A Call Center’s Guide to Managing Remote Staff

A Call Center's Guide to Managing Remote Staff | Salem Solutions

The growth of technology continues to make remote work increasingly popular for call centers. This is why more companies are hiring remote employees to staff their customer service departments.

Although there are many benefits to having a remote call center, effectively managing one can be challenging. This is why understanding call center management tips are so important. Following best practices for overseeing a remote call center can help you maintain high agent performance across geographic locations.

Here are some tips to manage your remote call center employees.

 

Cultivate Strong Company Culture

Create connections among your call center staff in ways that center on your company mission, vision, and values.

  • Discuss your expectations for call center operations. Additionally, include how customers are to be treated and what should be done if a call escalates.
  • Share how your employees should interact with others to appropriately reflect the culture both during and after work hours.
  • Emphasize the value each of your team members brings to your call center. These actions build an environment that promotes loyalty and engagement.

 

Use Remote Management Tools

A variety of technology is available to help you manage your remote call center team.

  • Call center software provides the data and metrics you need to monitor your employees. You can use the information to uncover your team’s strengths and weaknesses and provide constructive feedback and coaching to improve performance. This helps keep customer satisfaction high.
  • You can view agent activity, call data, and call logs to determine the number of calls each agent takes and the length of each interaction. This shows how each staff member’s performance measures against your standards. You can praise your team members for work well done and train them on areas that need improvement. These actions optimize your agent and team performance.

 

Provide Collaboration Tools

Your call center team needs technology to help them work on projects and solve problems together.

  • Implement call center software with agent-centric communication tools. Your staff can share files, message each other, and perform other tasks to complete their work.
  • Include agent coaching tools to assist your team members during a customer interaction. If a conversation escalates, you can monitor the call without the customer’s knowledge and coach your agent in real-time. This helps your team feel confident in their work.

 

Gamify Customer Service

Use recognition and rewards to encourage productivity and positive results.

  • Appeal to your agents’ competitive side by awarding prizes for employees who attain the results you want to achieve. The prizes may include gift cards, company swag, special privileges, paid time off, or other items that appeal to your staff. Make sure the value is strong enough to encourage your team members to take action.
  • Providing motivation for your employees to increase the number and quality of their customer interactions elevates the results of your call center team. Recognizing your staff members’ contributions and results also increases job satisfaction and company loyalty.

 

Create a Hiring and Training System

Clearly define your approach to recruiting and training your call center hires for maximum success.

  • Create a list of the skills and qualities you seek when hiring agents.
  • Include pre-hire assessments, face-to-face interviews either in person or through video conferencing, and targeted interview questions to find what you are looking for.
  • Design a training program that includes having each new agent work with a seasoned teammate who can provide the knowledge, skill-building, support, and other resources necessary for success in the role.
  • Offer a trial period of 3 months for new agents to adapt to their new role and routine.
  • Go over your call center’s processes and policies so your new hires understand them. Include your requirements for working remotely and expectations for their workspaces, work conduct, and participation in team efforts.
  • Train your new staff members on your customer service tools. Show how the technology helps improve calls and outcomes.
  • Have each new employee take training calls with an experienced guide. The guide can walk the new employee through different scenarios and outcomes to prepare for potential interactions with customers.

 

Monitor Your Customer Service Quality   

Pay attention to how happy your customers are with the service they receive. This ensures your call center team provides value to your company.

  • Use quality assurance tools to monitor customer interactions. For instance, use speech analytics to measure customer satisfaction during support calls. Also, check your agents’ calls to make sure they follow call center best practices. Additionally, pay attention to data on first-contact resolutions to see whether your staff members are providing the proper support.
  • Make sure your employees comply with call center regulations and standards. For instance, watch how your team follows the established processes to manage sensitive data. Also, look at your call logs to determine whether your staff are following the DNC list rules.
  • Use call recordings and past interactions to determine whether an agent is struggling. If they are, talk with them about what the issue is and how you can help resolve it. Additional training or coaching may be needed.

 

Request Customer Feedback

Ask your callers and team members for input about your call center.

  • Have your agents request that your customers stay on the line for a short satisfaction survey. Your customers can rate their experiences and suggest improvements.
  • Carefully consider the information you receive, then implement the ideas you feel would improve your call center.
  • The more valued and heard your customers feel, the greater their satisfaction with your call center.

 

Ask for Agent Input

Request that your team members share their ideas about what is and is not working with your policies and procedures.

  • Remote employees need to know their suggestions are welcome and appreciated.
  • Increasing agent satisfaction helps improve your internal processes and customer support.
  • You can find ways to enhance your training program, meetings, and management skills.

 

Need Help Hiring Remote Call Center Professionals?

Salem Solutions has vetted call center professionals ready to begin working for you. Contact us today.

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