5 Lesser-Known Benefits of Hiring Remote Contact Center Agents

Thanks to cloud software, the remote contact center agent is possible, and even preferred in some cases. There are a lot of benefits to having at-home contact center agents:

• Cost is lowered for both you (no office space) and them (no commute).
• Remote agents tend to be happier.
• Your contact center will be more scalable than a 100% brick and mortar one.

Those are just the obvious benefits, though. Here are five more that you may have never considered.

1. The cloud is uncomplicated.

With the cloud, agents have the same capabilities and accessibility they would in an office. Plus, there isn’t any installation, and your company’s data is just as secure as always.

2. Overstaffing can be avoided.

For the contact center, one of the best ways to control cost is to balance staffing needs. Customer needs have to be met so that the customer experience can remain positive. At the same time, overstaffing – which impacts the budget – has to be avoided. Remote agents can jump in to help when needed, then log off when call volume dips again.

3. Scheduling becomes much more flexible.

With remote agents on the team, the forecasting and scheduling process doesn’t become more difficult, but instead allows for even more flexibility. You’ll run forecast simulations the same as you always have, but agents can be located in all different time zones, working shifts and hours they prefer, which increases schedule availability.

4. Tracking performance is the same as before.

Reporting and analytics doesn’t change when it comes to your remote agents. You’ll still be able to see real-time information, agent activities, performance, schedule adherence and shift assignments.

5. You’ll find it easier to reach service level goals.

Even with excellent forecasting technology, call volume can change quickly. If a product is included on a “Best of” list, call volume may skyrocket. Or, you may have a day when several of your in-office agents are unexpectedly absent. Without enough agents to handle the influx of calls, emails and social media messages, wait times can increase, leading to a drop in customer satisfaction scores. To avoid this, your remote agents can be used as backup when needed.

One last thought.

When you enable some of your agents to work from home, it shows that you trust them. When agents feel appreciated, they’re motivated to perform better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 Must-Ask Questions When Choosing a Cloud Solution for the Contact Center

When was the last time you took a good look at your contact center and vowed to give it the update it needs? Regularly taking the pulse of your contact center, particularly when it comes to the software you use and how efficient it is, will help you remain competitive in the industry and relevant to your customers. Once you know the improvements that need to be made, you can find a cloud solution that meets your needs. Ask yourself the following questions when choosing cloud software.

1. Will it support our omni-channel strategy?

Any software your contact center uses will need to support all of the channels your customers use to interact. This includes text, voice, web and social media. Additionally, these channels need to work flawlessly together so that you can provide omni-channel, not just multi-channel, service.

2. Will the cloud solution remain up-to-date as time goes on?

The last thing you want is to be under contract with a cloud software provider who lets their service become antiquated. A quality cloud solution vendor will regularly add new features so that your contact center can remain on the cutting edge and continue to serve customers’ changing demands.

3. How is uptime ensured?

A cloud solution that has too much downtime is going to be a major problem for your contact center. Ask your vendor about their service level agreement (SLA) for uptime. A certain amount of uptime should always be ensured.

4. Is the vendor reliable?

Problems are bound to occur. When they do, you want to know that your vendor will be available to help you sort them out as quickly as possible. First, make sure the vendor has plenty of availability. Then, ask about the process they use to problem-solve.

5. What will happen as the contact center expands?

Your contact center is going to change and, hopefully, grow with time. The cloud solution you choose will need to evolve and adapt along with your contact center. It should also be able to scale so that you won’t have to find a new cloud solution as you grow.

Have you hit a wall with your current software solution? It may be time to move to a cloud-based solution. Your contact center will get the modern functionality needed to quickly and properly serve today’s customers.

 

How Real-Time Analytics Monitoring Improves the Contact Center

Real-time data helps businesses run smoothly. Being able to see the truth about how your company is performing moment-to-moment lets you understand the reality of your business. When you know where you’re losing as well as where you’re winning, it’s easier to appropriately adjust and monitor the contact center’s daily functions. When day-to-day functions are made more efficient, productivity can increase. Here are six benefits of real-time analytics monitoring

1. The quantity and quality of calls can be tracked.

Real-time monitoring allows the contact center to know exactly how many calls are being handled by agents, plus how many calls are currently in queue. The supervisor can see how many calls are being worked on and resolved by specific agents, and conversations can be listened in on to find out how they’re being handled. At any point, the contact center can track a call in real-time and then step in if the agent seems to be struggling. By closely monitoring calls, you can determine where a specific agent or a group of agents need more work.

2. Assess the changing value of a customer.

Customers will change their value to a company as they continue to purchase items or as they become dissatisfied with the products or level of service they receive. When a customer changes how frequently they purchase, real-time analytics can immediately update the customer’s status. The next time the customer contacts an agent, the agent will know how valuable the customer is. If the customer has been purchasing more frequently, they can be moved to VIP status. If they haven’t been purchasing as frequently as in the past, they may need an incentive in order to trust the company more.

3. Analyze waiting and idle time.

The amount of time a customer has to wait to have their problem resolved is a huge part of the customer experience. The longer the wait time, the more upset the customer may get, getting the customer-agent conversation off to a bad start. While an agent may need extra time to resolve a problem, the customer only cares about how long the process is taking. With real-time analytics, the wait and idle time for each agent can be assessed.

4. Quickly manage long queues.

At times, the contact center will be understaffed or inundated with calls, live chat requests, and emails. During these times, real-time monitoring can show you which agents are idle, allowing you to redirect calls that are currently in queue to those agents. Team members can quickly be reallocated in order to meet a surge in demand.

5. Find out how long it takes for agents to handle queries.

Contact center agents are tasked with resolving issues in the quickest way possible without lowering service quality. With real-time analytics, you can see how long agents are spending on each customer. You can then work with the agents who regularly take a long time with customers in order to lower their average resolution time.

6. Take advantage of cross-sell and up-sell opportunities.

When a customer has recently bought a product or service, the contact center agent has an opportunity to cross-sell or up-sell. Real-time data can track what the customer has recently purchased and then automatically populate other products or services that they may be interested in. The system may also prompt the agent to offer the customer a better version of the product they’re ready to purchase at a higher price point.