TEG Media
May 23, 2021
Knowledge Retention
An agent's sole role is to provide high-quality customer service to all customers. In order to make this happen agents must be able to quickly learn the fundamental aspects of the client's product or service. This "working" knowledge is the key to ensuring the customer is provided with a one-call resolution. However, there will always be times where an agent does not have the answer and in these moments it's crucial that the agent places quality customer service first. What does this mean? Simply put, when an agent cannot resolve an issue they need to have clear escalation procedures that outline who the call should be transferred to or how to research using the knowledge base.
Flexibility
A contact center agent will receive many calls each day which means they are interacting with a wide variety of personalities. An agent needs to be flexible enough to adjust handle a chatty caller in one moment and an irate customer in the next. They need the ability to roll with the punches and let go of any negativity prior to beginning the next call. One key feature to assisting agents with flexibility is support from the management team. Consistent call feedback will help agents fine-tune this skill.
Attention to Detail
Sometimes a call center agent's job can be very monotonous. They deal with the same issues daily and provide the same answers. This scenario can lead to cursory work which will result in poor customer service because the agent is leaning on their assumptions of the issue instead of seeking further clarification.
This is actually quite common for most contact center agents and consumers say 70% of their experience is based upon how they feel they are being treated. So how do you overcome this? Training and retraining are key to ensuring your agents are focused on delivering the outcomes promised to both the caller and client. Make sure agents know what to expect and emphasize the importance of following the processes which were created to ensure quality service.