Do customers leave satisfied when they get in touch with your call center? While you always try to provide the best possible experience, there might be areas you can refine – like these 5 call center improvement strategies.

Every call center strives to provide quality customer service. When your customers are happy, they are more likely to continue buying your services or products. But 96 percent of customers will drop your company when they receive poor customer service. So, every call plays a crucial role in your company’s success.

And the truth is, no call center is perfect. This means your call center has opportunities to become even better. But how can you make that happen? Here are five ideas.

5 Call Center Improvement Strategies

1. Define Success
Call Center Improvement Strategies

If you’re struggling to determine where your call center can improve, now’s the time to reexamine what success looks like. Think about specific key performance indicators (KPIs) that are tied to data. This gives you a quantifiable way to measure how your contact center is performing and helps you establish goals for improvement.

Here are a few key KPI categories you can consider:

  • Agent performance: Can include average speed to answer, average handle time, and first call resolution.
  • Customer satisfaction: Can include customer effort score, customer satisfaction score, and net promoter score.
  • Call-specific metrics: Can include calls handled, cost per call, and peak hour traffic.

Take time to look at each category and establish specific KPIs for each one. Then, track those KPIs throughout the year to see how they compare to your original goals. This allows you to make adjustments when needed so you can stay on target for success.

2. Train Agents

Agents are the voice behind your call center. So when you have hundreds or thousands of agents representing your organization, you want to ensure they perform at a high level for every interaction. But every call center is different, so provide comprehensive training to ensure your call center agents are all on the same page when it comes to your organization’s:

  • Policies
  • Best practices
  • Tools

And consider implementing an internal knowledge base agents can access any time they need clarification on how to address a customer’s concerns. This saves time and keeps agents informed on updates to policies and procedures.

3. Set Up Frequent Check-Ins With Agents

We mentioned before that measuring agent performance through KPIs is an effective way to help you define success. But to take your call center to the next level, it helps to have engaged agents who are knowledgeable and experienced. However, call centers are known for having high turnover due to high stress levels, burnout, and other factors.

One way to help alleviate these stressors is by having managers establish frequent check-ins with their agents. This allows managers to stay informed and gives agents a chance to be heard. One study found that organizations have an 88% chance of performing well financially when employees feel listened to, engaged, and have a sense of belonging. Those employees are also more likely to stay, which helps to reduce turnover and training costs.

4. Reward High-Performing Agents

When your agents perform at a high level, it’s worth it to reward them. One survey found that agents were more likely to leave their jobs when they weren’t recognized for their work. So, if you want to keep your top performers around, consider offering bonuses and promotions to those who excel in their duties. This also motivates other agents to strive to do better so they can reap the rewards as well.

5. Invest in Technology

Is your call center technology holding you back? If the answer is yes, it’s time to look at other solutions that can help to take your call center to new heights.

If you aren’t sure where to start, here are some powerful solutions you can start implementing today:

  • Cloud hosting: A solution that allows you to store and access data anywhere, which boosts productivity and reduces security risks.
  • Analytics and reporting: Technology that keeps track of your call center metrics, including KPIs, so you can easily visualize how your call center is performing.
  • Telephony and CRM system integration: This solution enables all your call center technology to work seamlessly.

Conclusion

Call center improvement strategies help your organization do great things. So be sure to establish what it means for your call center to be successful, train your agents, set up frequent check-ins, reward top performers, and invest in technology that pushes your organization forward. With all of these ingredients, you have a recipe for success.

Need a call center solution that keeps you moving forward? Contact us today to learn how CDC Software can make that happen.