Workforce Management Featured Article
How Contact Centers Can Get Best Agent Results
Working in a call center has never been easy. Agents frequently have to contend with frustrated – sometimes irate – callers. It can be tough to sit all day. Everything seems to be measured. And it can get repetitive.
But people with the right attitude and skillsets, and the ability to go off-script when needed, may find the work challenging, exciting, and rewarding. That’s why hiring managers need to look for and hire individuals with certain key characteristics.
When possible, it’s great to hire people with related experience and good references. That’s a no-brainer.
Contact center agents are the face and voice of your organization. So the importance of hiring agents with good communications skills is paramount. These individuals should have clear and understandable speaking voices. And because contact centers include chat/text and email, good writing and spelling skills are very important as well.
Agents should have an even temperament and be personable. That will enable them to respond well whether customers are easy to work with or more difficult. It will also allow them to accept guidance and work well with others within the organization.
Schedule adherence is important to getting the best results from a call center or contact center. So workers who are punctual can help with that.
And while agents often rely on scripts and strict key performance indicator objectives to guide their work, hiring managers also want people who are independent thinkers. Agents need to be able to think on their feet as new situations arise. And they should have the wherewithal to find and deliver workable solutions.
Contact center managers should have onboarding processes and materials in place. They also need to coach and update agents throughout their careers. But the best agents need to be self-starters that not only accept and implement what they’re told to do, but actually find new solutions, inspire others, and deliver great business results and customer experiences.
To get the best out of the best people, contact centers also need to arm these workers with the technology they to succeed in their jobs. Solutions like workforce management can help workers be more productive and happier, and deliver top-notch results.
Edited by Maurice Nagle