How To Improve Agent Efficiency And Experience

Today’s contact centers are increasingly recognizing employee sentiment and moving away from micromanaging people to empowering them. As they do, it’s increasingly recognized that agents are capable of managing themselves—both their performance and their schedules.

In call centers, which have long been known for a culture of micromanaging, workforce managers have traditionally relied on key performance indicators, or KPIs, to monitor agent performance.

However, today supervisors are training agents to monitor their own KPIs and manage their own performance. And they’re finding that when you enhance the agent (AX) experience by giving them insight, choice, and power over their own customer-facing work experiences, they deliver consistently superior interactions.

The Enreach Omnichannel Contact Center Agent Module Offers Three Key Benefits To Increase Your Performance:

1) Omnichannel Service

Connect with your customers through their preferred channels: WhatsApp, Webchat, SMS, email, phone calls and via the web… In this way, you will always be there when your customers need you.

2) Improve the Productivity of Your Agents

Offer your agents a single web interface to manage all conversations. They will be able to serve customers from multiple channels, personalize messages with icons and rich text, create predefined responses, type interactions, add notes, reschedule calls, and transfer conversations. They will also be able to show their availability with customizable statuses.

3) Connect Our Solution with Your CRM and Multiply Its Power

Our service integrates with the main CRMs on the market (Salesforce, Dynamics, Zendesk, Zoho…) to optimize the work of your agents and improve the experience of your customers. Manage your calls from your CRM, customize the flows, automate the creation of tickets, record call information, and create reports… All from a single environment!

How KPIs Influence Agent Performance

A KPI is a metric that call centers use to determine if business objectives are being met, such as increasing efficiency and delivering exceptional service. Contact centers KPIs include measures that tell us how agents are following defined processes.

When It Comes to Agent Efficiency, Many Contact Centers Focus On Two KPIs:

1) Average Handle Time (AHT)

It is the time it takes for an agent to complete an interaction with a customer. Many call centers closely monitor this metric to reduce call wait times and improve customer satisfaction. A shorter AHT can also indicate that agents are operating more efficiently.

2) After Call Work (ACW)

This is the time that agents spend on the tasks they have to complete after performing an interaction with a customer. Whether you’re entering information into a CRM or sending a follow-up email to the customer, ACW provides the context needed to ensure the customer has a good experience the next time they interact with the call center.

How Can Contact Centers Use These KPIs To Ensure That an Agent’s Time Is Productive and Efficient?

1) Setting Goals For AHT and ACW

After all, you can’t improve what you don’t measure. However, there is no one-size-fits-all goal. Appropriate AHT and ACW goals depend on many factors, including service level, business sector, internal processes, and call complexity.

2) Training Agents

It is necessary to communicate the objectives of AHT and ACW to the call center teams and they must point in the same direction.

3) Equipping Agents with the Necessary Tools To Monitor their AHT and ACW

4) Giving Agents Permission To Manage Your AHT and ACW

This not only empowers agents, but also frees up supervisors to focus on other, higher-value tasks.

In conclusion, by empowering agents, contact centers can more efficiently meet service level and customer satisfaction goals while improving the overall agent experience.