How to Increase Call Center Agent Efficiency

Customer service. When done correctly, it can set your business apart from the rest and keep customers coming back time and time again. Conversely, when done incorrectly, even just one interaction can cause a customer to quickly move their business over to your competition.

If your company operates with a call or contact center, part of great customer service involves providing timely resolutions to issues customers face. Use these tips to increase representative efficiency.

Custom communications solution

Efficiency is all about equipping your customer service representatives with the tools they need to work quickly and solve customer issues. By partnering with a communications company that specializes in custom contact and call center solutions, you’ll have access to the equipment, features, and functions agents need in your specific industry.

Call monitoring and recording

With the right communications system, you can take advantage of call monitoring and recording which allows you to provide continuous training and coaching to your representatives. This can be helpful for new agents, those looking to learn a different skill or representatives simply looking to improve upon their current skillset.

Agent-to-agent chat

By allowing for open communication via computer between agents, employees can ask real-time questions to their superiors or other seasoned agents while they are working through a customer issue. This way, instead of having to hang up with a customer, find the answer to their question and then call them back, agents can simply resolve the issue while the customer is still on the line.

Provide easy access to account details

84% of customers become frustrated when a representative does not have immediate access to their account information. With a pop-up feature that displays customer information on an employee’s computer as soon as a call comes through, employees can bypass the often time-consuming step of searching for or asking for that information.

Skill-based call routing

Screen customers before they talk to a representative in order to route them to the employee or department that will serve them best. For example, if a caller indicates they are a new customer, they may be routed to a sales representative, not an agent experienced in handling customer billing issues.

Make use of idle time

Many agents experience some level of downtime during the day. Encourage productivity during this time by providing quick, revenue-driving tasks that employees can complete between customer phone calls.

Incentivize

Reward agents who work effectively and efficiently, score high on customer satisfaction surveys, or consistently follow your customer service best practices. Greater compensation, promotions, additional days off, or even something as simple as a gift card will go a long way in motivating employees.

How do you promote efficiency within your call center? Have any of these tips worked for you?