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Easing Contact Center Payroll Pains: Navigating Through 7 Major Challenges

Easing Contact Center Payroll Pains: Navigating Through 7 Major Challenges

Discover payroll solutions in the customer service industry. Learn about compliance, record-keeping, technology, data security, and more.
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Looking for Gen Z-ers? Perks to Offer When Recruiting

Gen Z was born between 1997 and 2012. They now make up more of the workforce than millennials do. Like other generations, Gen Z is looking for different things in a job and employer. One of the most important aspects is perks. Offering the perks Gen Z values most attracts them to your call center.… Read More »

Gen Z was born between 1997 and 2012. They now make up more of the workforce than millennials do.

Like other generations, Gen Z is looking for different things in a job and employer. One of the most important aspects is perks.

Offering the perks Gen Z values most attracts them to your call center. The more attractive perks you offer, the more likely Gen Z will remain long-term with your organization.

Offer the following perks to attract and retain Gen Z to your call center.

Skill Development

Gen Z grew up with the internet. They’re used to a world of possibilities with unlimited access to information online.

When hiring Gen Z candidates for your call center, focus on how their skills align with the job requirements and organizational culture. When these new hires are onboarded, create learning and career development plans for each.

Keep your Gen Z employees busy while allowing autonomy. Let them choose how they move forward in their learning and development.

Allow your Gen Z team members to conduct workshops to train on their knowledge and skills. This lets them be challenged while expressing themselves.

Work-Life Balance

Gen Z prioritizes self-care and well-being. As a result, work-life balance is a top priority.

Learning or working remotely during the pandemic has Gen Z at high risk of burnout. Being under constant stress without the ability to see their friends has caused disengagement.

The lack of in-office teammate interactions, supervision, and acknowledgment lowered Gen Z’s motivation and productivity. As a result, Gen Z have been finding jobs with companies that encourage work-life balance.

When recruiting Gen Z for your call center, offer stress management programs and health cash plans. Also, provide a hybrid setup with a flexible schedule that emphasizes productivity and efficiency. Additionally, regularly review your employees’ workloads to ensure they aren’t too heavy. Plus, set up a time for your team to volunteer for a local charity.

Instant Gratification

Gen Z wants ongoing recognition of their contributions and results. They need their accomplishments regularly noticed and appreciated.

With Gen Z spending a large amount of time on social media, they’re used to instant rewards for their actions. The feedback generated from their profiles activates their dopamine receptors, providing a feeling of instant gratification. The desire for a similar experience extends into reality.

When hiring Gen Z candidates, talk about how you use a corporate gamification platform to keep your call center competitive. Also, mention your appreciation wall where employees leave notes of gratitude each day. Additionally, discuss the rewards your employees receive for reaching their targets. Plus, share details about the weekly/monthly company-paid lunch/dessert.

Want to Further Understand How to Acquire and Retain Gen-Z Talent for your Call Center?

Advanced hiring can help lead you to the candidates you are searching for. Ready to find those hires? Click here to learn more.

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Re-Evaluating Your Goals Now, Midway Through 2022

It’s amazing we’re halfway through 2022! With 6 months left to go, now is the perfect time to check back in on the goals you set when the year began. Perhaps your goals involved learning a new skill or finding a new job. In any case, it’s great to know what you want to achieve.… Read More »

It’s amazing we’re halfway through 2022! With 6 months left to go, now is the perfect time to check back in on the goals you set when the year began.

Perhaps your goals involved learning a new skill or finding a new job. In any case, it’s great to know what you want to achieve.

Although setting goals may be easy, making progress toward them is not. You have to put in the work, hold yourself accountable, and get back on course when needed.

Implement these tips to reevaluate your goals, determine your progress, and make a plan to continue to move forward.

Take 30 Minutes to Reflect on Your Goals

Take out the list of goals you made at the beginning of the year. Reflect on where you are in accomplishing them.

Focus on how far you’ve come and how far you need to go. Check off the goals you accomplished. Enjoy your sense of satisfaction.

Determine whether there are goals you stopped working toward or forgot about. If so, think about why you chose the goal when the year began. Focusing on your “why” behind the goals helps uncover your motivation to attain them.

Determine What Your Goals Still Are

Focus on whether achieving a goal on your list still holds your interest. For instance, if you decided to take piano lessons, ask yourself what your motivation was. Perhaps learning to play the piano truly interests you. Or, it may have been a passing desire based on something a friend posted on social media.

If you still want to pursue the goal, keep it on your list. If you lost interest in it, take it off your list.

Your time is better spent on the goals that truly fit your interests and motivation. You’re more likely to attain something you feel passionate about than something you don’t.

Create a Plan to Reach Your Goals

Make a new list of your goals to accomplish for the rest of the year. Then, develop an action plan to attain each goal.

For instance, if you want to run a 5K, begin planning your training runs for the upcoming week. You might want to begin by walking a set distance. Then, you can work your way up to running the same distance. You can add on to future practice sessions until you feel confident running a 5K.

Develop a Timeline

Write down when you plan to reach your milestones along the way to attaining each goal. Include on your calendar your check-ins for the next few weeks. This helps you hold yourself accountable for reaching your goals long-term.

Keep in mind that small steps may be more effective than large steps. Small changes are easier to make than large changes. They also tend to remain and make a difference long-term.     

Is One of Your Goals to Find a New Job?

For help finding a new job this year, partner with Salem Solutions. Visit our job board today!

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Refresher Tips for Your Call Center to Perform at Its Best

Customer impressions of a company typically are based on their interactions with call center agents. These interactions tend to be the main source of firsthand experience with a business. As a result, your call center agents require the proper tools and training to handle customer calls. Showing your customers they’re valued and respected encourages them… Read More »

Customer impressions of a company typically are based on their interactions with call center agents. These interactions tend to be the main source of firsthand experience with a business.

As a result, your call center agents require the proper tools and training to handle customer calls. Showing your customers they’re valued and respected encourages them to remain loyal to your brand. This increases your company’s bottom line.

Follow these guidelines to help your call center agents deliver a positive customer experience.  

Provide Technical Onboarding

Train your agents to thoroughly understand and use your call center software and technology. These tools help organize and manage customer calls. They also help your agents provide a positive customer experience. Be sure to provide guidance in the following areas:

  • Answering calls: Your agents may be used to using phones instead of software to handle customer calls.
  • Transferring calls: Show your agents how to use the hold and transfer functions to route customer calls to other agents or departments.
  • Muting and unmuting the speaker: Muting may be a better option than holding when an agent needs to ask a teammate for help with a customer’s question. The agent can complete the task while still hearing the customer.
  • Adding other professionals to the call: For instance, the agent may need to include their manager on a call for help with a ticket. Or, the customer may ask to speak with a manager.

Offer Knowledge Management Tools

Internal knowledge management tools such as help center software help your agents quickly find answers to common support questions. This makes it easier for your agents to answer questions without putting the customers on hold. Your agents can increase their knowledge to provide informed and helpful customer service.

  • The comprehensive, searchable database should include guides and how-to articles for your product or service.
  • Your agents can look up the answers to customer inquiries rather than ask a teammate for information.
  • Your seasoned agents may add additional resources to help newer agents with specific tasks or processes.
  • Product or service managers can share product or service releases and updates to help your agents answer customer questions about the new offerings.

Clarify Goals

Let your agents know what their goals are for the day, week, or month. This shows what they are working toward and when the objectives should be achieved. Also, offer ongoing training and coaching to reach these targets. This elevates agent engagement, performance, and retention. Consider setting attainable goals involving the following metrics:

  • Average wait time: Aim for 5 minutes or less.
  • Resolution time: Minimize the time it takes for an agent to solve an open ticket.
  • Calls missed: Improve your agents’ multitasking and organizational skills.

Train on Call Center Etiquette

Teach your agents how to display proper call center phone etiquette. They need to treat customers in a friendly, respectful manner. This helps customers feel valued, respected, and safe. Examples include the following:

  • Communicate wait times: When putting a customer on hold, the agent should let them know how long the wait may be. Otherwise, the customer may get frustrated and hang up.
  • Mention call recording: Customers prefer to know whether their conversation may be recorded for training purposes.
  • Discuss the call recording pause: The agent should let the customer know whether the call recording will be paused while the agent takes credit card information. This shows your call center prioritizes the security of customer information. It also builds trust and confidence in the business.

Implement Job Shadowing

One effective method of training is pairing newer agents with seasoned agents to see how they handle customer calls. This helps the newer agents acquire the skills required to address customer issues. You may want to implement a job shadowing program using one of the following methods:

  • Invite newer agents to listen in on live customer calls with seasoned agents. Your newer agents can observe how your seasoned agents adapt to the customer and situation. They also can see how your call center tools and software are used to elevate the efficiency and quality of their support.
  • Ask newer agents to listen to past call records that provided a positive customer experience. Include calls that provide resolutions for a variety of circumstances and problems. This lets you target your training to focus on any areas your team needs to improve.

Provide Constructive Feedback

Let your agents know what they’re doing well and what they can improve on. Include specific examples and steps to do better. This helps your agents improve their performance and attain their goals. It also elevates agent engagement and retention. The following suggestions may help:

  • Observe an agent’s calls and provide real-time feedback.
  • Ask an agent to review their call recordings with you to assess the agent’s etiquette, strengths, and weaknesses.
  • Use Q&A scorecards to formally evaluate an agent’s calls.
  • Share relevant articles and educational resources to help your agents develop their skills.

Need to Hire Call Center Agents?

Salem Solutions has the qualified candidates you need to fill your call center role. Find out more or request an employee today.

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The Importance of Relationship-Building for Call Centers | Salem Solutions

The Importance of Relationship-Building for Call Centers 

The relationships that call center agents build with customers are essential to the success of the business. Most customers expect their needs to be met as quickly as possible with one phone call. Otherwise, the customers are likely to do business with other companies that better serve them. This is why call center agents need… Read More »

The relationships that call center agents build with customers are essential to the success of the business. Most customers expect their needs to be met as quickly as possible with one phone call. Otherwise, the customers are likely to do business with other companies that better serve them.

This is why call center agents need to prioritize their connections with customers. The stronger these relationships are, the more satisfied the customers are. This leads to increased customer retention and an enhanced company reputation.

The following suggestions can help build relationships between call center agents and customers.

Enhance the Customer Experience

Call center agents who build relationships with customers elevate the customers’ experience with the company. This increases the odds of the customers continuing to purchase the company’s product or service.

Customers want to know that a company cares about their satisfaction with its offerings. If the customers experience problems, they want them solved as quickly as possible.

This process is facilitated when call center agents build relationships with the customers. The agents work to understand the issues and resolve them as soon as possible. Receiving a fast resolution increases customer satisfaction. This impacts future sales and the bottom line.

Increase Trust

Customers do business with companies they trust. In many cases, the call center is the first point of contact between the customer and the business.

Having a call center demonstrates that the company values its customers. The agents are easily reachable and ready to solve problems.  

Call center agents must show genuine care and personal attention from the moment they pick up the phone. They also need to promptly respond to customers with truthful answers to resolve issues. This shows the agents care about the customers’ happiness and want to maximize the value of the company’s offerings.

Elevate Quality

The quality of a company’s products or services alone is not enough to influence customers’ opinions of the quality of the business. The customers also want to see high standards of performance from its workforce, including the call center.

Call center agents who excel at building relationships with customers help create a foundation of repeat business. These customers are likely to serve as brand ambassadors who share their positive experiences. The more people hear about these experiences, the more likely they are to purchase the offerings. This can further expand the customer base and enhance the company’s reputation for excellent service.

Tips to Build Customer Relationships

Call center agents can build relationships with customers by quickly responding through instant chat, email, SMS services, social media, or a phone call. The agents also can use the information in a customer service management (CMS) system to personalize their customer interactions. Plus, the agents can provide additional insight into customer perceptions of the product or service to improve the company brand. 

Looking to learn more about the value of relationship-building for call centers?

If you have an interest in building these relationships, learn how Salem Solutions might have the opportunity best suited for you.

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3 Factors That Can Contribute to Burnout This Summer | Salem Solutions

3 Factors That Can Contribute to Burnout This Summer

Burnout occurs when emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a diminished sense of personal accomplishment combine. A burned-out employee typically feels cynical and depleted of energy. Nothing they contribute at work appears to make a difference to the organization.  An employee experiencing burnout usually feels unmotivated, disengaged, and unproductive. This typically is a result of feeling chronic… Read More »

Burnout occurs when emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a diminished sense of personal accomplishment combine. A burned-out employee typically feels cynical and depleted of energy. Nothing they contribute at work appears to make a difference to the organization. 

An employee experiencing burnout usually feels unmotivated, disengaged, and unproductive. This typically is a result of feeling chronic stress over an extended period. 

During the summer months, you may experience an increase in family commitments, spending on sports and vacations, or other situations that can increase your stress level. You might feel that you cannot manage your time well enough to fit in everything. Or, you could experience trouble balancing your personal and professional responsibilities. This can result in frequent absences from work, withdrawal from your team, and other adverse consequences.  

Fortunately, there are steps you can take to decrease your odds of experiencing burnout. The following tips can help.

Discover three factors that can contribute to burnout and how you can alleviate them.

Juggling Work and Child Care

You may struggle to find reliable child care when schools are closed. This can interfere with your ability to work. You may find it difficult to remain engaged and productive.

You can resolve this issue by asking a family member or friend to watch your children while you work. Or, you may be able to find a summer camp or other day-long activities to drop your children off at during your work hours. There may be resources available to cover the costs if needed.

Increasing Workloads 

When your colleagues take summer vacations, you likely have to fill in during their absence. Adding to your already-packed schedule can lead to feelings of overwhelm.  

To combat this issue, make a list of everything you need to accomplish for the week. Then, break down your activities from most important to least important. Next, set a time to complete your most important tasks. Keep going until your least important tasks are scheduled. Be sure to include time for breaks and flexibility for interruptions.

Do your best to adhere to your schedule. Move any unfinished tasks to first thing the following day.

Feeling the Need to Always Work

You may have difficulty working only during your regular hours. This might be especially true if you are asked to cover your team members’ shifts. Although you need time for yourself, you likely want to help your employer as much as possible.

You can reduce the impact of this problem by setting clear boundaries for the hours you work. This may include adding no more than one or two shifts per week when requested. Or, it may involve saying “no” to completing additional tasks during your off-hours.

Is It Time to Find a New Job?

If finding a new job can reduce your odds of experiencing burnout, make Salem Solutions part of your search. Here is a link to our job board. 

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Are You Keeping Your Call Center Safe? 4 Tips for National Safety Month | Salem Solutions

Are You Keeping Your Call Center Safe? 4 Tips for National Safety Month

As a supervisor in a call center, your agents’ safety is your top priority. Without your workforce, your call center cannot operate. Because a call center is a busy place to work, there may be significant safety risks in the environment. As a result, you must do what you can to keep your agents safe.… Read More »

As a supervisor in a call center, your agents’ safety is your top priority. Without your workforce, your call center cannot operate.

Because a call center is a busy place to work, there may be significant safety risks in the environment. As a result, you must do what you can to keep your agents safe. The following suggestions can help.

Implement these four tips to increase safety in your call center.

Provide Mental Health Support

Call center agents typically work long hours in a fast-paced, results-driven environment. The agents often deal with frustrated customers who lack patience while having their issues resolved. These stressors can have a negative impact on the agents’ mental health.

Call center agents who experience chronic stress at work may feel overwhelmed and helpless. They might develop cynicism about their job and dread coming to work. This can lead to increased absences, lower engagement, and poorer performance. It also could result in anxiety, depression, and burnout.

You can provide support for your agents in the following ways:

  • Space out agent shifts to provide time to handle personal needs.
  • Provide realistic workloads and expectations.
  • Share constructive feedback that demonstrates value and respect.
  • Recognize your agents’ achievements every day.
  • Provide coaching to improve agents’ performance.
  • Allow personal days to handle mental health concerns.
  • Offer opportunities for bonuses, raises, and promotions.

 Minimize Trips and Falls

Call centers tend to have loose cables connecting to phone lines and the internet. The centers also often have client paperwork stacked on the floor. These loose cables and piles of paper can lead to trips and falls. Falls are the most common and severe workplace injuries.

You can minimize the risks involved with loose cables and piles of paper by doing the following:

  • Make sure all cables are covered and visibly marked. This should draw your agents’ attention and signal them to walk over the cables.
  • Remind your agents to keep the walkways clear at all times. You may want to provide tables to hold client paperwork.

 Protect Agents’ Heads and Ears

Call centers tend to be large, with agents sitting close together on one floor. While many agents talk on the phone with customers, other agents talk with each other. This creates a significant amount of noise.

The agents talking with customers need to listen closely to what the customers are saying. In order to accomplish this, many agents turn their headsets to full volume. As a result, the agents often get headaches and leave work exhausted.

You can reduce the amount of noise in the call center by doing any of the following:

  • Install white noise generators or other noise-canceling devices
  • Increase the space between your agents
  • Add sound-absorbing material to the desks, floors, or walls  

A more economical option would be to provide quality headsets for your agents. Pay attention to the following factors when purchasing:

  • Work environment: If your call center is designed to minimize background noise, you may prioritize headset design, optimum audio clarity, or other features.
  • User experience: Less experienced agents may be more comfortable with headsets that are easy to use than ones with complicated features.
  • Agent role: Agents who need to move around to manage requests should have wireless headsets with a large range.
  • Comfort: Because agents typically spend 8 hours a day on the phone, they need adjustable headsets with lightweight frames and large leatherette ear cushions.

Enhance Agents’ Vocal Health

Call center agents depend on their voices to do their work. In many cases, the agents’ voices are the only tool they have to connect with customers.

A healthy, pleasing voice is required to build trust and credibility with customers. As a result, successful phone interactions depend on the clarity of the agent’s voice.  

Call center agents typically talk on the phone for 40 hours per week. This means they risk damaging their voices and developing hoarseness. As a result, the agents may call in sick, answer fewer calls per hour, or need to repeat themselves to customers.

You can help your agents protect their voices by doing the following:

  • Schedule breaks between work days. Suggest your agents rest their voices as much as possible during this time.
  • Encourage regular breaks. This includes taking several phone calls, then switching to a work task that does not require talking.   
  • Recommend your agents keep water or another non-caffeinated liquid at their workstations. Your agents should aim to drink 64 ounces during the day to keep their throats wet.

Need to Add Call Center Agents to Your Team?

Partner with Salem Solutions to hire qualified call center agents to reach business goals. Learn more today.

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