Posted by on November, 5 2019 8:29 pm
As the end of 2019 begins its approach, many contact center owners and managers may be wondering how to maintain their facility’s success through the fall and early winter.
These months are traditionally a time of slower sales and service numbers, with the holidays making a brief exception in the otherwise monotonous crawl of the cold weather months. If you don’t want your facility to be one of those that falls victim to this slow-down, follow these tips for maintaining your call center success in the last few months of the year:
Just because you’re trying to keep things running smoothly on the back end, business side of things for your company does not mean you should neglect the customer service aspect of your business. Anything but! Instead, this is the time of year in which you should increase your focus on customer service and work toward improving your customer satisfaction ratings.
During the last few months of the year, people are holiday shopping and making decisions that will impact their lives in the coming year. Be a positive part of that experience for them - and secure their business and your own success in the year to come.
Of course, it is still important to keep an eye on all of your most important metrics during this busy time of year. The fall and holiday season bring comfortable, cozy feelings and distractions galore that make it easy to become complacent in all that we do. Don’t fall victim to these feelings when it comes to your professional life. Be joyous, but keep your eyes on the prize - and your staff focused on call center success.
The holidays have become the primary focus of the final calendar year quarter of the year. By the time September rolls around, people are already talking about Halloween, Thanksgiving - and even Christmas and the New Year!
While it may not feel natural for you, it may be to your benefit to buy into this holiday hype. Talk up the excitement of the holidays in your contact center. Remind agents of the increased demand that comes with the holidays and prepare them for call center success through the busier days by using downtime to train. By the time the actual holiday season arrives, you will have a team of enthusiastic and well-prepared agents that are ready to rise to the challenge.
As the last few months of the year roll past you, take the time to observe what is happening. Yes, it can be both maddeningly slow and insanely busy in turns during this time. But if you carve out time to regularly catalog the way you’re doing business this season, you stand to do even better next time the calendar flips over to the first days of fall.
Contact centers use forecasting as a way to make educated projections as to what they can expect from consumers, business partners, clients, and other aspects of their business dealings. When you take note of how things are going this season, you set yourself - and your projections - up for increased accuracy and call center success next year.
One of the most important things you can do for your agents is monitoring them - even if they don’t see it that way. It is easy to dismiss call monitoring or agent supervision as micromanagement, but in reality this is a tool employed by the most efficient, productive call centers to achieve and maintain success. It not only helps ensure consistent quality, but it also helps agents remain accountable for their work and gives them easy access to resources for growth and improvement.
If you are going to keep monitoring your agents and expecting them to perform up to your standards, you should keep offering them reminders of what those standards are.
No, this doesn’t mean standing over your staff and barking orders. Rather, acting as a coach rather than a traditional boss is a much more effective way to lead - and has been shown to promote a positive regard from employees. What’s more, remaining on the coaching field with your staff through these sometimes difficult months can show them that you are committed to their performance and growth - something that will strengthen company morale and improve employee performance from a genuine place.
Perhaps one of the biggest secrets to call center success is that those who never stop improving never stop training. Even when you feel satisfied with your staff’s current performance - even when things are going well - continuing to offer everyday training opportunities is key to ongoing success.
Be sure that your staff maintains a regular training schedule throughout this busy time of year. Make training gatherings fun with seasonal themes and events. Soon, your team will look forward to them - and you’ll look forward to the boost in productivity they promote.
No matter how well-trained your agents are and how prepared your staff is to provide excellent service, you can’t do so with outdated technology. Whether your software is slow or your hardware is hardly working, you can see major improvement in the majority of your metrics by simply upgrading your technology. The best part? It’s an investment that may not be as costly as you’re imagining.
If you’re looking for ways to upgrade your facility’s technology and prepare for call center success in the final calendar year quarter, talk to the industry experts at ChaseData. We have everything your team needs to make this the most successful year on record. Give us a call today to find out more!