The efficiency of your call center depends on a very significant factor: the productivity of your agents. When your agents are happy and fulfilled with their work they deliver exceptional customer service. And when they are tired, dissatisfied, and overworked it often reflects in their job performance. According to Gartner agent productivity is directly linked to customer service quality. Compatible and reliable call center software can significantly impact an agent’s day-to-day operations. The right call center software will make their job easier and improve call center efficiency.
To help you narrow down on a call center system to boost agent productivity, here are 6 tools:
Multi-level IVR
IVR is an automated phone answering system typically used for answering inbound calls. An IVR answers the call and immediately interacts with the customer. The interactive Voice Response system offers self-service options 24/7 so customers can get help with common issues or frequently asked questions. IVR helps ease call congestion and takes the burden off of the agent rush. A multi-level IVR can help you with:
- Skill-based routing
- Automatic call routing
- Location-based call routing
- Efficient brand marketing
- Data capturing
- Real-time data analysis
- Professional voicemail greeting
- Voicemail capturing
- Multi-driven menu system.
An IVR helps by removing menial tasks from the agent’s plate so they can focus on solving complex issues for customers.
CRM Integration
A CRM system is a hub for your customer information, it improves efficiency for both customers and agents. Call center agents are often occupied with unproductive, daunting work like updating customer information, checking previous interactions, and searching for customer details. Instead, agents can be by the virtue of their job: handling customer issues, targeting leads, and driving conversions.
By integrating a CRM system with call center software you can utilize your manpower in the best possible way. An Integrated CRM system allows a seamless flow of data across systems and allows agents access to historical data and notes about past interactions with customers. Agents can use this data to quickly resolve issues, speed up and improve the quality of customer service. CRM provides a big-picture view of what the relationship with the caller is like and helps agents provide personalized customer service.
Call Recording
Call recording in call center software allows agents to record inbound and outbound calls and store the interactions in the cloud. While call recording might not seem helpful for your agents, it does help Quality Analysts to review agents’ calls in one-on-one training sessions. Listening to these call recordings is a great way to identify and correct mistakes and work on the overall performance.
Predictive Dialing
Predictive dialing helps your agents to be efficient by placing calls to the customers so they can focus on assisting customers in a better way. Without a predictive dialer, agents spend a lot of their time looking up phone numbers and reading information about their leads so they can pitch to potential customers.
Each of these steps takes a small amount of time but over the course of the day, they can add to hours of lost productivity. With a predictive dialer, numbers can be easily accessed and dialed automatically. Ensuring your agents become more efficient and focus on lead conversions.
Preview Dialer
Preview dialer is a highly useful outbound dialing tool in call center software. With the preview dialer agents are presented with the information about the customer to be called and give agents the option of whether to proceed with the automated call or not. This is particularly helpful for call centers that make thousands of outbound calls every day.
Progressive Dialer
Progressive diallers automate the process of making outbound calls by dialing the next customer on a pre-prepared list when the agents indicate they are ready to take the call.
The information about the next customer pops up on the agent’s screen and the number dials immediately. In a progressive dialler, calls that go straight to voicemail disconnect right away whereas calls that ring continuously with no answers are disconnected after a predetermined time. The whole process reduces the agent’s effort, maximizes efficiency, and saves time.
Here are some quick tips to follow to improve call center efficiency and enhance agent performance:
- Give agents the autonomy to make their own decisions and use their knowledge effectively.
- Call center agents are under tremendous pressure dealing with irritated customers and deadlines. This stress can directly affect their productivity. Little breaks throughout the day can refresh an agent’s mind.
- Appreciating agent performance, announcing incentive schemes, promotions, and one-on-one compliments makes agents feel valued and foster a positive work environment.
- Provide the agents with the necessary training to hone their existing skills and organize career planning sessions, and mentorship programs to widen their horizons. Providing possibilities for promotion and growth opportunities can help increase your call center retention rate.
- While internal training programs of defined modules to cover the basics are important, make an ongoing effort to provide training at the call center premises based on progressive feedback. This offers personalized coaching for agents to elevate their skills and not make the same mistake twice.
When it comes to helping your agents improve, there is no finish line. It’s a continuous process. With these tips and the right call center phone system you can help agents achieve higher levels of productivity and improve call center efficiency.
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Interested in an intelligent calling process to upgrade your customer care service? Request a free demo from Hodusoft for call center software solutions.
