We’ve seen how the call center industry has been overcome with new pandemic-driven ways of working. There’s the growing demand for remote work, increased digital transformation, and consistent delivery of excellent customer experiences.
That said, strategies from a few years ago may no longer prove useful today. The pandemic has greatly reshaped the business landscape, not only for call centers but every industry in modern times.
Now that businesses are transitioning back to normal, new strategies and initiatives are here to address the challenges that call centers are facing. Here are the tried-and-tested call center strategies that have stood out in the pandemic-hit sector.
Call center strategies your business needs today
According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the growth rate of the call center customer service industry is expected to be 6% through 2026. With more job opportunities and increased hiring for work-from-home agents, the call center profession is a viable career option.
To ensure maximum gains in your organization, here are tried-and-tested call center strategies you can adopt this 2022:
Establish post-pandemic call center protocols
Since there are a lot of new ways of how people work and how management handles teams, there should be new protocols provided to agents, both seasoned and newly hired. Establish post-pandemic call center protocols as soon as you re-establish your operations.
These protocols should include not only guidelines on dealing with customers post-pandemic but also health and safety protocols that will ensure staff’s wellbeing in the workplace. These protocols should be well-documented and disseminated properly across all departments concerned.
With this, you can ensure that your company’s services will experience little disruption.
Develop a centralized database
All businesses should develop centralized databases for their customers. When you have this organized, you don’t have to extract data from one platform to another every time you need their information and history of transaction.
With large amounts of data, it’s always recommended to keep a centralized database that contains all the information agents need to efficiently provide customer assistance. This is especially important now that there are a lot of virtual transactions added to your list post-pandemic.
Prioritize employee engagement
Call center agents’ tasks and responsibilities are tedious and repetitive, especially with the high volume of calls they are receiving. As managers, how do you ensure that in each call, employees are at their hundred percent?
Prioritizing employee engagement starts within your team–it could be doing group activities and one-on-one coaching sessions, which could go a long way. Take the time to institute basic employee engagement programs to keep your team’s motivation elevated.
Maintain open lines of communication with your agents
It’s common for call centers to have high turnover rates due to agent fatigue and burnout. It’s not enough that we recognize this; it should be addressed properly too. One way to lower your attrition rate is to talk to your agents and ask them about their disposition.
Let them have a safe space where they can share their experiences that cause high levels of stress and how you can help as an organization.
By acting upon their immediate concerns, you can foster a caring, welcoming environment for them, which increases their motivation and work engagement.
Provide self-service options for customers
Digital transformation has made it more challenging for businesses to provide their consumers with an excellent customer experience online. With new technologies, customers can instantly ask for service through chatbots, self-service portals, voice response systems, and more.
When your clients have self-service options as their go-to desk for their problems, the tasks for your agents also decrease while giving your customers faster replies. It leads to customer satisfaction and retention.
Implement voicebots
Through automation, companies can now easily incorporate voicebots into their customer service. This offers a better experience to both the agents and customers, especially when enforced alongside chatbots.
For example, voicebots can automatically remind users about their meetings, bills payments, and subscription renewals. They even have the capability to address concerns on billing—a highly critical reason why customers call for help.
What call centers can do post-pandemic
As businesses begin to live in a new world, how can call centers better position themselves? These call center strategies will help your organization not only to start over but to stay ahead amidst the post-pandemic global market changes.
But no matter how many call center strategies you implement, if you can’t define the dynamics of how your company grows and operates at its best, your efforts will go nowhere. So, make sure to look at all areas. Identify your strengths and weaknesses and strategically use them for the benefit of your organization.
