Workforce Management Featured Article
The Correlation Between Brand Reputation and Agent Training
In today’s competitive business world, building your brand is the key to success. A brand that will stand out from the crowd needs to be unique, targeted and customer-centric. In fact, a brand that’s all about the customer is likely to be the most successful, no matter how unique its competitors are. That’s because when people want help, they want it quickly and efficiently. We live in a world where answers are typically a Google (News - Alert) search away, so a company’s customer service department needs to be on its game at all times.
This is where strategic agent training comes into play. Call center agents are admirable in that they all go to work every day without knowing what to expect. What starts off as any other Tuesday can quickly turn into a nightmare if an onslaught of angry callers all reach out within a two hour span. On the flip side, that same Tuesday could turn out to be great—no crazy peak calling times, patient customers that understand they’re talking to an actual human being and should therefore be polite, and so on.
Not knowing what they’re in for on a daily basis means that agents need to be trained very well to deal with any scenario that comes their way. One of the best training methods is role playing, as it allows new agents to act out scenarios involving different kinds of callers. Using veteran agents in training is also helpful because they know the best replies and phrases to use in sticky situations. Veteran agents would also benefit from “refresher training,” which involves going over both the basics and more technical aspects—like workforce management software— of work every once in awhile.
Most important, though, is that agents are trained to treat each customer as if the brand’s reputation depends on it—because it does. Thanks to social media and the Internet, one negative customer experience can turn into a brand’s worst nightmare. Poor reviews get shared much more than the positive ones; it won’t matter if there are tons of glowing reviews on a company’s website if a few really awful reviews get circulated on Facebook (News - Alert).
So, when it comes down to it, a large piece of a brand’s reputation rests on the shoulders of contact center agents. No matter which channel an agent is being contacted through, they need to work their hardest to ensure that that experience is a positive one. To do this, agents need the best training and workforce management solutions out there.
