Call Centres

This may seem a bit off the wall, given that my previous posts have been about completely different topics, but this is a subject that’s fairly close to my heart. My first stint as a call handler was for BT’s directory enquiries service (back in the days when it was 192, and not this 118 shite), and I found that the work was enjoyable and stimulating at times, as well as being mind-numbing and frustrating.

I know I was a good call handler, but due to the combination of personal issues and much pressure at work, I eventually reached the point of burnout, and despite the fact that I was damn good at my job, I would hesitate to ever take on another call centre job again.

On my most recent Stumbling session, I encountered www.callcenterscript.com, and the most recent post regarding the death of a woman who had dialled 911, only to have her call put on hold by one agent while there were others “available”. I was annoyed, and I left a comment on the blog outlining my own particular views.

I’ve worked in various different call centres throughout my time in the industry, each one in a different sector. I’ve worked for three different telecommunications companies (employed either through and agency or an oursourcer), a taxi company, a financial services company and a few others. Each had their own processes, management structures and corporate ethos, but the one common thing was that they wanted to achieve the same result - customer satisfaction.

While I had my say about that one particular blog post, I didn’t think it was correct to have a rant on someone else’s site, so I’ll post my own thoughts here.

IVRs

Does a company really need an IVR? Unless IVR systems are developed properly, they’re cumbersome, awkward and customers don’t like them. They’d rather listen to a human being than a machine. Options on an IVR need to be relevant to what a customer is calling about and should direct them to the appropriate person as quickly as possible and with the minimum of button pushing.

My last job was dealing with customer services for a major mobile phone operator. There were different contact numbers and different IVRs depending on whether you were pre-pay, consumer contract, business contract or corporate. Customers who perhaps had a personal phone and a company phone on the same network were presented with different options. This creates inconsistency and confusion. An IVR should be as simple as possible, and should the customer select the wrong option, the process of transferring to another department should be done quickly and painlessly, without the customer having to re-verify.

I have my own ideas about how the IVR should be set up:

1. Billing. Have this option first, as injured pockets are the worst thing to deal with, and people always want to get through as soon as possible.
2. Technical enquiries. It doesn’t work. Put me through to someone that a) knows what I’m talking about and b) knows about the product and how to rectify problems when they occur.
3. All other enquiries. People handling these calls shouldn’t be new starts who may not know where to direct a particular call, but multi-skilled agents who can either deal with the call themselves, or have the savvy to be able to direct it to the appropriate place. Customers who don’t like IVRs always look for the “all other enquiries” option - I do - and it becomes very frustrating when companies try to hide it.
4. If there are queued calls, an automated message apologising for delays should be played at the very beginning of the call, not after 15 minutes on hold. There should be an option for a customer to leave a message giving the reason for the call and a contact number. Customers appreciate outbound calls from someone who has had a chance to look over the problem before making the call.

IT Systems

The organisation has to have a system that works. Integrate the applications so that the end-user (in this case the CSA), doesn’t have to wait five minutes to fire up an application that he or she would only perhaps use two or three times a day.

In my previous job a customer who was experiencing problems with mobile reception would have to wait while we checked their postcode against the site map to identify the offending transceiver, input the ID into a different application to obtain its current state, and then check the noticeboard application to find out if a fault had already been registered before submitting a possible duplicate fault. The HLR viewer also had to be checked, and if the problem was with GPRS or SMS services, yet another application had to be launched. So far I haven’t even mention the separate account management system!

Not long before I left, there were efforts made to try to create a wrapper for all the existing systems, but it just added to the burden on the already overstretched servers, and fell over so regularly that agents resorted to using everything individually. It was hardly progress!

Training

No matter how long the initial training period, when faced with the first-call situation agents will panic. Expecting them to know everything straight away is not good. I know what it’s like to be faced with an angry customer that wants answers now and you simply do not have the experience in the job to be able to provide them with the information they want. Introduce people gradually, let them build confidence and when they’re ready for the next level, let them do it. There’s nothing worse than having people sitting on a low skill level when they’re capable of much more. With each skill level, staff will feel that they’re achieving more in their work, feel more valued and will probably work that wee bit harder as a result.

Support

It’s a high-pressure industry. Staff need to feel that they have back-up if they have a problem, and that includes out-of-work issues as well as work-related ones. Let’s face it, while the customer is king and “always right”, some of them can be a pain in the arise and occasionally you will encounter a downright nasty bastard. TLs/TMs should be alert to when an agent is having a difficult call, and if necessary be prepared to take on the call. On no account should an agent be left with a customer demanding to speak to a manager and have no-one willing to handle the escalation. This has happened to me on more than one occasion and it’s certain to cause morale to drop like stone.

Monitoring and Feedback

It’s essential. Am I doing okay? I’ve had to monitor calls as a team leader, and it was probably my least favourite part of the job. Does the agent really have to find out the caller’s name in order to answer a quick query? It’s nice to personalise a call, but if the caller were to have a difficult-to-pronounce-name, and in our multi-cultural world this is not an unusual situation, is it not better just to get down to business. Of course, if the caller’s request requires customer verification it is essential, but if someone calls up asking to speak to a member of the sales team, is it not better just to say “certainly sir/madam, please hold while I transfer your call”? Why mark an agent down for not doing something that wasn’t really necessary in the first place?

Feedback is a two-way process. It’s not just “I think you’re doing really well”, but “how do you think we’re doing?” Agents are the ones on the front line, and if there’s an idea out there that could possibly improve the customer experience, bloody well listen to it. At the worst level it may save the company a few quid, and at best it might generate thousands. It also increases the feeling that the employee is valued.

Reward good behaviour as well as punishing bad. I’ve pulled agents away from the phones to have “a word” if I feel that they were on the brink of giving a customer “attitude”. But I’ve also pulled them away from the phones to say “well done, difficult call there and you handled it very well”.

Incentives

When I was at BT, we had targets to achieve. Getting the stats right was part of the job, but there were rewards for those that went the extra mile. Our calls were short and sharp, and the norm for me was around about 160 per hour. But there were boxes of chocolates and bottles of wine for those who exceeded targets.

Trust

If you have an experienced agent, trust them to be able to do their job, and don’t interfere unless absolutely necessary. Okay, they may not dish out the corporate script exactly as the book says it should be dished out, but the essential information is delivered and the customer is happy. I think that many call centre companies forget that the people who handle their calls are just that - people. Having to stick to a robotic script is monotonous and robs people of their personality. If you really want every call to be handled in a robotic fashion, get your IVR to do everything. And then watch your customers flock to your competitors!

Let the agents take ownership of a problem. There’s nothing more satisfying than to be able to take a customer’s problem from first beginnings and be able to solve it. First call resolution is the goal, but in reality it’s not always possible. It’s difficult trying to investigate a as well as trying to maintain “smalltalk” while the customer is waiting, and it is frustrating for agent and customer alike. Give the agent five or ten minutes offline to look into the matter and let them call the customer back. The result? Customer satisfaction because someone has taken the time and made the effort to resolve their problem, and employee satisfaction because they’ve been able to see a job through from start to finish.

And finally…

My experience comes mainly from being an agent, and from being a team leader on one occasion. I’ve found that problems occur when management doesn’t really understand what’s going on at the front line. I’ve seen attrition rates go through the roof, and I’ve also contributed to them.

Your agents are the ones providing the service, and providing the service is your business, not looking after the front line will affect your income.