4 Common Practices That You Should Avoid to Improve the Productivity of Your Call Centers

Call center managers leave no stones unturned to improve the productivity of their operations. Time and again they devise innovative ways to engage their workforce, incorporate cutting-edge technologies to make it easier for employees to execute their job, introduce programs to incentivize top performers, and lots more, just to keep the morale of their employees up. Their best efforts notwithstanding, they invariably fall short of meeting their goals. So where is it that they go wrong? Experts hold some malpractices responsible for the slump. In this article we will be talking about some of these derelictions.

1. Keeping customers on hold for an extended period of time

For customers, a second on hold can seem like an eternity. Hence make sure you use proper scheduling and dynamic routing systems to instantly transfer customers to an available agent and utilize their time effectively. This way you will be minimizing customer wait times and improving your call center’s productivity.

You can also add a second layer of defense against productivity loss by utilizing home-based agents as back-up and embrace an all-hands-on-deck philosophy wherein all the administrators and managers can jump on the phones during times of heavy volume.

2. Overlooking employee satisfaction

The productivity of your call centers can take a huge hit when you overlook employee satisfaction. Yes, being a professional in this field can be rewarding and exciting, but it also has its own set of drawbacks that can snap the life out of these professionals. The unending toil of sitting shoulder-to-shoulder in a cramped cubicle farm and the stress of conversing with customers who range from clueless to irate and everything in-between, are a few examples of this. Hence it is essential for you to engage with them and keep their morale up. You can try to send written and verbal compliments or you can use monetary incentives to ensure that they feel appreciated and remain loyal. Also try to identify when an agent feels distressed and implement positive reinforcements to rectify the situation.

3. Not following-up on calls

One of the easiest ways to improve call center productivity is by making sure that agents follow up with genuine leads who have expressed interest in your product or service. Failure to do so, will results in lost business and drive potential customers away to your competitors. Hence think proactively and make certain that all leads are constantly followed up. By doing so you’ll also be able to build trust, create goodwill, and head off any possible issues with your customers, which is an added bonus.

4. Inconsistent call monitoring

Currently, the majority of call centers have employed an inconsistent monitoring procedure wherein only a few random calls are screened at a time. This means that often times agents who violate the standard operating procedures are not red-flagged and hence escape the ire of administration, which is never good for the productivity of an organization. Hence make it a point that all the agents are treated equally and their performance is measured using the same yardstick.

Maintaining the productivity of your call center can be a see-saw battle between improving the efficiency of agents with cutting edge technology and keeping them motivated and happy using out-of-the-box approaches. For this purpose, it is always beneficial to seek the expertise of premium outsourced call center service providers such as ExpertCallers. Leveraging our years of experience in the industry, we can do the balancing act and help you provide the best possible call center support to your customers.