For many contact centers, each year in January, the road to the next new year is strewn with unfulfilled New Year resolutions for staff managment from the previous decade, abandoned optimization projects and discarded digital transformations pave the way. The good news is it’s not too late to course correct. So, looking ahead to a simpler, resolute future, here are three areas for immediate focus that will position your workforce for success in the beginning of any new year, and beyond.
Listen to what your contact center employees are saying is one of the most important thing for staff management. When you do, chances are you’ll hear them opine about fair-wages, fair-scheduling, and fair-work environments – all of which are growing areas of discontent for front-line employees. And with attrition rates highest at the start of the year –80 percent in some centers – now is the time to make employee engagement a focal point for the overall health of your contact center operations and staff management. When you commit to re-engaging your employees and making them the priority, they’re less stressed, more inclined to deliver outstanding customer experiences, and less apt to seek employment elsewhere.
Revitalize your contact center training program. Start by investing in the tools and technology your employees need to perform their jobs. Sixty percent of agents say their employer doesn’t always provide the technology they need to address the challenges they face when helping customers. And 14 percent think a lack of training contributes to their inability to resolve customer issues In the long run, well-trained staff work more efficiently, ask fewer questions about processes and procedures, and perform more consistently and at a higher quality level. Not many organizations regret their investment into training but countless have regretted not doing so as a fundamental part of staff management.
Try new ideas, and then test, test, test! There’s a goldmine of information that can be gleaned from A/B testing – information that until recently remained largely untapped. Yet, today, in 2020, it’s now possible for contact centers to mine this data and improve their operations. Whether you adopt the Facebook mantra, “move fast and break things” or follow Ms. Frizzle’s approach and “take chances, make mistakes, get messy,” nothing new or better will happen unless you make it happen, and that means you’re going to have to try things that are unconventional. Every new process or program implemented at your contact center – from Hours of Operation to break room amenities – can have an impact on your contact center. Want to know the impact of moving to weekdays-only support? Test it. Want to know if hazelnut creamer makes for a better employee experience than vanilla? Test it. Last time I checked, customer satisfaction is trending down and customer rage is trending up, so why not test something new?
As you work on implementing new plans and strategies to further improve your contact center operations and staff managementcontact-center-, adding one or more of the above areas will help align your center for success this year and years to come.
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(Jan 17, 2020)
