Call centers don’t exactly have the best reputation when it comes to employee happiness. They’re often stereotyped as being highly stressful and unrewarding places to work, and the turnover rate would seemingly support this. The stereotypes of call centers can be true, and working in poor conditions leads to reduced productivity, additional costs, and decreased morale.
There’s no denying that a call center job is challenging, but the negative stereotypes don’t have to be facts. With the right tools and approach, the call center environment can be rewarding, and there are many things both agents and supervisors can do to make a difference.
Focus on Achievements
As an agent, it’s easy to get bogged down in negative experiences. Maybe you’ve had some particularly difficult calls, maybe your goals seem impossible to reach, or maybe juggling all your required skills is stressing you out. Focusing on your skills may be just the thing to shed a more positive light on the job. Every day you’re utilizing great communication and technical skills. You’re able to absorb new knowledge from your colleagues and supervisors, and each project is an opportunity to develop your skills further. If you focus more on the issues you solve each day and the support you provide customers, the job can seem a bit easier.
Keep Software Up to Date
There are few things that can make agents’ jobs more stressful than working with outdated or unhelpful software. Having the right tools for the job is essential for all employees’ job satisfaction and performance, so equipping your call center with state of the art solutions is one of the best investments a leader can make.
Integrating your call center with oracle call center software will create a much better experience for both customers and your agents. This is a cloud-based CRM solution that has true omnichannel routing. This means that customers can contact your agents through any desired method whether that’s a phone call, text, SMS, email, or a message on a company app. Customers have come to expect great flexibility and convenience, and an omnichannel call center even allows customers to switch communication methods seamlessly while staying connected to the same agent and keeping all conversation progress.
A unified agent desktop makes it easy for agents to keep track of information regarding all conversations, and they can quickly look up customer data and use features like click-to-call. With these tools, agents’ jobs are easier than ever, and call center efficiency can be improved dramatically.
Use Voice Drops
Voice drop, also known as ringless voicemail broadcasting, is another tech solution that can greatly boost efficiency. This technology lets agents leave messages directly on a recipient’s voicemail server, so they bypass the calling process entirely. This has great potential for telemarketing so long as you’re following TCPA regulations. Voice drops have been debated with some saying they should be considered “robocalls,” while others argue that they can’t be classified as calls at all.
They have more applications for call centers, however. Voice drops can be great timesavers when pursuing leads. For every call that goes unanswered, an agent can simply click to leave a pre-recorded message instead of having to read an entire script for each call.
Empathize With Customers
One of the best things an agent can do is demonstrate to the customer that they genuinely want to help and are there to listen. Be respectful and try to see the problem through the customer’s eyes so you can offer effective insight. Repeating what the customer says demonstrates that you’re actively listening and treating their concerns seriously. Refrain from talking down to customers and let them express frustrations without interruptions. When you understand their problem fully, it’s a good idea to begin with a positive statement to put the customer’s mind at ease. This can make conversations with difficult customers go much more smoothly.