Is your Contact Center Prepared for Hybrid Work?

What we have so far referred to, as the “future of work” is fast becoming the present. Learning from what works and what doesn’t, we currently have a mix of remote workers, office workers, and some who work from home and also go in person to the company.

It is this combination of personnel that makes up the new term, hybrid workforce.

But unlike a “standard worker”, a call center agent has a unique role where working from anywhere other than the standard location can be difficult without the right tools.

Running a contact center in the hybrid work environment is a challenge for which cloud technology has solutions.

What Are the Cultural Challenges of a Hybrid Call Center?

Cultural challenges are what people worry about. Whether it’s an agent-supervisor relationship or the approach to dealing with impatient customers.

To deliver the same (or better) customer experience (CX), differences in how teams work as work styles and locations change need to be identified.

5 Challenges to Consider when Implementing a Hybrid Call Center

1) Ask for Help

When employees are together in an office, a tap on the shoulder or a wave of the hand is the simplest process to ask for help, since a colleague or a supervisor can approach them to solve their query.

However, it must be considered that, when this happens, there is an agent who has been interrupted and who has to stop answering calls or doing administrative work if they are helping a colleague. This can become a red flag if an employee makes it a routine to ask for help instead of learning.

It’s not that agents shouldn’t ask for help. But even when working across multiple locations, technology can help create a formal and productive process for getting help with an upset customer or technical query.

Solution? The cloud PBX allows you to work and collaborate without limits through collaborative tools such as Enreach Contact, which facilitate remote work and adapt to all types of companies and budgets. Thanks to it, agents can work from any place and device; communicate internally and externally by voice, chat and video through WebRTC technology, mobile apps and wireless or desktop IP terminals.

2) Escalate Queries

Just because agents are in another location doesn’t mean they’re on their own to handle the most complex queries. For example, when a customer demands to speak to a supervisor, he can do so thanks to the cloud PBX, since they can see which supervisors are available and transfer the call.

Also, instead of asking customers to explain their query over and over again, the history of interactions can be accessed thanks to omnichannel.

So, whether the user first contacted the call center by phone, WebChat, or email, everything is recorded so the supervisor is quickly up to speed.

3) Stay Competitive

In sales environments, competition drives better performance. How can you ensure this continues in a hybrid workforce?

By enabling gamification components in the cloud contact center, you can turn work into a competition through leaderboards, prizes, training, and even promotions and bonuses at the top level.

Outside of sales, agents have visibility into personal and group metrics like incoming calls, outgoing calls, and talk time.

Metrics like these are included regardless of working in the office, at home, or both.

4) Boost Morale

When an agent has a bad call, there’s nothing better than letting off steam. But when he is telecommuting, no one can see that he needs a minute. That doesn’t mean you can’t take a moment and take a deep breath. All agents need to do is put themselves in termination mode or log out of the queue to avoid receiving new calls while they need to calm down.

Gamification techniques can also be used to keep all employees engaged and organize virtual events to hold a meeting at the end of the day. Additionally, team trainings can be arranged for agents who don’t come to the office every day.

5) Avoid Burnout

Like any type of employee, telecommuters or hybrid employees are susceptible to burnout and fatigue.

When working from home for the first time, it’s easy to slip into work mode for longer than in the office.

For this reason, agents must be encouraged and supervised so that they do not acquire bad habits and burn out, with tips such as the following:

• Play soft music (at a volume customers can’t hear) so you don’t feel lonely.
• Take the same time for breakfast as in the office.
• Get up from the desk from time to time.
• Change your location in the home (if possible).
• Talk to a colleague often through an employee chat.

In a hybrid work environment, it’s important to reserve office days for training, important announcements, and teamwork. It is also necessary to ensure that agents’ work environments are productive so that there is no additional stress from trivial elements.