A call center is still the most frequent touch point used by customers. Despite the chat and email process, it is still the most chosen by the customer to resolve their issues and queries. Companies have extended their self-service channels, and chatbots, SMS, chat, and emails have grown in popularity in recent years.
But calling contact centers still outrun these services and is still the preferred channel for customer resolution and services. Therefore, agents and their behavior become the deciding aspect in creating a favorable impression on customers. Call center advisors are the front liners in the contact center who can make and break the customer experience, and their performance significantly impacts brand image and customer loyalty.
Challenge in call center Job
But call center agent’s job is challenging and demanding, and they need to entertain customer requests and resolve them quickly. In addition, they need to understand the issue or the query and verify the information or validate the customer. Also, agents must obtain accurate information, perform their functions to resolve queries or issues and satisfy customers.
It often involves accessing multiple systems while keep interacting with the customers and keeping a record of their conversation, submitting a report, generating surveys, etc. Moreover, there may be an angry or chatty customer, and navigating the software and handling difficult call situations in a fast-paced environment need appropriate training and proper experience.
Call centers employ quality analysts and quality assurance software to ensure agents perform their best by monitoring and evaluating calls. Also, constant training to improve the bottom line and empower agents to perform better is a good way to improve customer experience. But good agents must be motivated and satisfied in addition to being trained and knowledgeable in what they do to sustain the pressure and possess some distinct qualities.
Problem-solving
Customers call an agent when they have an issue or query, expecting any issues or queries on the first call. Customers need to handle too many calls, and though they generally follow a script to resolve calls, self-help channels are mostly handling the easier issues, and only complex ones are left for agents. Call complexity increases each year, leading to poor CSAT and FCR scores. Therefore, agents must be good problem solvers who can quickly identify the root cause of an issue.
They must present the most appropriate way to quickly resolve the customer’s problem. A competent agent, therefore, must possess good analytical skills and creative problem-solving skills to resolve issues faster. The problems of poor FCR, more calls put on hold, and increased AHT will be resolved with better problem-solving skills as an advisor will be able to understand the problem and solve it swiftly. So, it is a necessary skill for today’s successful agents.
Communication
A fundamental quality of a good agent is better communication skills. One of the major soft skills of the agents enables them to exchange ideas more effectively, listen to the customers, and comprehend the situation and data. Moreover, good communication skills also enable agents to make customers understand their messages and purpose clearly. Both customers and agents will be satisfied if the messages are communicated well, and issues will be resolved on the first attempt or call. The way to effectively communicate with customers is to speak clearly, use basic vocabulary, avoid jargon, and maintain a consistent pace while speaking with the customers.
Additionally, it is better if agents’ communication style compliment customers’ persona as it will help establish a stronger connection with that customer, and gradually it will transcend into a better brand experience and loyalty. Quality assurance software for call centers assesses agent performance and quality analysts put greater importance on communication skills.
Knowledge retention
Agents must possess better process knowledge and accurate information to answer queries and resolve customer issues. They must be able to retain the operational and necessary information learned and recall it instantly when necessary. Customers do not want to wait, be put on hold, or transfer their calls to another individual.
Also, suppose the agent is not confident about the data or what needs to do. In that case, customers will quickly lose faith in that agent, and it may not be a satisfactory experience for customers or agents. Swift resolution of any issue or query needs agents to remember relevant information and process knowledge, and apply it to solve customers’ inquiries or problems.
Knowledge require for call Center
Agents must retain a large volume of information and knowledge of the call types and situations they may face, and in addition to that, they must be well informed about the product, services, and company. They need to understand the product and services of the company from the customers’ perspective.
Agents must retain their knowledge of the customer’s inquiry or problems that they have faced to use them to handle similar situations better or utilize them in resolving other issues or queries. Also, a good agent remembers customers’ issues, and customers do not need to repeat themselves. Therefore, training agents properly is critical for call centers.
Quality assurance software
Quality assurance software can discover the training need, lack of process knowledge, and skill gaps of the agents. Many comprehensive QA tools also incorporate quizzes and gamified training for the agents. For example, quality management software generates process knowledge tests with two or three queries every day after the agent logs in and contributes to designing a better training program for different agents.
Conclusion
There are more qualities of an efficient agent that make a call a success and offer customers an excellent CX during their interactions. No matter how knowledgeable, highly skilled, and avid problem solver. The agent is, they must be easy-going and friendly to build rapport with customers. They must show empathy and stay calm in high-pressure situations. They should be humane and motivated enough to perform better in each customer interaction. There are also additional factors like customer personas, and agent must adjust their communication style according to the customer.
All these qualities help agents help successfully drive a call and create a positive customer experience. To help businesses create a lasting impression on their customers. Employ efficient call center tools, quality assurance software, and employee performance management. Time and attendance management software to record, analyze and understand agent performance from a comprehensive platform. Utilize the insights from the platform to improve agent performance.
