Have you ever wondered what takes today’s biggest brands from unknown start-ups to world-renowned companies? For many of these companies, it’s their sterling customer service strategies.

Is your company among those with strong customer service techniques? If you’re not sure – or you’re looking to improve your customer service approach – check out these tips borrows from top companies around the world:

Furloughed Federal Employees: Talented Individuals and Perfect Potential Remote Call Center Agents

If you’ve seen the news in the last month or picked up a newspaper – even if you aren’t living in the United States – you’re probably aware that America’s government is in shutdown.

Now the longest in American history, the government shutdown has impacted numerous professionals and their families. Hundreds of thousands of government employees have been furloughed, meaning that they are essentially temporarily laid off until the government reopens. The problem isn’t just that these employees are temporarily out of work; it’s that the work that they once relied on for a primary or secondary income is now no longer available, meaning that their families and the necessary expenses they accrue are no going unpaid.

Call and contact centers are notorious for having high turnover rates. This typically comes from a high rate of dissatisfaction on the part of employees. But why is this – and what can be done to turn the tide on this trend?

If you own or operate a call center, you may be wondering how to increase employee satisfaction. Here, we outline a few top strategies – many borrowed from today’s top companies – and how they can help you make the workplace a better place to be for your entire staff.

Are your agents well-versed in upselling and cross-selling techniques? If not, you may offer the excuse that they don’t need to be – it’s 2019, after all! Why would you train your agents to cross-sell and upsell when consumers don’t respond to these techniques anymore?

The truth is, consumers still definitely opt for additional products and services when they are recommended or sold properly. It’s all in how you approach the sale – and that’s where equipping your agents with solid techniques will come in handy.

Here are some upselling and cross-selling techniques for the modern call center that will help your numbers soar and your agents understand how to suggest the sale without leaving your callers or consumers feeling like they’ve had something forced on them:

The holidays are a busy time for everyone. For those who work in the field of customer service – especially in call centers and similar settings – the winter holidays and the days that directly follow them are some of the busiest and most difficult. With so many people making holiday purchases, there’s bound to be an increased need for customer service when something goes wrong along the way.

That's why peak season planning is so important. Keeping consumers happy is an all-year, round-the-clock job, and your call center can't afford to take days off from providing excellent customer service just because your numbers have gone up. 

Here’s your guide to maintaining great customer service despite the hectic pace of the holidays – or any peak hours or season your call center may encounter – with good peak season planning:

6 Things Your Customer Service Call Center Agents Should Be Doing During Every Call

Call center agents are the frontline soldiers of providing excellent customer service and solving the problems your consumers call in. Looking for ways to improve their performance – and your callers' perception of your center – only makes sense.

If there is a formula for success when it comes to making your consumers and clients happy, it is handling every call as well as your agents possibly can. What does that mean? It is different for every caller and every agent’s interaction with those callers, but in general, here are six things that a customer service call center agent should be doing every time they pick up the phone:

Are you overpaying your call center agents? Many call center managers are without even realizing it! While paying your staff adequately and in a timely manner is important, so is keeping your company financially stable. Doing both is about striking a balance in your payroll department.

Call center agents are some of the hardest working professionals in the modern workforce. Don’t believe that? Try meeting their call center agent goals for yourself, and you’ll see just how focused and diligent these agents must be to get things done. They may not be laboring physically, but their mental agility is the backbone of call centers everywhere.

Despite being an invaluable asset to their team, every call center agent has goals they want to achieve and room for improvement. Here, we examine some of those goals – and how to train or become the best call center agent possible. Read on to learn more about meeting and exceeding your company’s own call center agent goals in the coming year:

As you know if you work in or manage an outbound calling center, time is money. This is undeniably true when it comes to effective outbound calling, since every connection your agents make can mean a potential sale closed or contact made.

When you want a dialing solution that will help you strike the right balance between productivity and efficiency in closing sales and making deals, you want an outbound predictive dialer. Here’s why: