A call center environment can be an incredibly difficult place to liven up and upgrade. But when it comes to revamping or upgrading your call center, there are many things you can do.
Make Life Easier for Your Customers
A great contact center is about minimizing the stress on your contact center staff. This could mean upgrading the technology, but also taking inspiration from an omnichannel call center and utilizing a number of different contact methods. This doesn’t necessarily reduce the workload for your employees, but when a customer has a number of different methods to contact your company, you will be able to spread the workload among your employees and make things less stressful, especially if you have a team of contact center handlers who are receiving verbal abuse on a regular basis. This will make a massive difference to their well-being.
Avoid Putting Time Constraints on a Call
One of the biggest problems modern contact centers have is that there is a lot of pressure on the call handler to resolve a situation within a specific amount of time. This means that the contact center is bound by very specific targets or metrics. However, solving a problem does not always occur within such a constrained time scale. If a customer service advisor feels like they’re on the clock, it will only make them feel like they have to rush through a call, which results in decreased satisfaction levels. It also makes the employees feel undervalued. Delivering great customer care takes as long as it takes.
Make Sure Employees Understand the Vision
There are two sides to this coin. If employees understand the vision of the business, they will work with a greater understanding of the bigger picture. However, if an employee is not paid enough to align themselves with your way of thinking, they will not feel like what they’re doing is worth the effort. So, if you want your employees to understand the bigger picture, the core values, and all those typical components that come with the modern business infrastructure, you’d better provide those perks.
Prioritize a Comforting Workspace
You should create a comfortable working environment, especially in contact centers. Some may feel that employees work better when they’re placed under a bit of stress, but this doesn’t help in the long run. Employees will invariably start to feel burnt out because of that cold and harsh environment, which anybody will tell you is not conducive to productivity. If anything feels uncomfortable, you should make a few upgrades. For example, ergonomic chairs, standing desks, or just incorporating a bit more color, which will make a big difference on an unconscious level.
Give Them Opportunities for Progression
One of the most common reasons people feel frustrated in their job is the sensation of being trapped. When employees feel like they’re stuck and there’s no opportunity to get out, they will jump ship at the first possible opportunity, which is partly why staff turnover in contact centers is so high. It’s very simple but if you want to keep your staff happy and upgrade this environment, you need to give them an out.
