I define contact channel management as:
- Getting the right people and supporting resources,
- in the right places,
- at the right times,
- and doing the right things.
In order to perform proper resource planning for an inbound call center, you need to first understand the seven factors of caller tolerance and their impact on abandonment rate.
- Degree of motivation: How important is the call? What are the consequences of not getting through? Callers with a network outage or wrong bill will wait longer to reach a CSR than one who’s calling to ask about product information.
- Availability of substitutes: Do customers have substitute contact channels such as alternative numbers, Online, IVR, fax, or email? Callers who encounter difficulties making the call may abandon if they know of another way to contact the company. If the primary queue backs up, callers may press the incorrect IVR option or call the main number. If callers are highly motivated and have no available substitutes, they will retry if they get a busy signal and will generally wait longer in queue to speak to a CSR.
- Competition’s service level: This factor applies when callers have the option of using a competitor’s services.
- Level of expectations: There is a direct correlation between caller tolerance and the company's reputation for service (or the level of service being promoted.)
- Time available: How much time do callers have to make the call? For example, a retired person calling from home during the afternoon may wait on hold longer than someone calling from the office.
- Who’s paying for the call: Callers are usually more tolerant when they’re not paying for the call.
- Human behaviour: The weather, a caller’s mood, or the day’s news have a bearing on caller tolerance.
There are three types of inbound call arrival patterns:
The interrelationship between key factors:
These are basic ACD metrics you need to understand before you can prepare proper workforce scheduling:
- Calls Offered – number of incoming calls registered on the ACD. It includes all attempts by callers to reach us.
- Calls Answered – number of incoming calls handled by the Service Center
- Calls Abandoned – a call answered by the ACD but terminated by the caller before answered by a CSR
- Abandonment rate – % of calls answered by the ACD but terminated by the caller before answered by an agent/calls offered
- Average Speed of Answer - how long a caller waits on hold before an agent answers his call. Its purpose is to measure service quality related to the speed of access to the Service Center
- Average Talk Time – tells you how long, on average, a CSR spends on each call. This is everything from “hello” to “goodbye.”
- Average Wrap Time – the time that CSRs spend completing transactions after saying goodbye to callers.
- Average Handling Time – tells you how long, on average, a CSR spends on each call (ATT + AWT)
- Call Load – the volume of transactions coupled with how long they last. Volume x (average talk time + average-call work) for a period of given period of time.
- Delay – everything to when the trunk is seized to the point at which the caller is connected to the CSR.
- Agent Load – includes talk time and wrap time
- Trunk Load – includes all aspects of the transaction other than wrap time, which does not require a circuit.
My team and department’s well-being were one of my top priorities. If my employees weren't happy than they’d most likely not deliver the expected level of customer service we set for the company. I had a very limited budget which forced me to create programs that recognized and rewarded staff but didn’t cost a lot of money. My main objective was to maintain a fun, positive, and motivating work environment.
Here are some recommended techniques to help improve your team's motivation:
WOW Wednesday – At least one Wednesday a month, CSRs are advised at a particular time during the time to look under their chairs for a taped envelope. Each envelope has a certificate listing a particular prize that they have won. Prizes included:
- Permission to take an extra 5-minutes on break
- Permission to come to work 1-hour late
- A doughnut
- A chocolate egg
- A free pizza
- A movie ticket
- A pen
- An umbrella
- A smiley face balloon
A variation on the idea is using certificates marked with a S, M, L, XL. Post a weekly "menu" of prizes that CSRs can select from matching the certificate type. For example:
- S = 1 inflatable frizz bee + 1 dip in the goody bag
- M = 10 minutes extra on break + a free lunch
- L = 1 paid day off of choosing + 1 lollipop
- XL = choice of a mobile phone, ipod, or camera
Free Food Friday – Usually one Friday per month is designated as ‘Free Food Friday’ in which the department buys lunch for everyone – typically pizza.
Department Award Ceremony – CS held its first annual Awards Ceremony in October. CSRs were asked to nominate colleagues for the following categories:
- Most Improved CSR
- Mr. Congeniality
- Mrs. Congeniality
- A Difficult Customer’s / Dealer’s Best Friend
- Upbeat CSR No Matter What
- Worst Hair Day
- Most Likely To Be CEO (Or Not!)
- Worked Like A Dog
- Most Supportive CSR
- M r. or Mrs. Best Bright Idea
Halloween Costume Day – CSRs were encouraged to be fun and creative this year by dressing up in their most imaginative Halloween costume. A special prize and certificate was awarded to the CSR with the ‘Best Costume’.
Secret Santa – CSRs drew names out of a hat for the individual they had to buy a present for. There was a BGN 10 maximum budget per gift. Presents were wrapped and placed under the department Christmas Tree until 23 December when everyone was allowed to open their presents. This is one of the more lively and anticipated event throughout the year.
- In addition to the ‘Secret Santa’, CSRs were asked to bring in an ornament of their choice and dress the tree.
- On Christmas Day, Santa made a special appearance at the Customer Service Department to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and distribute special gifts.
Special certificates and days – Given the large number of department employees, it’s inevitable that nearly every week someone would either have a name day or birthday. Marketing developed a special Customer Service ‘mascot’ and created birthday cards, thank you certificates, and one year certificates. If a CSR has a name day or birthday, the management team signs a card and gives it to the employee along with a bouquet of balloons. The CSRs name and occasion is also published on the department reader board for everyone to see.
Token Tips – Token Tips is a fun, on-the-spot recognition program that reinforces supervisor "praising and correcting". Senior CSRs, Supervisors, and Managers are empowered to award an agent a token tip for any ‘good’ deed, behavior, or action. The rewards are in addition to a regular monthly performance assessment scheme. Earned tokens are on a monthly basis and do not rollover. Some suggested token tips:
- 4+ Token Tips: Certificate & name added to monthly draw for a new mobile handset.
- 3 Token Tips: First choice for days off the next work schedule (includes night shifts &weekends).
- 2 Token Tips: Two movie tickets
- 1 Token Tip: 5 extra points on performance monitoring
If you're managing a call center than you better have an effective coaching program implemented.
What is coaching?
- Coaching refers to the practice of giving feedback to employees in order to help them achieve improved performance.
- Giving feedback goes hand-in-hand with the practice of measuring performance. First you monitor, then you coach, then you monitor again.
- If you’re doing it right, you should be seeing an employee’s performance continually improve.
Why is coaching so important?
- Coaching increases productivity when paired with training. Training alone will on average increase productivity by 22% but with coaching that figure soars to 88%!
- It shows your employees that you’re on top of things, that you’re keeping informed, and you’re dedicated to a course of continuous improvement.
- It shows your employees that you care about them, about their performance, about the customer, about service levels, and about running a top-notch contact center.
What are the seven fundamentals of coaching?
Let's take a closer look at each of the seven fundamentals.
1. Be specific
2. Focus on performance, not personality
- Your feedback should always focus on issues of performance, not on the CSR’s personality.
- If you feel a character flaw is to blame, then translate it into a performance issue before giving feedback.
3. Focus on behaviour that can be changed
- There’s really no point in giving feedback to someone if there is nothing he can do to change the behavior.
- You can focus on the details, which can be changed: ie: usage of clichés, jargon, etc.
4. Keep it simple and sincere
- CSRs are overwhelmed if asked to improve more than one or two areas at a time.
- If you identify 10 areas that a CSR needs to improve, point out 2 of them. Once he has made improvement in those areas, introduce something else for him to work on.
- Keep it concise. This will help you from wasting time and deemphasizing what’s really important.
- Using a lot of extra words during your feedback devalues the feedback and makes you look unskilled.
5. Give feedback as soon as possible
- As a general rule, it’s best to give feedback as soon as possible after monitoring a call or action. This way the CSR will be able to recall the specific details about the communication
- If immediate feedback is not possible, collect as many details as possible, tape the call, or collect an email thread to use during the feedback. This helps refresh the CSR’s memory and serves as “evidence” in the event of a discrepancy.
6. Pay attention to your body language
- Keep it private. Approach the CSR with a smile as you approach is workstation and then get down to his level either by kneeling or sitting. Speak just loudly enough for the CSR to hear you.
- Maintain eye contact. Look the CSR directly in the eye. This conveys an attitude of sincerity and professionalism and shows the CSR that she has your individual attention.
- Watch your tone. When giving feedback, be careful to use a calm, supportive, and upbeat tone. When addressing undesirable behavior, it’s often necessary to be form, but that doesn’t mean you have to be aggressive. If you let impatience or frustration creep into your voice, you’ll cause the CSR to be far less receptive to what you have to say.
- Smile! If you’re praising, smiling conveys your appreciation and support. If correcting, a smile might negate the verbal message, but after correcting, you might smile and thank the CSR for her willingness to make a commitment to improve.
7. Avoid the ambush approach
- Don’t race over to a CSR’s desk after hearing a call or seeing a problem and immediately jump into your feedback.
- Ease into the session so the CSR has time to mentally prepare for your feedback. It shows your concern and respect for the CSR.
My top 5 productivity hacks to mitigate micro-annoyances that keep you from staying on schedule and getting more things down in less time.
Use a Kanban board to assist with project and task management. Try a free online tool like https://kanbanflow.com/
Switch off your mobile, email and internet connectivity when working on a priority one project or task in order to avoid interruptions and distractions. If you want to actually get things done, just shut down everything and focus on the tasks at hand. "Manage your mobile, don't let it manage you." - Richard Branson
Use the two minute rule. If a task can be completed in 2 minutes or less, then complete it.
Reserve one day per month for “administrative” work where you can organize and delete files, docs, and emails. It's a general catch-up / clean up day.
Take a 10-minute break in the middle of a task. Stand-up, walk around and move your body! This will not only help boost your energy levels and rest your strained eyes, but it will hel p clear the mind! You'll be a lot more focused when you return to finish the task.
