If a caller is fortunate enough to make it past the seemingly endless menu of a call center’s IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system, they are often tossed into a queue of untrained, poorly motivated agents, who without a script would not know what to do. Customer Service, once promoted as a value-add, has for many companies become an afterthought. The call center agent, the lynchpin of call center success, and often the weakest link, becomes the key to customer satisfaction.
Nothing is more frustrating to the caller than robotic, inflexible, unknowledgeable agents who aren’t given the autonomy to do anything more than recite “the manual.”
The best service and support organizations are manned by “Empowered Agents,” who are non-linear thinkers who can provide efficient, courteous and knowledgeable service. The keys to empowered agents are:
- Hiring educated, confident agents who have the potential for leadership.
- Training staff not only on product, but also in critical thinking and de-escalation.
- Give agents the authority to make decisions and commitments based on defined criteria.
- Promote supervisors that understand the “why” behind the company’s policies, procedures and provide support to their agents, while working to better understand the caller’s needs.
Agents who display confidence in their decisions and advice, provide the caller with an equal sense of confidence and a better sense of satisfaction. Empowering agents to intelligently advocate for customers, and to provide solutions rather than reading rules, is key to creating a superior customer experience.
Contact The Office Gurus to learn more about our process for empowering agents. You are placing your brand in someone else’s hands. Make sure they treat it as if it were their own and deliver the World Class experience your customers deserve.
