When it comes to giving your call center agents room to grow and improve in their position, one of the best ways to do so is to offer opportunities for feedback. However, most call center managers only provide feedback from their own point of view, meaning that the constructive criticism that their staff receives is purely from the standpoint of improving within the ranks of the business itself. If you want to take your staff's performance to the next level, you've got to incorporate feedback from your call center clients as well.

Not sure how to begin collecting meaningful feedback from your call center clients? Here's more of what you need to know to put this critical resource to work in your call center this year:

What Information Should You Collect?

Not sure what type of information you should be collecting from your call center clients? Here’s a list of suggestions to get you started:

• Did you choose our service or company over another today? If so, what led you to this choice? - These questions may or may not be relevant to your situation. Not every call center is one in which consumers would have a preference or even an option in who they contact to have their problems solved, but if they do, be sure to ask them why they chose your facility – and what you can do to make that a recurring choice.
  
  
• Are you satisfied with the service you received today? – This is the building block for the rest of your questions. Once you know if your consumer was satisfied – and to what degree they were or were not – you can begin working toward an answer as to how to improve or continue providing exceptional service. 
  
  
• Can you rate the service you received today? – Be sure to provide a rating scale for your consumer to work with. Otherwise, the data collected from this question will be wildly inconsistent!
  
  
• In what ways did we meet or exceed your expectations today? - Even if you feel that your exchange with your client was a negative one overall, there is still likely something positive to be said for it. Be sure to ask for those positives so you can note them for the next call and try to work toward more of them in the future.
  
  
• How can we improve? - This is perhaps the most important part of your questionnaire. Give your clients the room to list any areas where they feel your service or solutions can improve, and you'll soon have the roadmap to improving in all critical areas. 
  
  
• Would you recommend our service or company to others? Why or why not? – Again, these questions may not be the most relevant to your particular situation, but they are still notable enough that you should consider adding them to your list. If your client did choose your company or service over another, they should be able to tell you whether they would recommend you to another person – and if not, why.

Be sure to add any ideas you or your staff members may have to this list, as well. Tailoring your feedback requests to meet your company’s individual needs is important in obtaining useful feedback from clients.

How and When Should You Collect Call Center Client Feedback?

Knowing what kind of information to collect is vital in having a fruitful exchange with your consumers or clients but knowing how and when to collect that information is just as important. There is indeed a right and wrong time and approach to asking for feedback.

Always make sure that you’ve answered their questions or meet their needs before asking for feedback. You wouldn’t be willing to fill out a survey about your satisfaction with a product or service you hadn’t received, so why ask your clients to do the same? Always provide excellent service first, then ask for feedback. That feedback will surely reflect your prioritization of the consumer.

Some centers feel that the bulk of feedback collection should be done after a call has already ended. While this may leave the actual conversation open for more meaningful content, it doesn’t always yield results. People don’t always want to take the time to follow up with those who have provided service to them, even if their service provider did an excellent job in doing so. In fact, they are often less likely to offer their time to feedback opportunities after the fact if the service provided was satisfactory or better. 

So, what can you do as far as timing your feedback requests properly? Ask for feedback during the conversation, preferably at the end of the conversation or at the end of the specific task you have been asked to complete. This allows a consumer to give you honest feedback while the action you have performed is fresh in their mind. It also gives them the chance to be chattier and more conversational, yielding more and better feedback than they would likely offer in follow-up opportunities.

It may also be worth noting that offering your callers or clients an incentive for providing feedback may inspire them to do so when they otherwise would not have. This is a tactic commonly used by larger companies – and one that no call center is too small to successfully employ. Consider adding some kind of incentive for your clients to the feedback process, even if it’s a small one, and see just how many more participants you have that are willing to contribute their thoughts.

If you’re still looking for ways to increase and improve the collection and utilization of feedback from call center clients, look no further than the tools, techniques, and expert advice available here at ChaseData. We have everything you need to set up a system of feedback collection and utilization that will put consumer opinions to work like you’ve never imagined. Contact us today to learn more!