21 Ways to Fine Tune Your Contact Centre

Here are 21 ways to fine tune your contact centre processes.

1.    Have at least one FAQ issue published right next to your phone number

Make sure that at least one really relevant FAQ issue is published right next to your phone number on your website.

Also make sure that the issue can be changed quickly based on direct input from agents.

With thanks to Fredrik

2.    Review FAQs on a monthly basis

We review our FAQs on a monthly basis in order to address the top questions received by the call centre.

With thanks to Joey

3.    Invite your board to visit your contact centre floor

Work hard to get your board fully engaged in what you are doing.

Invite them to visit your contact centre floor and listen in, and see what restraints you are working under.

With thanks to Glen

4.    Recognise your successors and give them the power to change things

Recognise your successors and give them power to change things they are working close to. For example, the process, customers and agents.

They know and recognise the needs and the problems very fast and are able to give the best ideas. The management team should implement the ideas afterwards.

With thanks to Polly

5.    Encourage patience, good manners and courtesy

We simply encourage our agents to act with patience, good manners and courtesy when dealing with callers.

With thanks to Michael

6.    Thank your support areas and your management team

Don’t forget to thank your support areas and your management team.

Often the focus is on the direct customer contact, and senior management forget the other cogs in the machine.

With thanks to Heather

7.    Eliminate internal red tape to accomplish a client goal

Eliminate internal red tape to accomplish a client goal.

With thanks to Joey

8.    Get your managers to cook and deliver food to your agents

For our group, food works well as a motivator. We gave this tactic a boost by having the management team personally cook and deliver food to the agents and support staff.

Nothing fancy… just a breakfast of pancakes or a grilled lunch.

The agents have frequently asked for it to be repeated!

With thanks to Mike

9.    Empathise with your client’s predicament

We focus very greatly on providing a personalised sort of service by empathising with our client’s predicament.

This is important as they phone us regularly and know our agents.

With thanks to Michael

10.     Project focus groups give advisors some ownership

Project focus groups help to get advisors involved, and also gives them some ownership.

With thanks to Emma

11.     Recognise the value of your advisors

Recognise the value of your advisors.

They are not just switchboard operators – they have a wealth of knowledge and skills.

With thanks to Christina

12.     Management get a pie in the face if goals are met

Our management team take a pie in the face if all call centre goals are met.

It’s quite fun and the representatives love it!

With thanks to Pam

13.     Some of your customers will always prefer to talk to someone

Self-service can be powerful. But don’t discount the reality that some of your customers will always prefer to talk to someone, especially if they believe that interaction adds value to their experience with you.

Don’t neglect your customer culture.

With thanks to Jae

14.     Inject energy with lots of personal attention from supervisors

The way we inject energy back into the call centre is with lots of personal attention from supervisors.

For example, coaching, team meetings, and walking around and talking to people.

With thanks to Jae

15.     Let your customers know you have their best interests at heart

Always be pleasant to your customers, empathise with them and read back their frustrations.

If you can’t help them, send it up the line to someone so that the client feels that you have their best interests at heart.

With thanks to Michael

16.     Convert your break room into a restaurant

We’ve converted our break room into a restaurant with a catered lunch.

Occasionally management serve as waiters and servers, seating associates at tables and taking orders. I put on my tux and served as the maitre’d!

With thanks to Jae

17.     Have a circus-themed day

We had a circus-theme day where everyone was encouraged to dress up.

We had managers provide popcorn, cotton candy, ice cream.

This proved to be such fun that even our client’s senior management team attended.

With thanks to Mike

18.     Listen to your customers

Listen to your customers.

Don’t just go through a tick sheet and mark the boxes.

With thanks to Gideon

19.     A one-size-fits-all recognition programme is not effective

Recognition is most effective when it’s personalised.

A one-size-fits-all recognition programme is not as effective as customising it to the personality of the recipient.

With thanks to Jae

20.     Make sure self-service options are visual and easy to find

When providing customers with self-service options, make sure they are very visual and easy to find.

Otherwise they will just end up ringing in to the call centre.

With thanks to Terri

21.     Convey positive energy from the minute you step into the call centre

The single biggest impact I have ever had on anyone at the call centre was made by the energy I conveyed when I entered the office in the morning.

My boss is the same and that energy filters down throughout the company.

Practice kindness as a company policy and your agents will be more prepared to engage with their callers and deal with their problems.

This stands to improve overall customer experience as well!

With thanks to Michael

What steps have you taken to fine tune your contact centre?