy to minimize the time your agents spend on each call while we’re talking about how to improve customer service?

Chatbots and passive voice biometrics are some forms of AI that can be beneficial in such situations. People don’t have to wait for a person to handle their problems because chatbots can rapidly respond to basic questions and requests. Customers can merely ask the chatbots for assistance.

As the customer’s persona can be recognized after a few seconds by listening to how they speak, passive voice biometrics can also significantly reduce the time your agents spend on each conversation. If your agents often need to confirm each caller’s identification, switching to voice biometrics from conventional verification approaches will shorten the time spent on each call while ensuring that all customers’ details are kept completely secure.

4. Workforce Management

AI plays a significant role in managing the workforce of the call center. Internal staff planning is essential for call center operations, with which productivity may be improved. Various AI tools can be used to develop effective staff management plans. Moreover, when the tasks become monotonous, AI tools can be used to perform such tedious tasks, and the idle workforce can be diverted to perform other tasks.

5. Convenient Performance Tracking

Considering a substantial increase in your customer support efforts, you must be aware of your business’s practical and ineffective practices while keeping an eye on your staff’s performance. Solutions provided by AI make it a walk in the park.

Professional dashboards provide analytical and reporting tools that let you evaluate your team’s performance from all angles. No matter how many people you have or where they are located, you can see all the information on your dashboard, including the number of calls each call center agent answers daily and the average duration of each interaction. Moreover, a typical analytical dashboard can be customized conveniently, allowing you to focus on the metrics most important to the business rather than overloading it with unimportant metrics.

6. Call Center Agents’ Assistant

One of the roles that AI can play in improving call centers is that of an assistant to the agents, enhancing their capacity to respond to consumer inquiries quickly and effectively. While some claim that AI will replace human workers, it’s important to remember that humans will always be valued for their ability to connect with others, and AI will serve as an aide to reduce stress and repetitive tasks.

Disadvantages of AI

Now, let’s switch to the other side and discuss the disadvantages of AI in call centers.

1. Lack of Personal Touch

When a customer is agitated, only another person can calm them down. Personal interaction is a part of human nature and is in our DNA which some machine cannot replace. In complex situations, customers become easily frustrated and show disrespect for robots because they can see through artificial intelligence in their textbook responses. Hence, customer and chatbot interactions are sometimes win-win scenarios in call centers.

2. Higher Upfront Cost

Replacing humans and stimulating their intelligence through a machine is a costly undertaking. A massive load of money and time is required to implement such technologies.

Due to their complexity, AI chatbots and AI-powered customer assistance need a knowledgeable team for proper management. Responsible data management is required to install, create, and ” educate ” bots. Additionally, this calls for partners or staff with specialized skill sets.

As you can expect, this can be costly because it depends not only on the expertise of specialized people but also on the maintenance of chatbots and artificial intelligence services. When using third-party services or signing contracts for the service, the expense may increase as well.

3. New or Improper Escalation

AI is only considered an influential tech for some customers’ issues. There are multiple scenarios in which AI remains ineffective. For example, when the problem is new or complex or a person is highly irritated, and so on. The AI cannot handle such scenarios, and for the best resolutions and experience, human interaction is required at some point.

Two Cents

The only way businesses can keep customers and build loyalty in any competitive business environment is to listen to consumers and answer their problems. While AI quickly gathers knowledge, it finds replacing or mimicking fundamental human interactions difficult. Using artificial intelligence by support personnel enables them to be more strategic and work more efficiently.

While chatbots and other AI-enabled technology route calls, help customers, and gathers mountains of data in the background, allowing agents to concentrate on complex issues. The entire customer experience will be improved, along with customer journeys and the route to customer attainment.

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