2 min
Businesses are anticipating when they can reopen their customer service centers as new developments continue in the COVID-19 pandemic. Since mid-March, many corporate call centers have sent their employees to work from home or have worked with limited staff in the office.
As the government begins to reduce restrictions, many organizations are wondering what steps to take to get agents back to work safely, especially at contact center facilities. It will still be some time before social distancing is eliminated and it is important to take into account local and health authority guidelines when working on a reopening strategy.
As call centers begin to reopen, companies are likely to have to operate with limited staff due to security guidelines. Although thanks to teleworking solutions such as those designed by masvoz, half the staff can work from the office and the rest from agents from home.
How To Maximize Efficiency In The Call Center?
1) Be Transparent
It is advisable to communicate to users what the approximate waiting time may be to answer their call, since higher call volumes may be experienced than usual. A strategy to follow may be to save your place in the queue and call back so they don’t have to wait. They can also be guided so that they know how to communicate with the call center through digital alternatives such as visiting the website, using social networks or email.
2) Anticipate Customer Needs
The call center is likely to receive similar questions during the pandemic. Agents need to get to customer information quickly to provide a satisfying experience during an already difficult time. For this, they must be able to access the client’s file to consult all their history and solve their problem as soon as possible. Also, it is important that agents can see what type of queries to prioritize based on customer needs.
3) Train Agents
Agents are seeking guidance and leadership at this time. His world, like everyone else’s, has changed in recent months. It is important to set expectations and provide direct directions on how to deal with stressed users.
Having the right quality and workforce management software will give supervisors a chance to see how agents respond to help guide improvements. This tool will also help them establish KPIs and explain them to agents.
As companies slowly begin to move toward a new normal, contact centers will work with one part of the team in the office and the other in telework mode. Therefore, it is essential that organizations invest in technology.
4) Offer Self-service Options
A call center agent is often the most valuable asset in an organization, although one way to increase efficiency is to direct customers to self-service options like IVR, automated AI chatbots, and email. Thus, agents can answer those calls that are more complex first.
Through these strategies, companies can successfully maintain continuity, customer satisfaction, and agent security, even in the face of this unexpected and ongoing pandemic. The organizations that make the transition most efficiently are those that prioritize people, both agents and customers.
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