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5 Strategies for Effective Call Center Operational Performance

Working in today’s call center is a demanding job. The simplest of transactions are now often handled via self-service tools, leaving more complex work left to today’s agent. Effectively leading today’s call center agent can be even more challenging. From handling escalated calls, upset customers stressed-out agents, and endless to-do lists; the list of challenges tends to get longer and longer. This leaves an interesting question – how do you lower stress levels for your team members? How do you keep their moods up, so that they are bright and cheery treating each new customer as if they were their first of the day? How do you improve call center performance to ensure your team member, company, and clients get the necessary results they need? Here are five clear strategies to implement for effective call center operational performance. 1. Effective Sourcing   An ideal time to hire call center agents is at the start of their career, usually when they are entry level. Be open to those with little previous work experience. By starting the development process early, you can prepare workers with valuable experience to become not just high-performing agents, but future supervisors and managers. There are many ways to attract employees who are at the start of their careers. Here are just a few tactics to consider: • Provide paid internships for students fresh out of college or during their college breaks. • Attend workshops and conferences at high schools to market your company as a desirable employer. • Allow flexible work schedules, so that students may work part-time, while attending college. 2. Employee Incentives   Once you’ve increased the pool from which you can draw permanent workers for your call center operations, the next step is to be a desirable employer. If your goal is to attract mostly young workers, then it’s important to note that flexibility and work-life-balance are extremely important to millennials and Gen Z, often even more so than a high salary. Here are some incentives you should consider that will benefit your older call center workers, as well: • Opportunities for professional development • Fun and creative experiences • Innovative tech in the office • Flexible work schedules • Give back initiatives 3. Employee Training   Many call center operations leaders make the mistake of believing employees only need training for their first few weeks on the job. Others have training programs in place just for the sake of having them, with no real process and no real way of measuring their effectiveness. By investing in proper and frequent employee training, you are building an unstoppable workforce. In fact, Forbes recommends frequent employee training as the key to organizational success. Besides the obvious knowledge improvement, how does this benefit call center operations? See below for a few key benefits: • Reduced need for supervision • Increased productivity • Lower turnover rates • Improved efficiency • Decrease in errors • Improved morale 4. Employee Empowerment   One great benefit of employee training that deserves a section to itself is employee empowerment. By providing call center employees with the knowledge and tools they need to make informed decisions, management can turn its focus back to admin and strategic functions. The workers, in turn, can focus on achieving company goals without a manager breathing down their necks. As mentioned above, employee empowerment leads to a reduced need for supervision, which in turn helps to flatten the organizational structure. Flat organizational structures are more efficient and more adaptable to change. They also boost customer satisfaction as workers reduce resolution times by resolving issues on their own, thereby reducing the need to forward customers through multiple channels. 5. Health & Wellness Focus   According to a 2014 study published by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, there are some health conditions that become a risk for workers at call centers. For starters, because of the 24/7 nature of call center operations, many people are usually working at times when they would have otherwise been sleeping, causing disruptions to their internal clock. Interpersonal relationships with family and friends may also be negatively affected, often resulting in unhealthy lifestyle habits. Additionally, the need to suppress negative emotions to please customers may also lead to depression and anxiety. Because of this, it’s very important that companies focus on health and wellness programs for employees. Some perks, such as a creative space for breaks, can help with this. However, there should also be solid employee benefits for both mental and physical care. In addition to this, employers should implement measures to reduce or prevent employee burnout. Every call center has its own organizational culture and strategies in place to ensure high call center performance. However, sometimes organizational culture can work against improvements and sometimes strategies become outdated. By making small tweaks to those original strategies, however, you can transform your call center business, keep your workers in great shape and generate a return for stakeholders. For more information on how partnering with Etech can help, contact us at info@etechgs.com. This blog was earlier published on LinkedIn.

5 Strategies to Enhance Proactive Customer Service

Proactive customer service is about foreseeing client needs and meeting them before they have to ask. This type of service is also aimed at increasing retention rates while boosting performance. Unfortunately, many companies do not employ proactive strategies. Instead, they flounder with reactive services, which means that they are always behind the curve when it comes to customer satisfaction. Before truly understanding the difference and highlighting proactive strategies, however, it is necessary to draw attention to proactive approaches, specifically messaging. Types of Proactive Messaging Many reactive companies struggle to limit customer turnover or suffer from flooded inbound call center services. Often, these struggles are due to poor communication between a brand and its customers. For instance, some companies fail to explain or notify consumers when updates or changes to service are going to occur, meaning that when those things happen customers are rightfully confused and sometimes upset. Also, reactive companies often fail to retain customers who do not fully understand the benefits offered by their products or services. These situations can be avoided with the use of the two types of proactive messaging. • Broadcasting – Broadcast customer service messages are aimed at early influence. These messages do not depend on specific user data or timelines. Instead, they are designed to highlight broader aspects of a product or service. For instance, these messages may display as pop-ups or banners notifying all customers of product updates or outages. Primarily, this messaging tactic is used to inform and reduce confusion in the event of product or service changes. However, broadcasting can also be used to deliver announcements of newsletters and other customer-friendly information. Remember knowledge is power and in this case informative power. • Trigger-based –Trigger-based messages are automated and designed to suggest a user takes action at a specific time. For example, these messages could be used to encourage nonactive users into action by offering support material, or the messages could encourage a customer to use certain aspects of the system that they have not explored yet. In either case, trigger-based messaging is directed at a more specific piece of the customer cycle, and as with all proactive messaging it is designed to encourage user or customer participation whether that is to explore a new feature or purchase an upgrade, service or product. 5 Strategies for Proactive Service While implementing a proactive approach is ideal, it does take work and should not be rushed into recklessly. Implementing this type of strategy requires the identification of common issues and customer concerns as well as the collaboration of ideas for the development of appropriate solutions. However, any successful plan will develop its solution around five tried and true strategies. 1. Acquisition – During the acquisition phase, proactive customer service will guide customers throughout their buying experience. This can be done through live chat services or even guides that help customers understand how and what to fill out in a form. 2. Influence – When discussing influence, proactive service is all about highlighting new or compatible products or services. Therefore, if a consumer places an item in their cart, a message would alert them to similar items. 3. Education – Trigger-based messaging is often used to educate consumers. However, unlike physical customer service, these messages are likely automated and provide instructions or advice on unused features. 4. Support – While many reactive companies can become overburdened with support tickets, leaving their call center services in a constant cycle of angry customers, a proactive trigger-based or even broadcast message can be displayed for those instances of shared issues, like outages or glitches. 5. Retention – While there is no great method for customer retention when discussing reactive companies, there are numerous proactive solutions. Customer service centers can be alerted to users who are not actively participating in the provided service through trigger messages. Therefore, inactive customers will experience a personalized message, encouraging them to remain loyal and active users. Reason Proactive Service is Superior The main difference between reactive and proactive customer service comes down to wants and needs. Reactive services are only concerned with the immediate want of a client, ignoring the greater need. Sure, they will still sell products and services, but their retention and satisfaction rates will likely suffer. Proactive service is about resolving the underlying needs of consumers, resulting in improved customer experience with higher retention and satisfaction rates. Is your company suffering from high levels of user turnover? Is your call center overwhelmed by repetitive consumer complaints surrounding similar issues? Don’t waste another minute being reactive. If you are interested in implementing a proactive customer service strategy, then contact Etech services, where serving your customers is the only priority. Yours in service David A. Carrizales

Why You Need Omnichannel Customer Engagement Solutions?

When a company is set in its ways, it can be a hard rush to encourage managers to create lasting change. This is as true for call centers as it is for other types of businesses. One aspect where companies can become stubborn is communication. A business that has excelled from taking only phone calls at their contact centers, for instance, may not be willing to open up new lines of communication through email, live chat, social media, and other omnichannel customer engagement options. Unfortunately, this would be to the detriment of the business. Here’s why. Some customers do prefer a phone call, but others may prefer to type a few words in a Facebook chatbox. Thus, by keeping multiple lines of communication open, i.e., offering omnichannel solutions, a company makes it easier for customers to resolve issues. Estimates say that 98% of your customers expect you to communicate consistently across multiple channels. If it is instead easier for a customer to engage with a competitor to start a new service than it is to reach your company to resolve their issues, you may lose that customer. They may also take a few family, friends, and followers with them. Shaping Customer Experience Customers generally have three points of contact with a business. The first occurs when they purchase a product or service. The second occurs during the use of the product or service. The third is if or when something goes wrong with the product or service, or the customer has a query. Depending on the type of business, customers come in contact with agents for at least two of these three points. As a result, contact centers play an integral role in shaping the customer experience, irrespective of their encounter with the actual product or service. 96% of consumers agree that an essential determining factor of whether or not they remain loyal to a company is the customer service experience. However, phone calls are not enough. More than half of customers prefer to text rather than call when seeking customer support. Forbes also notes that live chat is preferred by 41% of customers. Omnichannel customer service is especially important when a company’s main offering is a service. When there are intangible components of a business, customers may rely on the contact center team even more for support issues, such as troubleshooting a website glitch or questions regarding successful completion of an online course. When a customer has the option of accessing that support through multiple channels, the likelihood of them viewing the company more favorably tends to be higher. Benefits of Providing Omnichannel Service Higher customer satisfaction is the benefit most frequently cited for the use of omnichannel customer solutions, but it is not the only one. See below for some additional advantages of applying this strategy: Reduced Costs: When it comes to implementing big changes, one of the first things companies look to is their bottom line. The good news is that while there is an initial investment, switching to an omnichannel approach reduces call center costs over time. One reason for this is that self-help omnichannel solutions reduce the need for agents to tackle every potential issue themselves. A customer may find the answer on their own through FAQ web pages, branded videos, or even chatbots. Additional Insights: Social media, live chat, forums, and other aspects of the omnichannel strategy provides the opportunity to gain additional insights. Through these channels, companies can learn what customers love best about their products and services, what they hate most, why they stay, or why they chose a competitor. Increased Employee Productivity: Customers aren’t the only ones with a preference for certain communication channels. Some employees may also be better suited to texting or creating DIY videos than just taking phone calls. By matching employees with the communication channels that best suit them, you may increase employee engagement, motivation, and productivity. Reduction in Turnover: Companies are often so focused on customer retention that employee retention often falls by the wayside. Contrary to what many employers believe, providing employees with the option of manning the different forts of an omnichannel may increase employee retention for the reasons highlighted in the point above. It also introduces the element of choice and reduces monotony. In short, an omnichannel customer engagement strategy allows companies to communicate with people on their own terms, wherever they feel most comfortable. Customers are currently demanding better service and more accessibility to their favorite brands all around the world and this is one way to deliver this experience seamlessly. Would you like to introduce omnichannel customer solutions at your contact center? Contact Etech today to get the process started.

How Big Data Analytics Is Gold for Call Centers?

Call centers generate data like no other department within a company. Information coming in from the outside, such as customer demographics, common questions, and favorite product features are gold mines for marketing, development, and customer engagement. Data gleaned from internal processes such as hold times, how long it takes to resolve an issue, and the number of calls managed per shift provides valuable information for departmental and company management. Best of all, the automated nature of a call center means that almost everything is recorded, cataloged, tracked, and measured with accuracy. As a bonus, it’s available indefinitely for future analysis and decision making. How Can Companies Use All This Data? • Unstructured data : Unstructured data can be defined as “information, in many different forms, that doesn’t hew to conventional data models.” An example is voice recordings from callers to a call center. The efficient call center software can analyze the tone of voice, content, and emotion. That knowledge can help a representative gauge the caller’s mood even before the conversation starts. This kind of processing is also called speech analysis or natural language processing (NLP). • Text data analytics : Call center is something of a misnomer as consumers now interact with companies via social media, email, messaging apps, and more. Text analytics programs can evaluate all those forms of communication, looking for themes and potential issues. The software can perform this kind of study on messages going out as well as those coming in. • Cross channel analytics : Customers use multiple avenues to interact with vendors, and it’s critical for businesses to understand those methods. For example, if a customer makes most purchases online, the company will want to make sure the client knows that he or she can get support the same way. Knowledge of how customers interact lets a company put more resources into the most used forms of engagement. • Quality control : Every call center has metrics related to customer service and the engagement experience. The data gathered through the call center makes this easier. Friction points become clear, and areas of difficulty for your agents are easier to spot. Also, all this data is prime material for training new agents, and better-trained agents mean improved customer metrics. The Process of Using Big Data Big Data analysis is a four-stage process: 1. Defining the data sources : This involves setting forth a description of all the pathways by which data is collected. You’ll want to include social media, email, and all other forms of communication. 2. Data gathering : This data involves the transformation of raw data into something manageable and organized. Depending on the nature of the data, this may or may not be a traditional database. Unstructured data requires more work to put into a manageable form. 3. Modeling : The data is used to create a hypothetical model for testing and evaluation. Big data gives you a laboratory to try out new ideas in a safe environment. 4. Deploying a model : At this stage, the company takes some action based on the information from the models. The management team has more confidence in decisions based on hard evidence. Get Started Now Businesses from healthcare to banking to manufacturing are finding uses for the big data collected through their call centers. Whether it’s artificial intelligence, machine learning, or predictive analytics, big data is becoming a priceless resource. If you’re ready to make the most of the information flowing through your call center, you have many options, and Etech Insights can help you with data insights for your organization. Contact Etech to find your way to improved customer experience and increased profitability through the use of data you’re probably already collecting. This blog was earlier published on LinkedIn.

How to Connect Data and Artificial Intelligence for Personalized Touch Points

Artificial intelligence is currently being propagated as the consumer experience champion and for a good reason. The ability and evolution of computer learning have led to improved efficiency, personalization and excellent analysis of big data, thereby transforming the e-commerce landscape and created a standard of expectation from customers. It is no longer feasible to appease the base with stagnant, unresponsive platforms. Patrons expect businesses to be not only accommodating but personable in both physical and digital locations. The expectation of such customization and personalization is only possible and cost-effective through the implementation of automated and analytical systems. However, many companies struggle with implementing such machine learning structures, which is why it is vital to understand how to connect data and AI with business objectives. Identify Problems and Seek Solutions   While big data offers tremendous insight into operations and corporate structure, it does nothing without the computational ability to analyze and produce actionable information succinctly. Incorporating AI into existing products and services is likely the best place for most businesses to start. Review your products, services, and operations to see where machine learning, natural language processing or image recognition could be used to streamline data and eliminate redundancies. Seek Value Not Reinvention   It is easy to get caught up in the technological advancements offered through AI platforms, but it is not wise to embrace it in its entirety. While these systems are excellent tools for data analytics and insights into the consumer experience, they should not be used at the detriment of your business and brand identity. If your model is built on approachability and personable communications with consumers, then implementing chatbots for all consumer interactions will only dilute that image. Do not reinvent the business for the sake of being technologically advanced. Do implement AI strategies that add value and help the company in finding improved efficiency and effectiveness. Know Your Capabilities   A large corporation with many big data sets is going to require more robust solutions than a small business with a limited consumer base and digital footprint. While every company can grow to the point of needing complex analytic tools that are housed in high-security facilities, not all businesses require such extensive technologies currently. Know your capabilities and where you want your business to grow. Don’t over-implement AI systems because it is what the larger corporations are doing. Your computer systems and processes should grow with the business and not necessarily surpass it. Integrate Integral Data   Though big data is the foundation for the success of automated systems, many corporations are plagued by redundancies in these data sets. Before implementing any advanced computer learning system, a business should weed through their data and eliminate any unnecessary or repetitive information. Once a new system is in use, it should only be fed integral data, allowing it to learn what information is valuable. Set Up Tests and Start Small   As mentioned, AI does require training which is why it is essential to manage the implementation of such systems. It is best to start small and tests the results, only moving further when the machine proves its capabilities on limited data sets. This structured implementation can be used in every aspect of your business from the front-end consumer experience to back-end operational usage. No matter the desired result, slow and structured is the path to a successful installation. Big data is only a piece of the implementation puzzle when it comes to artificial intelligence. While AI can help to transform a business into a consumer-focused and efficient machine, it can also inhibit a company’s progress if it is utilized too quickly and with little forethought. Therefore, if you are looking to incorporate advanced analytics and computer learning in your business model, then contact Etech to discuss and discover a customizable solution. This blog was first published on LinkedIn.

Eight Tips to Ensure Call Center PCI Compliance

Every good business leader knows there will always be times when risk-taking is beneficial to your organization. We have all heard the adage, “The Greater the Risk, The Greater the Reward”. However, when it comes to regulatory compliance in the contact center industry, taking risks should never be considered as an option. Adhering to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is one of the most important ways to operate your business with integrity. Developed in 2006 by five major credit card companies to protect consumers from fraud, data breaches, and identity theft during business transactions, PCI DSS standards are enforced by the PCI Security Standards Council. There are several risks associated with non-compliance to PCI DSS standards; Monetary Fines, Damaged Reputation, System and Process Forensic Audits; Loss of Business; Legal Action; and the list goes on. The good news is there are several easy to follow guidelines to ensure your company achieves and maintains full PCI compliance. 1. Maintain a secure network. Nearly 80 percent of companies that experience a data breach doesn’t have a reliable firewall in place. Avoid putting your customers at unnecessary risk by investing in robust security controls for your online network. If you’re unfamiliar with industry standards for establishing a safe network, hire a reputable IT firm to help you get started. Understand where all your access points are. Document your data flows and ensure there are measures to protect the data at rest and in transit. 2. Ensure your web hosting is PCI compliant. Call center security begins with a web host that routes valuable consumer financial data through a private, dedicated server to protect sensitive information from unauthorized users. While this option can be more expensive than a shared hosting plan, the peace of mind it can give you and your customers is well worth the expense. 3. Do not allow mobile devices in secure work areas where Protected data is present and/or displayed. While it’s important to hire and train contact center agents who are ethical and trustworthy, you also need to accept the reality that a data breach could begin with a someone importing sensitive customer data onto their mobile device. Reduce the risk by prohibiting personal mobile device use in secure areas. If mobile devices are part of your employee working toolset, ensure you have robust MDM (Mobile Device Management) and DLP (Data Loss Prevention) policies in place. 4. Encrypt all sensitive data. We have all heard the saying, “There are two types of organizations, those that have been breached, and those that don’t know they’ve been breached”. If data becomes compromised, can the malicious actors do anything with it? A fundamental element of PCI compliance is shielding customer personal and financial information with strong cryptography. Cryptographic controls are important for data at rest as well as data that is in transit. You should be utilizing a minimum encryption key strength of 256 bits, and for an extra security safeguard, if you utilize a third party to store your customers’ data, they should not have access to the encryption key. 5. Redact and protect recorded calls containing sensitive information. You would be surprised at the number of companies recording calls that never think about the protected data on those recordings. While call recording is an invaluable training tool, it can also put the security of your organization and your customers’ data at risk. Recorded calls are subject to the same PCI DSS standards as any other method of capturing private consumer information, so consider investing in a call monitoring system that will allow redaction of financial information on the recording. Also, ensure recordings themselves are protected through proper encryption methods and access controls. 6. Establish role-based security. One of the basics of PCI DSS compliance is limiting who can access your customers’ financial information on a strictly need to know basis. That’s why it’s essential to implement role-based credentials in your contact center. Follow a Policy of Least Privilege. This will ensure that each team member has only the access needed to adequately perform their job duties without unduly exposing them to sensitive consumer data. 7. Provide appropriate contact center employee training. Your contact center agents are part of your security/compliance team and each is an invaluable tool in maintaining PCI DSS compliance. Make sure they understand the fundamentals of PCI standards, why they are important, and how a data breach can negatively impact your business. By establishing your agents as the front line in preserving contact center security, you’re providing one of the strongest defense systems to your customers. 8. Don’t underestimate the importance of system testing. Less than 30 percent of companies remain PCI compliant a year after becoming certified, usually because they fail to maintain and upgrade their network and data security after the initial installation. Security is not a one and done project. It is continually evolving to counteract cybercriminals attempting to remain one step ahead. Protect your investment by scheduling regular testing of all firewalls, encryption methods, redaction methods, credential audits, and call monitoring. Commit to enhancing your security systems as needed so they meet or exceed all current industry standards. When instituting PCI compliance within your organization, remember that you, and not the consumer base you serve, are the gatekeeper of sensitive data. At Etech, we have maintained full PCI DSS certification for several years, and we realize that we and not our clients are primarily responsible for meeting all security and compliance requirements for each program within our contact centers. We provide our clients with a dedicated team of regulatory compliance experts to give them peace of mind in all aspects of their program management. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you create a PCI DSS compliant security system that will give your customers the protection they deserve.

Are You Adapting Omni-Channel Customer Support?

Customer support was originally handled through three information channels: telephone, letter or in person. As technology advanced, however, the available communication tools evolved, moving toward digital and cloud services. Now, businesses must handle customer service communications through a multifaceted approach known as omnichannel. As defined, this new approach streamlines and unifies consumer information across all corporate and client touchpoints to provide seamless, universal and informed service, and it can be further defined through the four Ps: Pain-free The first P refers to the seamlessness of the customer experience during the point of contact and finding a solution. Is your business’ currently facilitating this process in the best way possible? Proactive Is your current service reactive or proactive? The second P is about being ahead of the curve when it comes to solutions. Therefore, provide answers to problems that customers haven’t asked yet. Personalized How attentive is the business to client needs? The third P requires a personalized approach, meaning that the old ways of one-size-fits-all don’t work in today’s customer service environment. Productive Lastly, the fourth P is focused on productivity. Are your service agents empowered to make unilateral decisions, or does everything have to go through upper management? Streamlining the decision process is the focus of omnichannel customer service. If your business is not yet in tangent with the four P’s, it is not too late to start. There are several steps your company can take to improve the consumer experience and better align itself with the principles of multichannel service. Understand Customer Behavior   The basis of business and customer support is to understand customer behavior, and in the current economic climate, it is more important than ever before. To understand consumers is to understand their behavior, and to acknowledge their actions. It is difficult to establish successful communication channels if you do not know where your client-base spends their time online. Knowing that the majority of your clients use platforms like Twitter and Facebook will allow you to divert budgetary dollars from other social platforms. Capitalize on Mobile Platforms   Also, while omnichannel efforts where once limited to desktop and laptop computers, there are now multiple ways for customers to use business platforms and to contact support. You will be hard-pressed to find consumers without mobile phones or tablets. Therefore, it is essential that companies design for mobile platforms. Allow for Self-service   Additionally, it is not always necessary to flood your patron’s inbox with personalized messages or to provide information only through a real person. Some people prefer a more introverted customer experience, meaning that they prefer self-service. Companies can accommodate these types of shoppers by providing thorough and robust FAQ pages. Integrate SMS   Omnichannel support often depends on a personal approach to consumer relations through the utilization of technology and its platforms. Therefore, to push your support features to the next level, offer SMS capabilities. The availability of text messaging and its nearly universal appeal make it a reliable way to provide service and support. Incorporate Live Chat   When discussing personalized service, you can’t get any better than offering live chats. While chatbots have their place in the streamlining process, a real person can provide empathy and relatability. A machine is not able to provide accurate as well as emotional support and understanding. Don’t Forget Email   Granted, it is easy to forget the old methods of letters and email, but each still holds value in the customer experience. By incorporating both personalization and technology, businesses are capable of crafting targeted email campaigns that can lead to satisfaction and further purchases. While technically optional, omnichannel customer service is an appreciated customer service approach that yields real results. However, for true effectiveness businesses must be capitalizing on this approach across every touchpoint. If you are interested in incorporating this multichannel strategy into your business, then contact Etech for a customized solution.

How to Harness the Power of Millennials in Your Company?

Born between 1981 and 1996, the Millennial generation is a powerhouse in today’s workplace. It is estimated that by the year 2020, 50% of the workforce will be made up of millennials. This generation displays an intrinsic knowledge and trust of technology, a consistent work ethic and a commitment to excellence in standards and practices. To fully engage these employees, companies must not only honor what millennials bring to the table but also be honorable themselves. The key points below will assist in gaining insight on how to harness the power of millennials in your company. Build a Solid Professional Relationship Employers may fear that taking a relational approach to management is too time-consuming. However, accustomed to instant access to information, many millennials in the modern workplace prefer a coaching style that consists of frequent, brief check-ins rather than epic conversations. Value Their Strengths This is a generation of people who have been told their whole lives that they can be anything they want to be. Consequently, they have put a lot of effort into discovering and becoming who they want to be, and they expect you to learn who they are and what their strengths are. Generic praise and cookie-cutter tasks won’t cut it with these employees. Encouragement needs to be specific and sincere, and The good news for employers is that getting to know how millennials in your workplace like to be encouraged and the tasks at which they thrive won’t be hard to do. This generation tends to be pretty self-aware. They probably know off the top of their heads what their top five CliftonStrengths and they are likely to have some great ideas about how to best utilize those strengths in a call center workplace environment. You just need to take the time to ask them. Foster Open Communication Millennials, in particular, tend to see their jobs as a significant part of their identities. They don’t want to simply punch a time card and go home at the end of the day. Their personal lives may bleed into their work lives, and their work may be viewed as a second home. This holistic view can blur the lines of traditional hierarchies in ways that older generations are not accustomed to taking into account. Bridging this gap in perspectives can be tricky. For example, seasoned executives are not always comfortable with having decisions questioned by newer employees. If employers can look past the perceived affront to their expertise, however, these questions may prove useful. They not only offer an opportunity for professional development for the person asking them but also challenge decision-makers to analyze and, if necessary, adapt decisions to better serve the company and its clients. Exhibit Ethical Business Practices In 2018, Deloitte revealed that only 48% of Millennials view corporations as ethical. This number dropped from 65% in just one year. To improve this impression, the ideal call center workplace must show that it values people as much as or more than profit and have a certain level of transparency. Demonstrate Diversity and Flexibility The aforementioned Deloitte study concluded that millennials are more likely to be loyal to a company that actively champions diversity. Employees are more likely to feel a sense of belonging in a workplace where they can be mentored by people in leadership who look like them or identify in similar ways. Younger workers also tend to value team goals that stem from the collaboration of a wealth of differing perspectives. A flexible environment is vital to millennials’ successful work-life integration. With modern technology, most of the work that has been traditionally done at desks can easily go mobile, and there’s little discernible reason why it shouldn’t, particularly if it results in happier, healthier workers. Enabling employees to telecommute or choose their own location can increase their engagement and job satisfaction in their workplace. Practice Accountability Millennials tend to have a strong awareness of and commitment to ethical business practices. They want to make the world a better place, and, as both consumers and employees, they actively seek out companies that share their values. Communicating your commitment to ecological responsibility, social justice, and solid labor practices is a good first step. It takes consistent fulfillment of those promises to earn the trust and loyalty of millennials in your employ. Millennials will soon make up half the workforce, and that percentage is only going to get larger in the next 5-10 years. Seek out innovative service options and more efficient ways to reach company goals. In order to reap the multitude of benefits that this particular population brings to the workplace, employers must adapt the way they have always done things to accommodate their needs and preferences.

Servant Leadership Develops the Building Blocks for Successful Businesses

While leadership can take on many different meanings depending on who you ask, its definition is stated as the action of leading a group of people or an organization. While that definition may seem straightforward enough, it still leaves room for questions. How should you lead a team? Is there a right or a wrong way to lead? Is it good enough to simply lead, or do management’s choice of style and its effectiveness impact current and future business success? Most would agree that there are positive and negative forms of leadership, but does it have an impact on the business one way or the other if a company’s style of leading is found to be lacking? The simple answer is that it most certainly does. Whether high- and mid-level managers adhere to servant leadership styles or more autocratic, individualistic ones, their methods and principles seep throughout the company and impact the thoughts, ideas, and effectiveness of employees at all levels. It’s been acknowledged that businesses that focus on the importance of developing effective and ethical leadership often also enjoy increases in positive customer experiences. The Link Between Servant Leadership and Business Success   Managers who practice servant-style leading are often thinking of others and coming up with ideas for how they can serve and help their teams and communities grow, rather than focusing on themselves and accumulating their power and wealth. While this is an age-old way of looking at leadership, the concrete ideas and foundations for servant leadership were created in 1970 by Robert K. Greenleaf. There are several traits often displayed by managers who utilize servant leadership for business success, such as: A heightened sense of awareness, including self-awareness Ability to show empathy Strong commitment towards professional and personal growth of employees Not acting as if tasks, positions or other associates are below, or less critical, than them When these and other traits are combined, they often add up to a happier, more engaged and highly-efficient workforce. The Idea in Practice   Recent studies, such as this one conducted by The University of Illinois at Chicago Business School, show just what kind of impact managers who take a servant-style approach towards leadership have on their teams. This particular study focused on surveys completed by employees, managers and even customers at 71 restaurants within the national chain of Jason’s Deli. The results concluded that restaurants with managers practicing servant leadership benefited from: Improvement in job performance of 6% Customer service increases by 8% An astounding employee retention growth of 50% Lead Effectively to Reap the Benefits   If you’ve bought into the importance of good, effective leaders, here are some suggestions for incorporating servant leadership into your day-to-day practices. Show That You Care   The important thing here is making it clear that you care more about your employees than you do about the company’s bottom line. Get to know your associates and always be sure to reward and recognize a job well done. Don’t Be Afraid To Get Your Hands Dirty   Don’t let your employees see you steer clear of what you may consider being “grunt work” that’s beneath you. Jump in and help when help is needed, no matter the task. Associates will most likely respect you more and see you as someone relatable, on their level and more trustworthy. It also shows that you understand and value the importance of all jobs and tasks within the company. Know the Value of Investing in Your Team   Lift and encourage all of your employees. Help them grow their skills and don’t fear those who you believe could become a competition. A skilled and happy workforce is an effective and efficient one that is more likely to show loyalty to both their leadership and the company as a whole. With all the myriad ways that bad leadership can easily destroy a company over time, there’s a lot on the line, and it’s imperative for businesses to get this right. Managers that care, lift their employees, work alongside their teams and encourage the growth and development of everyone make the difference between companies that flourish and those that fizzle and burn out. When choosing a partner to assist in serving the needs of your company’s valued customers, look to a business ally with similar values and goals. Etech cultivates a culture of servant leadership that allows employees to grow and effectively do what they do best, which in turn leads to heightened customer satisfaction and improved customer experience. Contact Etech today to discover the solution that’s best suited to your business.

How Artificial Intelligence Humanizes Employee Communications and Customer Engagement

Images from the movies and popular culture might have you believing that machines are taking over the world. Cars carry on conversations with drivers or just drive themselves, robots are depicted as suitable dating partners, and that smartphone you keep on hand 24/7 probably recognizes your voice, face, and other biometrics. Contacting your utility company, buying groceries online, and ordering pizza delivery may not involve interacting with a human at all. In the world of business, Gartner estimates that by 2020, 85 percent of customer experience tasks will not involve a human. However, while it’s true that many functions in society can be automated, there’s still no substitute for the human touch. Many people are fairly adept at determining whether they’re dealing with a human or a machine and show a strong preference for the former. For that reason alone, fully automated customer experience tools are frustrating for many consumers, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a place. When it comes to engaging your customers and crafting meaningful communications, you can draw on the best traits of human intelligence when combined with artificial intelligence to create a quality customer engagement experience. For example, you might use an AI tool to walk customers through very common tasks or questions. But when a complex problem emerges, and you have an exasperated client on your hands, you need a human to de-escalate the situation, share insights and find creative alternatives that preserve the relationship with the client. How does AI Helps in Customer Engagement? Data management: Customer service is more data-driven than ever. Demographics, buying preferences, touch points, and many other factors contribute to a massive set of data that no one person can cross reference and analyze alone. Artificial intelligence excels in that arena, but it’s still impossible to map out every possible scenario of behavior where humans are concerned. Buying decisions and concepts like customer loyalty are purely emotional concepts. Pairing a robust set of data points with a human mind that can interpret the emotions of a customer and pivot accordingly to is a winning formula. Faster response times: Even if the response to the customer is delivered by a human, using AI tools in the background to generate responses and possible courses of action make your representatives more agile and efficient. No more “brief holds to research this matter” unless it’s a lengthy and complex problem. Simple and common questions can be handled in their entirety by machines faster and more accurately than your human agents. You can even configure the AI tools to lead customers down a particular path and divert them to a human representative under certain conditions. Always available: Artificial intelligence tools can work round the clock every day of the year, so even when your human staff is off, automated responses can help clients find basic information. Customers who are ready to buy can do so on the spot. When your employees return to the office, they can focus on the more complicated tasks rather than wading through piles of routine requests that can consume the day. Why Does It Matter? A 2013 Zendesk report found that: Survey respondents indicated that customer service was the primary factor in whether or not they trusted a vendor. A good customer service experience led 42 percent of B2C customers to buy more from that provider. A bad experience led 52 percent to stop buying from that vendor. More than half of the companies surveyed by Gartner are using or will be using some form of artificial intelligence to improve customer experiences by 2020. If you’re ready to develop a plan for implementing artificial intelligence tools into your business processes, contact Etech today. This blog was earlier published on LinkedIn.

Improve Customer Experience With These Live Chat Etiquettes

The Importance of Chat Etiquettes The guiding principle for successfully providing customer service via live chat is to help the customer with the task or issue he or she contacted you about. It’s irrelevant whether you are handling the processing of an order, answering a billing question, or checking the status of a return; your job is the same. You can turn even a disgruntled client into a lifelong fan of your product or service by using appropriate live chat etiquette. Implement these 10 tips and watch your customer satisfaction scores soar. Know Your Stuff If you don’t know the product or service you’re supporting, it won’t matter how polite or friendly your sound. The fastest way to frustrate your customer is to display a lack of basic knowledge. Even if you don’t immediately know the answer to the problem at hand, you should at least know how to find it. Familiarize yourself with the visitor-facing portion of the company’s website so you can quickly direct your customer to the correct place if he or she is looking for product details or the FAQ section. Don’t Lose Focus While it’s important to be friendly and personable as a part of live chat etiquette, it’s also easy to drift off course into small talk in the name of polite customer service. Remember that your goal is to fix the issue the customer contacted you about. Be ready to gently steer the conversation back to the problem at hand if things seem to be getting off track. Listen Most products and services have features that generate questions from users regularly. You may feel that you answer the same queries every day and can make assumptions based on those experiences. However, listening to the customer’s words as they describe what they are struggling with is critical. Don’t assume their problem is the same as everyone else. Tell the Truth If you make a promise to a customer, keep it. That seems like a pretty simple principle of live chat etiquette, but operators get tripped up on it often. Don’t offer something that you don’t have the authority to follow through on, and if you do make a promise, stay with it until you know it’s done. Explain Yourself Rather than just replying to a question with a yes or a no, provide an explanation for why that is the answer. Even if the customer doesn’t like the answer, he or she is more likely to accept it if they understand the reasoning behind it. Know When You’re In Over Your Head If you find yourself faced with a customer support issue that you simply cannot solve, don’t be afraid to admit that to the client. Reassure him or her that repeating the whole story won’t be necessary, and then transfer everything you’ve done so far to the more senior agent to maintain the live chat etiquette. Speak Clearly Remember that the person you are communicating with may not be knowledgeable of all the abbreviations, technical terms, and other jargon associated with your product or service. At least initially, ask basic questions in simple terms. If you establish that the customer is more advanced, then you can elevate the terminology of the conversation. Keep It, Professional While it’s tempting to lapse into less formal language using slang or shortcut spelling, resist the urge. In a professional environment, stick to proper grammar and sentence structure to build your customer’s confidence in you. Don’t Leave Your Customer Hanging If you need to put the conversation on hold to research or get more information, be sure to communicate to the other party what you are doing. If you just disappear, the customer might think something happened to the connection. There’s no such thing as overcommunicating in the world of live chat etiquette. Try to Fix It With One Chat Customers feel most confident and happiest with your service when you answer their questions or fix an issue with one call. Having to contact your company again and again with the same problem damages brand loyalty and makes the customer less likely to recommend your products because of a bad customer service experience. Remember the Impact Obviously, most consumers wish they never had to reach out for support of a product or service. But if they do need to, the best way to turn around that negative experience is to provide a customer support experience that is so good and so helpful they want to tell their friends about it. In a 2017 study by Northridge Group, 81 percent of customers surveyed reported that the quality of the support experience would be a determining factor in whether they continued to use a product or service. If you need help in establishing a world-class live chat support team, contact Etech.

5 Effective Tips to Raise Your Customer Service Standards

What Are Your Company’s Customer Service Standards? According to the Institute of Customer Service, your company’s customer service standards should include clearly defined and communicated expectations for timeliness, applicability, and accuracy. Service-level agreements are ideal examples of defined standards. It’s not enough to say that you’ll answer all calls within a reasonable period of time. Instead, a defined service level agreement would state that between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, calls will be answered within an average of 30 seconds at least 98 percent of the time. Applicability relates to inquiries from customers, clients, or potential clients. The expectation is that 100 percent of the time, the response to an inquiry will answer all the parts of the question correctly. Setting applicability standards makes it clear to internal and external stakeholders that giving out incorrect or incomplete information is unacceptable in your organization. Applicability is a strong proponent of an effortless customer experience. Accuracy as part of customer service standards, for every business, should be 100 percent. Nothing less is acceptable in-house because nothing less is acceptable to your customers. Accuracy and applicability go hand in hand – applicability applies to information, and accuracy to products, or service delivery. How Can You Raise Your Standards? Now that you’ve defined your standards and expectations, how can you improve their success rate? No matter how good you are, you can always aim higher. These five tips can help you move the needle Omni-Channel Experience: Omnichannel is a cross-channel content strategy that organizations use to improve their user experience. Rather than working in parallel, communication channels and their supporting resources are designed and orchestrated to cooperate. Whether your client interacts with your business via voice call, chat, email, social media, text messaging, website, or some other method, every interaction is recorded and related so that future touchpoints all share the same information. An example of a seamless omnichannel experience would be when a customer sends a message through your Facebook page with a question about a product and later calls the customer service phone number, the phone representative can see the information from the Facebook interaction and have a complete and up to date picture of the situation. Empowerment: Even in the age of so much technology, the human touch still reigns supreme when it comes to customer experience and satisfaction. Consumers expect a confident, knowledgeable voice on the other end of the line to take care of their questions or issue accurately and efficiently, preferably on the first interaction. However, your team members can only do that if they are knowledgeable, empowered to make decisions for the customer and the company, and have the technical toolbox required to deliver on each interaction. You must make sure they have the tools at hand and the authority built into your policies to take care of your customers without having to climb ladders for permission. Agent Experience directly translates into Customer Experience; any friction points the agent encounters will ultimately be felt by the customer. Developing a culture of servant leadership combined with purposeful training, coaching, and development provide agent the confidence they need to expertly handle each customer. Tie Your KPIs to Customer Service: Key performance indicators (KPIs) have traditionally been tied to quantity measurements, such as the number of calls processed per hour. Times-they-are-a-changing; more and more organizations now understand the value of tying customer satisfaction to the company’s overall performance measures. Team members who use everything within their power to create satisfied customers are now recognized as some of a company’s most valuable assets. They have the powerful ability to encourage loyalty and a deeper relationship with your customers. Prioritize culture, training, and employ enrichment and the numbers will follow; a robust and action-oriented ESAT program creates an environment of engaged employees and shared success. Consolidate Your Data: Gone are the days when each department within your company kept a separate file on each customer. With customer management software available in almost every industry, it’s easy to pull together a profile on each customer that the different areas can share. Your sales department can see how a client interacts with materials from marketing, for example. Your customer service team should have immediate access to client profiles so they can make the best decision possible. Data consolidation is the first step toward a cross-channel strategy. Integrate Artificial Intelligence: Artificial intelligence (AI) is not ready to replace your human customer service agents, but it has advanced enough to handle routine tasks or common inquiries. Many consumers consider it a good customer service experience when they can quickly and easily find what they need on your website or through your app. Automation adaption and bots can efficiently handle high-frequency, low-value interactions. This frees up your agents to handle more complex issues that require in-depth support. This balance of human and artificial intelligence can create a winning combination for satisfied clients. Why Does It Matter? Your company probably spends a significant part of its budget on marketing to draw in new customers. However, it’s equally important to hold onto the clients once you have them. Establishing high standards is only the beginning. Maintaining those standards requires constant vigilance, data gathering, communication, and analysis. With the advent of social media, the customer’s voice is amplified, and word of a bad customer service experience spreads like wildfire. That makes high customer service standards critically important to your company’s success. If you’re exploring service standards and experience management programs, Contact Etech today. We specialize in setting the bar high and consistently exceeding it! This blog was earlier published on LinkedIn.

How To Empower Employees and Ensure a Great Customer Experience

Employee empowerment has many benefits. Empowered employees tend to be more committed to the company, which translates into lower turnover rates, improved processes, and greater customer satisfaction. Customer success is directly impacted by how connected employees are to the vision and believe their strengths and contributions are being utilized. While employee engagement is on the rise in the U.S., there is always room for improvement. Here are some ways you can improve your company culture and customer experience by empowering employees to work to their full potential. Proper Tools To Do the Job   To provide fast, efficient service, your employees need fast, efficient tools. Employee empowerment is difficult if your representatives have to struggle to make the technology and resources you’ve provided work for them. The more user-friendly your programs are, the easier it is for workers to resolve customers’ issues. To maximize the customer experience, many companies put the employee experience on the back burner. Unfortunately, the stress caused by neglecting employees’ needs inevitably trickles down to the customer. Shifting your focus to employee experience can increase satisfaction in both. Providing everything the workers need to do the best job they can do lets them know that you have enough confidence in them to invest in their work. Happy representatives pass on that happiness to your customers. High Standards for Performance and Service   Setting high standards can contribute to employee empowerment. Communicating well about company goals and how employees fit in the plan can give them a sense of purpose. This is not always as simple as it may look at first. Several key variables must be enacted for this important element of empowerment not to backfire: Hire motivated individuals. When you increase your hiring standards, you can expect that the productivity of those you hire will also be elevated. You can improve your hiring process with group interviews, which not only show how prospective employees act toward management but also how they treat their peers. It is also a good idea to exchange some of your standard interview questions with more open-ended questions that provide specific scenarios and ask how applicants would handle them. Provide clear and continuous training. Starting a new job is itself a big change, so the very beginning of an employee’s tenure at your company may not be the best time to dump everything they will ever need to know on them. Employee empowerment starts with giving new employees an adequate time frame for basic training. Then they can reap the benefits of continuous training as new responsibilities are added or new technologies come into play. Fight the urge to micromanage. If you want to communicate that you trust your employees to be competent enough to do what they’ve been trained to do, you must allow them to make the decisions they’re qualified to make. Set the end goal, but trust employees to use their creativity and resources to achieve it. Employee empowerment is based on action. You can say that you trust your employees all you want, but if you have set clear expectations yet are still requiring them to run their office supply order by you before submitting it, your overbearing actions are likely to drown out your encouraging words. Show a direct link between their behavior and customer satisfaction. Creating a great customer experience depends on the inner workings of the organization as a whole. Show your employees how they affect the customers’ views of the company, and keep them as informed as possible. This is especially important for those employees who are working at the front desk. Don’t put them in the position of being the last to know something when they are likely the first to be asked. Exceptional Professional Development   Some employee empowerment strategies can produce the opposite of their intended effect. If employees are entrusted with more responsibilities but are not given the tools or support they need to do them; they are more likely to become overwhelmed than inspired. Some employees respond differently than others to the increased attention that empowering leaders often give. It pays to be sensitive to how your efforts are affecting your employees. One way to do so is to make the empowerment strategies about their professional development. If the extra focus you are putting on them shows a genuine interest in how their career is progressing and how you can help, even hesitant employees may be more receptive to it. By incorporating employee empowerment practices in your business, you build a more cohesive team. As employees become more invested in how well the company does, their empowerment will lead to the improved customer experience. This blog was first published on LinkedIn.

Essential Customer Service Skills for Every Call Center Agent

As the primary point of contact in the customer experience, call center agents to play an integral role in the success of a company. A negative encounter with a service representative may drive a potential long term customer to a competitor, while a positive interaction can result in long-term retention and referrals. Quality customer service is so vital to the bottom line of a business that 81 percent of companies implementing a robust call center agent training program with a heavy focus on an outstanding consumer experience will outperform their industry rivals. However, simply directing your service agents to follow a boilerplate procedure on calls won’t result in the high customer satisfaction rate you need to thrive in today’s hypercompetitive, global exchange. Instead, you need to guide your team in developing a specific skill set that will foster consumer trust and confidence and ensure the longevity of your business. 1. Stress the Importance of Empathy. Your call center agents will regularly encounter customers who are confused, angry, and frustrated. While it’s natural to respond to negative emotions by becoming defensive or dismissive, your team needs to know that such reactions are unacceptable. Instead, they should strive to see a situation from the consumer’s perspective to gain insight and understanding while working to resolve the issue. Train your agents to use empathy statements when handling complaints that will help to build a rapport with the caller, such as “I’m sorry to hear that,” and “I can imagine how upsetting this situation must be for you.” Emphasize that they need to take ownership of a negative customer situation, which means transferring calls to a supervisor or another department only when necessary. Quality customer service begins with respect and understanding, so instill these values into your team training program to elevate the front-end experience. 2. Promote Attentive Listening. Recent studies have shown that 72 percent of consumers will rate their service experience negatively when they must explain their complaint or issue to multiple company representatives before reaching a solution. Therefore, it’s vital that your team of live chat agents understands that outstanding customer service skills entail listening as much as speaking. Encourage them to allow callers to vent about a substandard product or service without interrupting or immediately offering feedback. They can then begin to ask to follow up questions to develop a deeper understanding of the problem while relaying the customer’s responses back to them to ensure clear communication. Above all, make sure your agents understand that a customer should never feel rushed to end a call before their issue is resolved. Allowing consumers the opportunity to detail their frustration while actively listening to their complaints and developing a personalized solution is one of the most effective ways to provide quality customer service. 3. Emphasize Product Knowledge. Since over 66 percent of consumers consider the features, design, and quality of a product or service the most important factor in brand loyalty, ensuring your chat agents can comfortably discuss every aspect of what your business offers is a fundamental element of a seamless customer experience. Initiate thorough training for each new hire that includes a detailed overview of company products, services, warranties, return policies, and shipping procedures. You should also consider administering a written test to service agents before they are permitted to take customer calls to confirm they have a working knowledge of your business and can adequately address product or service related questions and complaints. To keep quality customer service at the forefront of your company culture, institute continuing education in the form of product updates and refresher training courses. When it comes to establishing outstanding customer service skills, knowledge is power, so give your chat agents the tools and support to succeed. While marketing and new customer acquisition strategies are important ways to grow your business, the fact remains that you’re about 50 percent more likely to sell to an existing customer than a fresh prospect. And one of the most reliable ways to retain established consumers while converting new ones is to offer an unparalleled customer experience. Your call center agents are the front line of your company, so it’s essential to provide them with the fundamental communication skills they need to resolve problems and handle complaints. By teaching your team to empathize, employ active listening, and demonstrate product and service knowledge on every call, they’ll be providing the quality customer service that is the lifeblood of your company. With over 20 years of experience in providing superior outsourcing solutions across a wide range of industries, Etech is a world leader in helping companies develop a seamless customer service experience that allows you to compete in a diverse and globalized marketplace. Contact us today to learn how we can help you develop a customized consumer satisfaction strategy. This blog was published on LinkedIn.

Hit your class with a BEAM!

My daughter (McKenna) is in kindergarten and her teacher (Ms. Dee) is an excellent facilitator, experienced in her role, a creative thinker and a real people person. I appreciate the role Ms. Dee has played in both my children’s lives (she has been teaching more than 30 years). I know that she cares and is willing to try even when things get tricky. I would venture a guess that many of us could not understand how stressful a kindergarten teacher’s job is! My daughter makes this situation even more strenuous by testing every aspect of Ms. Dee’s patience, and skill sets just as in the case shared below: The class was doing an exercise, and Ms. Dee was walking around giving some of the children encouragement. Some of the other children needed help getting aligned with the goals of the project. When she came to my daughter, McKenna was sitting there playing with her school supplies with no intention of working on the assignment. She absolutely can and will sit there without even indicating that she is not following along as she should. Even though McKenna had decided that she was not going to participate, Ms. Dee, was not going to allow that as an option. She tried a couple of ways to coax McKenna into doing the work with no success. After several tries, Ms. Dee finally resorted to discipline. She indicated that if McKenna would not comply with the directions, then her name would have to be moved on the wall resulting in a sad face stamp when it was time to dismiss for the day. The power of a “sad face stamp” is real. I have witnessed many kindergartners coming out of class trying to wipe off the ink or hiding it from their parents/guardians. As this is a serious infraction if you are in kindergarten most children would be motivated appropriately to comply with the request. So, what did my McKenna do with this potential threat? McKenna got up and moved her name and then sat down with her arms crossed in defiance as if that settled it. Although McKenna completed this action without saying anything, it was implied that Ms. Dee set the terms and that she was merely complying with one of the options. It was as if McKenna was saying, “We are done, and you can move on to helping someone else now.” As you can imagine that was not the end of the story. Ms. Dee had to escalate her tactics. To bring this story to an end; my daughter finally conceded and completed the assignment. For my little girl, it just had to be the hard way: It seems that on some occasions it just cannot be simple. Thankfully Ms. Dee has the experience, patience, and the desire to work with all types of individuals. McKenna is one of those individuals that for whatever reason we have to change our tactics to gain her “buy-in” to complete some tasks. Today it was riding in the truck with dad versus riding with mom. The day before it was something about cleaning her room. It will be something else tomorrow. It is not a discipline thing nor is it a rebellious thing as it has to do with defining success for her. Some might label her as difficult. Her teacher could have easily written her off as an obstacle not worth investing time in, just marked her and moved on. As in the case of McKenna’s teacher we have choices to make as trainers and leaders that either encourages team members to push themselves to greatness or to give up on them. I think as a leader we often get overwhelmed with the sheer number of obstacles and focus more on the problems than the people. We see people as “a task” to complete. Instead, we need to focus on people as individuals that may need help. You may have heard the statement, “If it weren’t for the people, this would be an easy job!” I can imagine a kindergarten teacher possibly saying similar things. Unfortunately, early in my career, I heard and even used this phrase on many occasions. I have since changed my view on this long-standing “joke” that leaders have used to relieve the stress of interactions gone wrong. Going forward you can hit them with a BEAM! Here is how you can BEAM your team/class and keep yourself centered with the right thought processes: Build Relationships: How you should start (or restart) any team/class.   Focus on getting to know your team individually. Learn their learning style and personality traits. What do they need / desire to achieve short and long term? Find and understand what motivates them? How do they like to be rewarded? Establishing Norms: What should training look/feel like.   Start / End on time. Respecting others. Avoiding cell phones except in cases in which they are directly used for an exercise. Active participants (participating is key). Be open to new ideas. Note: It’s best to have the class participants determine this list. Make an “agreement” that both trainer(s) and trainees will abide by. Ask Questions: Build the correct learning environment.   Act from a place of curiosity to utilize questions that build knowledge. Use the “Socratic Method”. Implement a “Parking Lot”. Know when you want to field questions. Be ready for this and facilitate the class to participate in not only asking but also answering questions. Allow a discussion to take place. This is where some of your best learning can happen. Be upfront when you want the class members to hold questions until the end. Give them the ability to note questions, so they are not working on trying and remembering a question and not listening to you, potentially missing the answer to their question or other important data. Managing Tasks: Building efficiency to spend time with people and behaviors.   Know the difference in managing tasks and leading people. Use your time effectively to complete tasks efficiently. Spend more time on people than processes. Now you can BEAM with pride in knowing you are laying a foundation that enables you to respect others. You

The Top 5 Contact Center Trends for 2019

Contacting a company in the hopes of resolving an issue only to receive less-than-impressive service is likely a scenario you’ve personally encountered at least once in your lifetime. It should come as no surprise that negative customer experience with a company’s contact center poses a huge threat to the consumer’s loyalty to that product or brand. Customers have more options than ever, and competition is fierce. Most businesses understand what’s at stake each time a customer needs to reach out, so what’s being done to ensure more positive experiences? While CSAT scores and KPIs still rule for some companies, others are taking a more customer-centric approach that has managed to completely alter the landscape of what contact centers could be. Zappos is a perfect example of this. They’ve eschewed the typical game plan of emphasizing the importance of low call times by instead focusing on the opposite: high call times. Taking the pressure of finalizing customer calls as quickly as possible off the table allows agents to focus on really connecting with the customer and resolving their issues. I call this the “love the one you’re with” approach. While many companies may not strive to recreate the Zappos customer experience model, most want to continue evolving to meet consumers’ needs in a way that builds brand loyalty. Here are five trends to consider employing to elevate the level of service offered by your business in 2019. Pick and Choose Technology and Tools Wisely New advances appear almost daily, so realizing your company’s needs, and which tools will meet them, is key to ensuring the business isn’t left in the dust with outdated systems or weighed down with bloate, technology. Some industries, such as healthcare, are seeing benefits from utilizing newer digital care coordination technologies. Although some industries are reporting increased efficiency from new technology such as this, it doesn’t automatically mean utilizing it would bring the same benefits to your business. Think of what your employees need most to assist customers best, and then seek out solutions that will fulfill your company’s own specific set of needs. Consider your administration staff, clients and overall ease of usability when selecting technology. Don’t Overlook the Importance of Employee Engagement With the customer experience always top of mind, it can be all too easy to overlook those who most directly influence consumer satisfaction. Your agents are invaluable assets with great insight into the needs, wants and frustrations of your customer base. It’s true that the happiness of your employees often correlates with the happiness of your customers. Ensure agents have the tools they need to be successful, including equipment, training, and thoughtful feedback. To have the largest impact, feedback shouldn’t focus solely on KPIs, but rather also on individual experiences that can be discussed. Consider focusing more on coaching effectiveness and ensuring your leaders are equipped to transfer knowledge effectively. Confidence through knowledge makes a world of difference in your people, and you only get it through effective training and coaching. Your people aren’t interacting with your C-Suite every day – they are interacting with your customers! Involve your frontline employees in CX problem-solving. Your employees (and customers) already know everything YOU need to know – just ask them what you can do better and actively listen to the response. Fine Tune System Connectivity In today’s market, many companies want to give customers various outlets for contact. Most brands offer options of connecting via phone, email, chat, social media and SMS. An omnichannel solution is a key contributor to positive customer experience and low customer effort. Best practices for applying self-service options are – Make self-serve effortless, comfortable and inviting Provide multiple options – insure self-serve is not the only option available Content consistency across all channels and refresh content frequently Ask for customer feedback about your self-serve options using surveys or other feedback tools Stop making your customers repeat themselves! Use intelligent, integrated technologies that ensure a frictionless experience and secure information pass-through. It’s frustrating for all involved, hindering the customer experience when the same information needs to be continuously repeated, and the customer journey isn’t fully known or readily available. Efficiencies improve when the systems within contact centers are easily interchangeable and communicate with each other. Fine tuning is not a one-time event – establish a rhythm and a consistent update strategy that’s aligned with your marketing plan to make the most of your omnichannel approach. Consider the Benefits of Remote Work More and more employees yearn for work that can be completed remotely. With the benefits it can bring to a customer-focused environment, it’s in the best interest of many businesses to consider the possibilities. Hiring more remote agents, or allowing those already employed to work away from the typical office environment not only frees up precious space in the contact center and lowers costs, it improves productivity by an average of 24%! Remote employees have 82% lower stress levels and 69% lower absenteeism. Distractions like water cooler gossip, impromptu meetings, and loud colleagues are a non-issue. Happy employees = Happy Customers and nothing have more of an impact on customer experience than agent experience! Invest in the Type of Engagements Customers Want It has long been believed that when given the option, customers do not speak to another human to resolve their issue, even though surveys continue to point to this being untrue. CIO reported that 80 % of customers who pay for TV would prefer to resolve issues via digital channels such as chat or email. This emphasizes that many companies aren’t tuned in to the customer experience and voice of the customer. Even though it seems that most consumers still reach out through calling, other means of communicating such as chat, messaging and text to continue to experience exponential growth. Whether your focus this year will be on inbound, outbound, quality, analytics and experience management or live chat services, Etech has a wide range of solutions meant to elevate the customer experience effectively. Contact us today

Is the Servant Leadership Model Paternalistic?

Imagine this. You are invited to a board meeting, and everyone is getting settled. While putting his cup down, the CEO accidentally spills coffee onto the desk and floor. What is the aftermath your picture? Do you already, through your mind’s eye, see interns and mid-level managers rushing to clean up the mess? Or, even better, do you envision the CEO calling for janitorial to tend to it so that he can carry on with his meeting? According to one Harvard Business School professor, James Heskett, when he encountered a similar scenario at a ServiceMaster board meeting, neither of these outcomes played out. Instead, the CEO asked for cleaning supplies and got down on the floor to clean up the mess himself. While this is a very literal interpretation of what it means to be a service leader, it nonetheless accurately depicts the servant leadership model. What is Servant Leadership?   Put simply it is a leadership style defined by giving rather than delegating. In the mind of a true servant leader, organizational success depends on the employees’ ability to do their jobs well. And, in turn, the employees’ ability to do their jobs well depends on the leader’s willingness to provide the tools they need. Thus, instead of commanding employees, a servant leader aims to promote success by asking the question, “How can I help you succeed?” This, in turn, gives employees a sense of purpose and motivates them to be more proactive while building a sense of teamwork. Is It Paternalistic?   The complicated answer to this question is yes and no. The servant leadership model does feature paternal overtones, but it is not quite the same as paternalistic leadership. According to a study published by Pennsylvania State University, paternalistic leadership is not very well understood, even within the management community. This is because of conflicting ideas on how it should be applied, and how it has varied across cultures, based on how paternal roles vary. Sociologist and political economist, Max Weber, argued against the practice, stating that it led to bureaucracy and would only further the role of traditional domination. Perhaps because of this sentiment, paternalistic leadership has, in most First World countries, been likened to an autocratic leadership style, which is not at all in-tune with the principles of servant leadership. On the other hand, studies coming out of Asia opposed Weber’s conclusions, instead of painting the paternalistic leader as a caring fatherly figure. Researchers in Asia argued that paternalistic managers operated as a pillar of support and provided care and protection to their employees. This is much more akin to servanthood leadership. A study conducted in Turkey also found a strong positive correlation between paternalistic and servant leadership styles. The values of servant leadership that were perceived as paternalistic include the following: Altruism Empowerment Relationship building Participation Why Choose the Servant Leadership Model?   In today’s increasingly individualistic culture, especially in American culture, you don’t come across many true servant leaders. But, when you do, they have amazing stories to share about how their leadership styles have helped to not only grow their business but improve the communities around them. Two leaders that have been named as true servant leaders include Kevin Johnson, the CEO of Starbucks, and Arthur M. Blank, the co-founder of Home Depot. So, if key leaders of household names have built their multibillion-dollar empires from this type of leadership, how can you benefit from employing the servant leadership model in your business? Read on to find out. Increased Social Responsibility   Servanthood leadership encourages social responsibility both inside and outside of the office. As a benefit of this leadership style, a corporate conscience comes with many other benefits itself. Here are just some of the main advantages of social responsibility, according to Inc. Increases the appeal of your brand, thereby expanding the potential market size. Modern customers are eco-conscious and are willing to pay a premium price for companies they believe are engaged in social good. Customers are more likely to remain loyal to brands they believe are supporting their core values. Opens up the opportunity to receive financial grants from the government. Investors see a commitment to social change as a long-term positioning plan, thereby making your business more attractive. Stronger Team   The servant leadership model focuses more on people than the work process. This helps to humanize the work environment, breaking down barriers and building stronger relationships based on a common goal. In this scenario, everyone plays a different but equal role. This sentiment energizes workers to step up to the plate, be proactive, reach for higher goals, and to see how they too can serve others. Lower Turnover Rates   Turnover is an expensive cost of poor management. Every time someone walks out the door of your business, they are taking the knowledge and experience you have provided, with them. To encourage more employees to stay, you must create an environment where they are not only happy to show up at work every day, but also have the opportunity to grow. Managers who embrace the servant leadership model will provide opportunities for employee growth through student programs, on-going training, promotional opportunities, and the opportunity to work on special projects. Lower turnover rates not only save the company time and money but allows it to hold on to its primary investments: its people. Who Does a Servant Leader Serve?   Most leadership literature on servant leaders seems to focus on serving employees to help them reach organizational goals. However, servant leaders also work hard to serve their clients and the members of the communities they operate in. One good example of this is Arthur M. Blank who, after helping to select the location of the Mercedes-Benz stadium in downtown Atlanta, then worked to develop the communities around it. Thanks to his efforts, crime has dropped 43 percent in the area, year after year, and he has helped 680 residents to find full-time jobs. At Etech, though serving

4 Employee engagement trends to watch in 2019

Long gone are the days of solely focusing on customer satisfaction. While nearly every company will agree that keeping the customer experience (CX) at the forefront of any business strategy is key to maximizing growth and overall success, it’s certainly no longer the only important factor. In recent years, it’s become more widely known, understood, and accepted that high employee engagement correlates to elevated customer satisfaction and gives a boost to many other signifiers of business success. Maybe it feels as if your company already has a strong handle on employee experience (EE) and engagement, but the truth is that for many, there’s always room for improvement. While even more recent surveys show that employee engagement is on the rise, there’s still significant work to be done. Gallup’s numbers point to 33% of surveyed employees reporting they are actively engaged, leaving 51% of respondents admitting of disengagement in their place of employment. These findings hold weight for businesses, as companies with some of the highest engaged employees enjoyed improvements in several areas, including: A 10% increase in customer satisfaction A 20% increase in sales A 21% increase in profitability If you’re beginning to think that your company should pivot to focus on EE, here are four trends expected to be huge in 2019. Flexible Work Schedules I know what you are thinking, “How can we possibly allow this?” It is not as difficult as it seems and can still fit the needs of the business. The ability to work on their own terms has shot to the top of the priority list for many employees. If business needs allow, this could take the form of employees choosing their own schedules based on the needed time slots throughout the day, thus oftentimes improving the balance between work and professional life. Many employees today appreciate and seek out companies that support the option to work remotely or from home, even if it’s just on occasion. Increased availability and improvements in remote work software cement flexible work schedules as a benefit worth looking into to raise the bar on employee engagement. Going Above Engagement To Focus on Overall Employee Experience Oftentimes, when a company first begins to dig into improving employee engagement, initial plans only manage to scratch the surface of EE. While asking for feedback and administering surveys is certainly a good first step, they do little to raise the bar if they aren’t backed by an effective plan of action. Today’s best course for empowering associates and impacting other areas of business success, including CX, is by focusing on the overall employee experience. This entails diving into and improving several aspects of your office environment, including: Opportunities for development Company culture Programs for recognizing and rewarding achievements Career paths Relationships among teams Opportunities for Professional and Personal Development Many companies have long thought of training and development as tools that simply prepared employees for a new position elsewhere, but this is quickly becoming an archaic viewpoint. Employees yearn to learn and grow, not only within their roles but also beyond them. Employers that provide ample opportunities for associates to spread their wings through training programs and continued learning often employ a workforce that is more content, harbors increased loyalty towards their company, and feels intrinsically tied to the continued success and growth of the business. On the flip side, companies lacking a focus on associate development may suffer from low employee engagement and higher rates of turnover. Simply put, if they can’t find a way to grow with you, they will go somewhere they can. Programs Focused on Mental and Physical Wellness Adding a wellness program to your company’s repertoire, or improving upon an existing one, is a great way to not only increase employee engagement but can also provide returns in associate health, happiness, and even productiveness. It only takes a look into the rise in popularity of wearables and fitness trackers to see that many enjoy taking an active approach when it comes to their health. The key to incorporating a wellness program is achieving buy-in from employees. If you have a solid plan that the workforce can get excited about, your company will be able to reap the rewards of increased health, camaraderie among coworkers, and engagement. You may have heard it said before that if you make and keep your employees happy, they will, in turn, keep your customers happy. Not only will a focus on employee engagement impact overall customer satisfaction, but engaged associates take more pride in their work and often show more loyalty to the company they work for. Not to mention it will create a better working environment for all. Etech understands the importance of engaging both employees and customers. Allow them to ensure your customers are engaged and satisfied while you focus on building engagement within your in-house teams. Reach out to Etech to learn more about their professional and effective customer solutions. This blog has been published on LinkedIn.

Artificial Intelligence: Streamlining Contact Center Technology

It is hard to believe it now, but artificial intelligence used to be nothing more than a futuristic dream. It was portrayed in old movies as the vehicle that would completely change the world and propel our culture to unimaginable heights. Now, artificial intelligence—the stuff of the future—is all around us, and we are still learning just how much it can benefit us. In addition to improving our daily lives by helping us find restaurants, driving us around in our vehicles, and even controlling the lights and appliances in our homes, AI is also improving the world of business in a variety of ways. Automated systems are especially helpful for call centers, and Gartner predicts that non-voice interactions in customer service settings will likely rise to 85 percent by the year 2020. Many contact centers are discovering how artificial intelligence can benefit them and help them turn a greater profit while serving customers’ needs more effectively. If your contact center does not currently make use of AI, you may be spending more than you need to and missing out on your full potential to appease the needs of your customers. Consumers are increasingly desiring self-service options, but they still want the ability to speak with a live customer service agent if needed. When you offer digital solutions that recognize and predict the needs of your customers, you create a seamless user experience. While artificial intelligence should never replace the human component of your contact center, it can be used to help busy call centers handle larger call volumes with greater efficiency. How Artificial Intelligence Drives Effortless Customer Experience With Human Touch   One of the most universal challenges experienced by businesses of all types is the constant struggle to improve the customer experience. In fact, 72 percent of businesses list customer experience improvement as their top priority, according to recent data published by Forrester. Call centers that experience a high volume of customer service calls may consistently struggle to deliver a quick and effective customer service experience. Since recent research from NewVoiceMedia reveals that companies in the United States lose approximately $62 billion each year as a direct result of poor customer service, it is imperative for companies to turn the statistics in their favor by taking actionable steps to improve the customer experience for their consumer base. One of the most effective ways to do this is by incorporating artificial intelligence into the call center customer service process. Using AI in the call center can improve customer service operations in the following ways: Improving business agility Achieving operational excellence Providing machine-centric intelligence with human-centric interaction Increasing versatility and flexibility Predicting customer behavior Maximizing available resources and reducing operating costs Delivering a consistent, reliable experience to each customer Meeting customer needs around-the-clock Creating relationship-based interactions instead of transaction-based interactions Speech recognition systems can be implemented to relieve the burden of high call volume from human agents. Such systems can also take care of after-hours phone calls when call center agents are not available. This benefit makes it possible for businesses to take care of customer needs around-the-clock, without paying call center agents for graveyard shifts or overtime. In a digital age, more customers expect businesses to be able to meet their demands 24/7, and implementing a speech recognition into your call center can help you live up to evolving consumer expectations. When integrated into the call center, advanced speech recognition systems, such as interactive voice response (IVR) systems, make it possible for customers to easily navigate through a menu of options by using their voice instead of the telephone keypad. Other call center speech recognition options include speech-to-text, voice search, call routing, and voice dialing. For many businesses, automating the telephone answering system is an efficient way to handle anywhere between 40-85 percent of incoming calls. More and more businesses are leveraging the efficiency and predictability of speech recognition systems to improve efficiency and anticipate customer needs. Achieving the ideal blend between an automated, self-service environment and live agent interaction in the call center is a challenge worth pursuing. Providing customers with the option to navigate self-service systems without taking away their ability to talk to a real person as needed comes with a variety of benefits, including cost savings, more efficient customer service and improved customer experience. How to Use Artificial Intelligence As an Effective Quality Monitoring Solution   If you were to ask 10 different companies for the definition of “excellent customer service”, you would probably get 10 different answers. There is no single, universal definition of superior customer service that can be applied to all businesses. For this reason, it can be hard to nail down the standards that you need your call center team to adhere to in order to deliver the highest level of customer satisfaction. The challenge of determining, analyzing, and enforcing behaviors and actions that meet excellent service standards for your business most likely falls on the shoulders of your quality monitoring group. Their task is a monumental one, but it is necessary for delivering a concise, uniform approach to customer service. By using updated Artificial Intelligence software, it is possible to increase the effectiveness of your quality monitoring team. The highly accurate data provided by the AI software can direct your quality monitoring team to changes that may need to be made by call center representatives. The end result is an improvement in your contact center’s processes and methods for interacting with customers. Automating your quality monitoring system can provide some of the following improvements to your business: Reduced agent effort Better sales results Compliance with regulatory requirements Improved customer experience Artificial intelligence, when used correctly in a call center, can effortlessly monitor and gather valuable data from your team’s phone calls, chats and emails. It can also assist management in identifying opportunities to improve customer satisfaction, sales conversions and processes. Speech recognition technology is capable of anticipating customer needs and quickly delivering predictions and solutions that are specific to each

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