Call Centre Hints and Tips
How well do the team leaders really know their teams. On a Tuesday ask your team leaders to tell you what each of their team did at the weekend. Hint. You will be surprised at the results. We have often seen that the best performing team leaders know what all of their teams did, while the lowest performing often had very little idea.
By deflecting more callers to your web site you will have shorter queues and longer to speak to the callers that really need your help.
They are a great way of communicating the latest news that is going on in the call centre. You can use them to convey the latest product news as well as news from the outside world. You can use them to relay product hints and tips to your agents.
Let your agents share their news and frustrations - as well as generating ideas on how things can be improved. One major building society has installed one and have found it very useful in being able to solve some of more complex problems of their customers. It is a great way for your product team to share some of the intricacies of the products without bombarding the whole team with emails.
If the weather is hot, buy the team or the whole call centre an ice cream.
A simple gesture and one small way of saying that we appreciate your efforts - particularly if the room is hot.
Most reference material is overcomplicated. When you are on a call and need to solve a problem or query, you need the information to be as simple as possible to follow.
Multi-skilling can be a huge benefit to increasing staff retention, but don't force agents into it. Some agents will love to take one type of call, some will like variety. Let the agent decide which type of calls they would like to take. It can create some management difficulties, but it is worth the effort.
We hope that these tips have worked well for you.
Here is a great way to overcome jargon in the call centre.
"When I hear CSR’s talk in acronyms I start to speak to them in French and see how long it takes them to get it"
This is from a collection of call centre ideas called "30 ideas in 30 seconds" from the Call Center Campus 2003- Purdue University
The link to the page is at http://www.ccdq.com/ccdq/30%20ideas%202.htm
Something that I do, but very few of my "superiors" are much concerned about is getting to know my customers by the sound of their voice. They love it and it really helps me to develop a relationship with them.
It's a shame that more of the call centres that I call are not more like this.
Of all the advice I have ever seen about motivation, this really is the best.
It is a very simple technique that really works well (the best ideas are very simple). It is so easy, and yet so difficult to do.
1. Make a list of all things done to you that you abhorred.
2. Don't do them to others. Ever.
3. Make another list of things done to you that you loved.
4. Do them to others. Always.
- Dee Hock, founder, Visa
I got this from a recent meeting of the Inspired Leaders Network.
When I used to man the phones years ago, I would be busy jotting down what I saw wrong with the call centre, then I would secretly submit it to the managers. Oddly, they actually implemented some things!
Contributed by Dave Cooper
Question I have a member of my team who has gone off sick three days ago with stress. Her doctor says that she will be off for at least a month. She gave very little warning that anything was wrong.
I am new to the role of Team Leader and my boss if not very sensitive. Is there any advice that you can give?
Answer I had a similar problem when I started managing larger teams. After a bit of practice you start to notice the warning signals and can do more about it.
The secret seems to be as supportive as you can. Tell the person to take as long as it takes to get back to work. Keep in regular contact and find out how they are doing.
When I sensed that she was on the mend I suggested meeting up for a cup of tea. Then I was bale to build a plan for her that would involve her getting back into work gradually. I arranged for her to work part-time for a week weeks to get her back in the swing and had her working on light duties. I kept in regular contact and gave a lot of positive feedback. She felt supported and valued.
Before long she was back into the swing of full time work, She got the support that she needed and I started to feel more confident about managing the team.
"In most call centres the manager knows most people who work there. But the problem is that many agents - particularly new agents - do not know many other people beyond their own team. One solution to this is to create a pictorial organistaion chart which can be posted on the wall of the call centre - ideally near to the front door. This should show photos of all of the call centre agents as well as showing the team structure. We did it in our call centre and found that it really helped. Agents soon started talking to each other more and internal communication improved."
This tip was sent in by Charles David.
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