Those who don’t adapt can become stagnant. This is true for any industry, but it is especially poignant in the customer service space, where repetitive days and upset customers can quickly drain customer service representatives (CSRs) of their passion for the work.
How do you remedy this? By employing new strategies and prioritizing methods that promote growth and healthy work environments. To help you towards this ideal, we’re giving you ClearSource’s five customer service tips for call centers that can help make a genuine change in your workplace.
1. Loosen Your Attendance Policy
This may seem counter-intuitive. After all, your attendance policy is what gets your CSRs out of bed and to their desks, right? Wrong, and you probably already know that.
People come to their jobs because they are genuinely passionate and invested in their work. As such, work culture does not improve simply because CSRs are mandated to be there; it is developed by strong leaders who can show how important each CSR is to the company.
Additionally, harsh attendance policies, where agents are let go after failing to arrive one day, breed a toxic environment. CSRs will show up out of fear, which hinders their ability to work effectively. By loosening these constraints, you give your employees more breathing room. This, in turn, makes it easier for them to feel joy, an emotion you want them to feel when on calls with your clients.
2. Don’t Just Focus on KPIs
KPIs are more like the check engine light of your business. They indicate that a problem exists, but have trouble identifying the root cause of the problem. So it’s concerning that so many BPOs overemphasize KPIs, even to the point where they set minimum KPI goals. Stressing about numbers won’t get you very far.
To really discover the underlying issues, your leaders need to put their boots on the ground and speak with their CSRs. This means establishing regular meetings and going through a quality assurance process. These approaches will help you truly understand what is and isn’t working in your business.
3. Instead, Focus on Your Agents’ Life Goals
If you aren’t as focused on KPIs, where does your focus go? At ClearSource, we recommend taking a genuine interest in the lives of your CSRs. Talk about their life goals, and encourage them to pursue them outside of work.
When your agents see that you’re actually invested in them beyond the call center, even to the extent of helping them towards their goals, they’ll be much more excited to come into the office.
4. Establish Models of Excellent Customer Service
Sure, practice makes perfect, but watching a master at work is just as helpful. Your new hires should frequently sit on calls with more experienced CSRs to help them learn what an ideal client call looks like.
This approach helps in two primary ways: recruits see your best practices in action and can witness the soft skills required for exceptional service. Observing the experts can bridge the gap between their training and call execution.
5. Always Prioritize Building Relationships
The final of our five top customer service tips may be seen as a summary of all that’s come before it: personal work relationships should be your top priority. Do your best to make your agents feel like actual people, rather than expendable workers.
Improve Your Customer Service Today
We hope these customer service tips for call centers have helped you gain a better understanding of what it takes to sustain an exceptional BPO. If you have further questions on strategies and methods to keep your CSRs engaged, contact our experts today.