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Every communication with a customer is a chance to establish a positive affiliation, be it over the phone, over social media or otherwise. Call centers fulfill a very excited purpose. They are the midway between the customer and the company.
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Introduction • Call centers fulfill a very hectic purpose. They are the intermediate between the customer and the company. • They are responsible for coordinating operations so that the message of the company can reach the customers, as well as to ensure that customers can communicate freely to know more about any aspect of the company. • Every interaction with a customer is an opportunity to establish a positive relationship, be it over the phone, over social media or otherwise. • To deal with the stress of such a job and to execute it properly, call centers need to imbibe certain workplace values that help them go about their operations smoothly and perform to the best of their abilities.
The role of upstanding values in an organization cannot be downplayed, even though a whole lot of companies have regrettably shifted focus from a value-oriented mindset to a result-oriented one. • These leaves a lot of employees disgruntled and ultimately has a negative bearing on the company. For a call center to succeed, it needs to focus on both the customer experience as well as the employee experience in equal measure. • If there is a strong value system within your organization, people are bound to be more interconnected with each other’s work. • There will be more free-flowing communication, and an idea of mutual interests.
Employees will be motivated to working for a common goal, and in the process be willing to help each other out so that the overall productivity of the team is increased. • It helps to move the mindsets from an individualistic benefit scheme to a more team-oriented approach. • It is important to outline the requirement of such values right from day one – even while hiring, the company should be looking for candidates who exhibit traits of teamwork and communication. • Now that we understand how a value system can help in the day to day activities of a call center, here are a few of the essential values you need your employees to cultivate, so that the call center perform to its potential.
Respect • Respect is the cornerstone of every success story. In a call center setting, respect is of paramount importance in all levels of operations. • Corporate historian, management author and customer service expert Robert Spector remarks, “When we talk about respect, we are talking about respect all across the board. • First of all, you need to hire people that respect you, and you need to be respecting them. If you do not have respect for them or vice versa, it is not going to work.”
Indeed, respect needs to the founding value of your organization. Call center agents need to show respect for the customers calling in, even if that respect is not always reciprocated. • As a customer service agent, you need to give customers the respect they deserve even when they are frustrated, angry or rude. • You have to realize they are calling in because they care. Showing respect towards co-workers increases the productivity and keeps the atmosphere at the workplace conducive to good results.
Trust • Trust starts right from the lowest levels of employees and goes right up to the top. First and foremost, you need to trust that the recruits you are hiring will be able to do the job for you. • Next, you need to create a situation where teammates trust each other and are willing to work with each other, because no matter how talented your individual employees are, they will get very little done if they do not have the support of a team. • You also need to establish trust with your customers. In fact, the relationship between an agent and a customer needs to be grounded in a sense of mutual trust.
In this manner, even if you make a mistake, your customers will let you solve it without much fuss, because you have established that relationship of trust. • With trust comes confidence – the customer is then willing to stay with your brand for a longer time and invest more into it. • This is a key element of sales in the call center industry, and it is all based upon trust and security.
Proactive awareness • The best call centers distinguish themselves from the average by virtue of how proactive their employees are. • You want to fill your positions with agents who are aware of what is going on in the company, what is going on beyond it, and what can be done to give themselves the edge over the competitors. • They need to be able to anticipate deadlocks and react effectively to any situation. Employees who are aware make a team dynamic and robust.
They are the ones who take initiative to solve new problems, or think of more efficient solutions to the existing problems. • They do not get flustered under pressure but rather look for ways to relieve the stress by staying calm and confident. • It is difficult to teach awareness, though. Some people are just more aware than others, therefore, it is important to identify this trait while hiring and give it significant importance.
Communication • Sharing data and information, making common solutions public, discussing problems and brainstorming are key features of a successful call center. • The underlying theme in all of these practices is proper communication, which is one of the most important values for a call center to cultivate. • Companies need to not only foster communication within different teams or departments, they also need to train agents to communicate effectively with the customers.
In far too many cases, a misinterpretation of what the customer is trying to say costs the company wasted time, resources and a reduction in quality of service. • In contrast, an agent who gives himself a little more time to understand the exact problem or query, can contribute much more fruitfully. • A significant part of communication is listening to a customer. Agents need to be able to ask intelligent questions that provide clarity. • They should also be trained in the mannerisms that allow for effective communication to take place.
Collaboration • Success cannot be achieved in isolation. For a call center to be successful, individuals need to collaborate, pool in ideas and brainstorm solutions. • Collaboration helps in the betterment of the entire team. Agents need to be motivated to work towards a shared goal – and be prepared to help each other on the way there. • They need to understand that it is the team’s success that determines their own, and not the other way around.
Employees need to assess a problem using their best judgment, and then use all the resources they have at their disposal to solve it – including tapping into the knowledge or expertise of other employees. • A collaborative environment keeps spirits up and hugely improves the workplace scenario. Personal ownership is a big factor in collaborative values. • You would ideally hire agents who take personal ownership of their customers’ problems and counter the challenges to the best of their abilities.
Loyalty • Agent loyalty is a huge issue in the call center business. It is often the distinguishing factor for a successful call center. • Turnover rates in the industry are abnormally high – about 28% on a global average, which can spike up to 50% in the developing regions which have a high concentration of agents employed. • Therefore, loyalty is a two-way street. Companies need agents who are loyal to the brand. The way to ensure that, on the other hand, is for the company to be loyal to the employee as well. • Increased engagement, quality-centric metrics for evaluation, conducive work environments, etc. are all efforts that companies can undertake to keep employee satisfaction levels high and the team morale up.
The other aspect of concern is customer loyalty. Companies have to find ways to ensure that customers can be retained. • For this, you need to have a comprehensive, dynamic and clear value proposition that customers can understand, and are likely to find favorable. • You need to provide efficient service, and quality customer support. You also need to take initiative and put the customer first while making any policy. • These practices will help cultivate loyalty, and that goes a long way in establishing your call center as a successful one.
