When you think about customer experience, your ideas for improvement most likely center around the part of the process that involves directly serving your consumer. Whether it is selling a product or rendering a service, this is the bread and butter of most business operations, so it is where they put their focus in terms of creating a great experience for consumers. However, a successful business owner would be remiss not to also focus on the post-purchase customer experienc...

The agents that fill the seats at your contact center are the lifeblood of your operation. Without them, your company could not function. However, just because they are vitally important does not mean you should let your agents dictate every aspect of their workdays. Rather, top-performing call center agents are those who receive proper direction, instruction, and correction when necessary. All of this comes from proper workforce management. Here, we’ll show you what grea...

When did your contact center begin preparing for healthcare enrollment center phone calls? If your facility is like most that serve consumers by connecting them to insurance resources and assisting them in securing coverage, your answer might be that you began preparing long before the season was even on the horizon. Perhaps you even began thinking about this year’s open enrollment as soon as last year’s concluded! It makes sense, given that the season is the busiest for...

For those working at an outbound call center, the idea of connecting on a personal level with the people you contact might seem foreign. So many contact center employees are taught to make quick connections and quicker sales, keeping things moving at a blinding pace. They are instructed to rely on scripting and ideal timetables to meet their metrics every day. The pressure from these rules results in the stiff tone that telemarketers and debt collectors are known - and loathe...

As summer simmers down and makes way for autumn’s cozier climes, it is easy to become complacent in the things we do every day. This is why many people gain weight in the fall and during the holiday season, since things like diets and exercise regimens fall by the wayside in favor of comfort. It is easy, too, to forget to focus on things at work. Many companies experience a dip in business during the weeks that slide from summer into fall. Relief typically comes in the for...

These days, it seems like every company has a customer service hotline. Whether the product you purchased doesn’t perform up to standard or the service you paid for isn’t adequate, you can seemingly always contact the customer support line associated with the company you did business with and have your questions or concerns addressed. “Give them a call,” has become a standard conversational response whenever someone complains that something they paid for isn’t meeti...

The benefits of consumer feedback surveys are well-documented in the contact center and customer service industries. What is less well-known is an approach for getting consumers to actually take those surveys and provide meaningful information. Consumer feedback surveys are notorious for being disliked and written off as boring, unnecessary, or a waste of time by customers who are presented with them. Even when presented with incentives, people generally overlook these surve...

Training is one of the most important things a call center agent can do to improve their performance. Think of it as a formula for success in your contact center. No matter how long an agent has been working, there is always something new to learn and, therefore, new reasons to train. Why Training Matters No top-performing call center agent got to where they are by experience alone. Sure, there is a lot to be said for the importance of hands-on learning, especially in the f...

Even the best call center agents need a tune-up every now and then. Whether they need a training refresher course or support from management in meeting their goals, there are numerous ways you can assist your agents in smashing previous records and achieving more than they ever have before. Think you already have a stellar team of call center agents? Perhaps. But here are a few secrets from industry insiders on how to take your team from good to super-agents! Give Call Cent...

When it comes to being a great call center supervisor, it may seem like some people are just born to be management team members. While it isn’t like that they were practicing their management skills in the nursery, they probably have been honing them for a while. Here are a few qualities that these so-called “natural-born” team leaders will have: Innovative and Effective Leadership Style The first and perhaps most obvious quality that a great call center supervisor sh...