Calling a contact center can be a source of stress or even disdain for many people. When polled, many people respond that they don’t just dislike contact centers - they genuinely hate having to interact with them. If you don’t want your facility to be among those that they feel this way about, it might be time to consider warming up your call transfer procedure.
What is a Warm Transfer in a Call Center?
A warm transfer is a call that has been directed with information being provided beforehand to make either the caller, the contact center agent - or both - better prepared for their conversation. During the process of a warm transfer, a receptionist, program, or other go-between will collect information and use that data to either direct the call or pass that information along to the relevant parties. This ensures that the people involved in the conversation feel more informed and better prepared for exchange they are about to have.
Why are Warm Transfers Better than Cold Transfers?
The traditional cold transfer- transferring a caller without screening the call to ascertain the caller’s identity and purpose for calling first - is one of the least-liked aspects of the typical call center. Why? Because cold transfers typically leave consumers repeating the same basic information over and over again, every time they are transferred. When they have a complicated question or a complex concern, this can become tiresome, frustrating, and time-consuming.
Taken together, this is all a recipe for low customer satisfaction ratings. Consumers can feel like they are being tossed around needlessly and like they are being dismissed when they are transferred time and time again. To keep this from happening., it’s best to address concerns with as few transfers as possible - and doing that requires directing calls to the best possible agent the first time, every time.
Warm transfers involve the collection of relevant information before a call is directed. Whether it’s just a name and a reason for calling or much more detailed, specific information, the data that is gathered during the reception phase of the call can be used to ensure it is directed properly. This greatly improves the flow of call traffic, reduces overall wait times, and greatly enhances customer experience.
What Makes a Warm Transfer Better for Your Business?
Aside from the obvious factor of avoiding the dreaded feeling of being tossed around that consumer hate, what is a warm transfer in a call center doing for your business?
The most important task that one of these transfers accomplishes is sending a clear message to your callers. That message is that their business - their concerns and questions - are being taken seriously.
Many times, as businesses grow, they tend to lose sight of the personal interactions that once made consumers feel valued and respected. At least, that is the perception that most customers have. If you want to maintain that connection that you had while your business was smaller - or simply want to forge connections with consumers regardless of the size of your company - consider using warm transfers and a receptionist service to do it.
Preparing Your Staff for Creating Successful Warm Transfers
Anyone can pass along a call to another person after jotting down a name and short message. When you’re working in a call center, successfully making a warm transfer - especially if you’re trying to close a deal or keep a loyal customer from leaving - can be much more involved than that.
One of the first steps to ensuring a successful warm transfer is preparing your agents to perform them. Do your contact center staff members know how to direct calls appropriately? Do they know what to say to a caller if a transfer becomes necessary? What about the appropriate “small talk” that keeps conversation flowing and awkward silence from making the phone call unpleasant while the transfer is being prepared? All of these are things that can be taught - and should be addressed before your agents ever make their first warm transfer in a call center.
A key point to keep in mind is that today’s callers - especially the youngest adults currently being served in the market - are well-known for short attention spans and demands for prompt and proficient customer service. Even if you have to put them through a transfer process, it’s best to get to it right away, than to leave them waiting. Train for constant engagement and then provide it!
Can a Warm Transfer in a Call Center Be Simplified?
Perhaps the best thing about the warm transfer in a call center for modern applications is that it can be automated and simplified for today’s use. What once required the work of a live receptionist can now be largely handled by call distribution technology. This means that by the time a person speaks to their first live person in your center, they’ve already provided their information - either verbally or otherwise - and can be served much quicker and more effectively than they otherwise might have been.
Keeping your agents in front of screens that provide helpful prompts and information that they will need while interacting with consumers is a great way to simplify the transfer process. Likewise, integrating technology that automatically collects information and directs calls appropriately will lessen the number of calls that need to be redirected in the first place, meaning that more agents can focus on the task at hand rather than on who might be better qualified to serve the consumer on the other end of the line.
When you’re ready to learn more about how to put warm transfers to work in your call center - and how to use today’s technology to make doing so easier than ever before - contact us at ChaseData. We have the solutions you need to employ this method seamlessly into your existing approach and make it work for your staff and your facility.
