Here’s the truth: the success of your call center determines the success of your broadband or telecom business. Two-thirds of customers consider your company’s customer service reputation when making a purchasing decision.
If you fail to meet their expectations, they’re four times more likely to buy from your competitor.
That means taking the steps to improve call center performance is more critical than ever. But where do you begin? Below, we go over common barriers to success and six steps you can take to improve your call center’s performance.
Why prioritizing call center performance matters
96% of customers leave after one lousy service experience. Globally, businesses lose nearly four trillion dollars yearly because of poor customer service. Keeping your call center running like a well-oiled machine is vital to keeping customers happy and reducing revenue loss.
Common barriers that hinder call center performance
There are numerous barriers to effective call center performance. Call center agent attrition is around 45%, twice as high as in other industries. Many agents are also unengaged in their jobs or lack the right tools to answer tech support inquiries, which can lead to a poor customer service experience.
Additionally, customer rage is on the rise. According to the customer rage survey, 43% of survey participants admitted to yelling at customer service agents. This can lead to agent burnout, high agent turnover rates and a higher customer churn rate.
How to improve call center performance
An efficient call center is critical to happy customers and a thriving business. Below are a few tips to help you improve call center performance.
Focus on your agent onboarding program
One of the most important steps you can take to improve your call center performance is prioritizing your agent onboarding program. A successful agent onboarding program reduces agent turnover, improves agent confidence and lowers business expenses.
Right now, call centers are battling astronomically high agent turnover rates. Studies show that employees with poor onboarding experiences are twice as likely to leave their jobs.
Additionally, it can cost companies up to twice the employee’s salary to replace them. So, if you pay your call center agents $40,000 per year, you could be paying as much as $80,000 to hire their replacement.
So, how can you create an onboarding program that stops turnover in its tracks? Here are a few employee onboarding best practices to follow:
- Set clear goals and expectations for agents
- Create a 30-60-90 day plan for new hires
- Ensure all training materials are up-to-date
- Provide clear and actionable feedback during the training process
Equip agents with the right tools for the job
You can hire the best call center agents in the world, but they’ll struggle to do their jobs well if you have a poor tech stack. That’s why setting agents up for success with the right technology is crucial.
For example, virtualization, or virtualized tech support, can help agents provide faster and more accurate customer service. These devices mimic all the functionality of physical ones.
However, unlike physical devices, virtualized ones dynamically update. Agents can also switch between multiple versions of the same smartphone or tablet, providing more accurate tech support and reducing average handling time (AHT).
Another tool to consider is live video support. Live video support facilitates better communication between customers and agents, reducing frustration and helping agents resolve tech support issues quickly.
Want to learn more about how the right video support tool can help your business?
For example, instead of customers having to describe where their router is located, they can show agents where it is in their house. This also allows agents to provide a more personalized tech support experience.
Provide training and development opportunities
Another critical component of improving call center performance is providing customer service agents with training opportunities. Teaching agents to use new technology or learn new skills can help ensure your call center maintains effective, competitive tech support.
For example, you might train agents in AI customer service technology to help them improve their job performance and respond to tech support inquiries faster. You might also teach them how to use virtual devices to guide customers through troubleshooting tech issues.
Providing agents with training and development opportunities is vital to improving agent net promoter score (NPS). It also can help reduce agent turnover. 40% of employees who don’t receive training opportunities at work will leave their jobs within a year.
Monitor key performance metrics
Peter Sondergaard, the former vice president of research at Gartner, once said, "Information is the oil of the 21st century, and analytics is the combustion engine."
A data-driven strategy is at the heart of any top-performing call center. Data is essential to understanding your call center's current performance, identifying areas for improvement and identifying opportunities to get ahead of competitors.
But how do you know what information to gather to refine your customer support strategy? Below are a few metrics you may want to track:
- Net promoter score (NPS)
- Customer retention rate
- Transfer rate
- Average handle time (AHT)
- First call resolution rate
Create an engaging and supportive work environment
Call centers are facing an epidemic of agent attrition. Most agents leave their jobs due to burnout, disengagement and a lack of flexible work opportunities.
Focusing on creating a supportive work environment that provides employees the engagement and flexibility they need can stop attrition in its tracks. Improving employee engagement is often a win-win for companies, as it creates a better customer experience. One study found that companies with engaged employees have customer loyalty rates 233% higher than businesses that don't.
Another way you can support your call center agents is by implementing a hybrid customer service strategy. 83% of employees want their employers to offer a hybrid work arrangement. Additionally, nearly three-fourths of businesses say they already are or are in the process of planning a hybrid work strategy.
This means that if your call center does not offer hybrid work, it's already behind. You also risk losing your employees to a competitor that already does.
So, how do you create a hybrid work strategy that works for your call center? While the needs of every business are different, here are a few best practices:
- Decide the right balance between the number of days spent in the office and the number spent at home.
- Train your agents in best practices for collaborating and communicating effectively when working remotely.
- Set clear guidelines and expectations to ensure everyone is on the same page.
- Provide agents with access to a digital knowledge base to find the answers they need in the office and at home.
- Regularly evaluate your hybrid work strategy's efficacy to identify areas to improve.
A successful call center is key to a successful business
Quality and timely customer service is at the heart of a thriving telecom or broadband business. Customer expectations are higher than ever, especially in terms of customer service.
By improving call center performance, you can provide the tech support experience your customers crave and reap the benefits of higher customer retention and increased employee engagement.
Are you seeking a more effective, personalized customer service experience while improving key call center metrics? Remote video support can help your agents provide faster, more accurate tech support without costly installations or truck rolls. Discover the future of tech support today!
