Since the advent of call centers in the 1960’s, several “tried and true” methods of improving agent performance have emerged. While there are certainly many lessons to be learned and adopted from these methods, the birth of gig customer experience, or “GigCX”, has brought about many new ways to creatively address the issue of improving call center productivity.
Here are three creative ways that leverage emerging technologies to increase contact center productivity:
When working with agents who are congregated in one center with a common goal, operators and managers can attempt to get better results from their agents and increase productivity by building a sense of purpose and community within their team. Quality training and mentoring, high levels of manager-agent communication, and even tactics that “gamify” the experience for agents can be used to get better results. These tactics certainly all fall into the “tried and true” category.
With the rise of gix customer experience, or GigCX, coupled with massive shifts in workforce demographics, a new paradigm has emerged empowering both agents and call center operators to connect and trust each other in the gig economy. Taking their cue from platforms such as Uber, AirBnB, and Upwork, these new contact center platforms have inspired a new generation of independent contractor agents that work on their own terms through these groundbreaking apps. As with other disruptive platforms, these on-demand contact centers are grounded in the ethos of empowerment, trust, and self-governance and are truly changing the way humans interact in the contact center industry.
True on-demand GigCX platforms motivate agents to “buy-in” to the calling process, allowing them to track their own performance and take pride in their achievements. Through these platforms, agents have the power to:
This means agents choose those projects that truly interest them and match their skill set. Through this process, agents act like entrepreneurs who take ownership and have pride in their work. Ultimately driving higher-ranking performance and productivity.
Technology plays a critical role in improving agent productivity. For “tried and true” tactics, traditional contact center operators need to ensure that (a) connectivity is robust and clear without static or disruption, (b) hardware and headsets are up to date and can provide noise-cancelling features, and (c) internet access is stable when using voice-over-IP or VOIP lines.
Creatively speaking, on-demand contact center platforms can utilize technology to replace the bloated aspects of call center management while simultaneously empowering agents. Rather than replacing the actual human to human interface, on-demand platforms seek to improve productivity by using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to eliminate the inflated and more costly aspects of operating a contact center, i.e. middle management, feedback, scorecards, quality assurance, supervisors, mentors, etc.
Cloud based on-demand platforms such as Agents Only use AI and ML to help rank and motivate agent’s performance, allowing them to receive immediate feedback and automatic coaching for every single call they make. These agents benefit from:
In addition, agents receive immediate compensation calculated on the automatic rating they receive for each call. This provides agents with information on-the-spot that they can use to improve their performance and, thereby, improve productivity. The end result is satisfied agents and outstanding customer support for your business.
Conventional ways to improve productivity metrics in call centers often focus on using agent scorecards. These cards provide information on key performance indicators (KPIs) like:
Customer satisfaction scores (CSAT) are calculated and communicated to agents over time, providing feedback. While all of this is invaluable and certainly falls in the “tried and true” bucket, the problem lies in how much time it can take in a traditional call center to gather enough data to calculate these metrics. An agent might work for weeks or even months before obtaining valuable feedback to improve his/her performance.
Apps and technology can bridge these gaps and ensure that agents receive immediate feedback after every call they make. With direct insight into their personal productivity metrics through digital platforms and consistent feedback, agent performance is proven to improve at quicker rates. Additionally, as a client, these platforms allow you to tweak incentives and affect agent behavior on a real-time basis by using tools like “surge pay” to handle unexpected spikes in call volume and attract agents to the platform. Therefore, you can pay your agents more during peak call volume times and reward those who perform the best for leading results.
Finding qualified staff is one of the biggest challenges businesses are currently facing regardless of industry. If businesses are lucky enough to find qualified staff, retaining, motivating, and keeping this staff productive and engaged can be a daunting and frustrating experience.
Fortunately, technology has instigated new ways to increase call center productivity without sacrificing vital human-to-human contact. Leveraging these new technologies properly and utilizing breakthrough GigCX platforms can help your business to build, manage, and scale your call center needs creatively and on-demand.
