Importance of Executive Coaching
Executives are the backbone of any organization, as their dedication, contribution, and decisions make the organization grow.
Leadership Development Coaching
Placing the Right Agents on the Right Campaign
As the marketing manager, you have spent a considerable amount of time drafting and planning your next marketing campaign, it is now ready to go. What is your next step? You sit down with your colleague at the contact center to break down the brief. One lingering question on your mind is “will this yield my desired results?” The determining factor in your results is the type of agents assigned to your campaign. Here is a list of the key areas of the importance we consider when placing the right agents for your unique campaign. 1. Key Competencies How competent an agent is directly affects their job performance because this reflects their level of knowledge, skills, and ability to handle the campaign. Do they have knowledge of the company’s offerings? How proficient are they with the contact center tools? What outstanding skills do they have? How capable are they of handling different types of customers? For example, you work for a large clothing Retail Company and you’re running a “get a 20% discount on every referral” campaign. The key competency this sales agent must have is the ability to convince the customer to buy and refer someone. On the other hand, a key competency of a service agent is excellent customer experience and the ability to actively listen to what the customer is saying. The aim is to have agents with the right competencies to achieve your campaign objectives with ease. Without competent agents, the campaign is as good as dead and a waste of valuable resources. 2. Personality type Personality is something that is unique to each and every one of us. Finding the right combination and fit for each campaign is something that has to be done for each campaign the contact center takes on. Some individuals are may have more people skills, while others result/numbers oriented. An agent’s personality type plays a huge role in how effective they will be at a particular campaign. For example, the way a people-oriented agent will handle customer objections is different from the way a numbers-oriented one will. The first agent will go the extra mile to see that the customer’s issue is resolved and that the customer is fully satisfied; the second agent will naturally count that as a lost sale and move on to the next contact. Personality type also shapes the agent’s internal attitudes towards their roles. A positive attitude is vital when it comes to having a successful agent. Finding and hiring agents that have that contagiously positive attitude will not only help that agent succeed, but it could also play a helping hand in the entire campaign’s performance. Agents are very aware of the overall mood and environment on the campaign floor so having that extra boost that a single agent can generate can truly make a difference, not only for the agents on the floor but also for the customers on the other end of the interaction. The important thing is to uncover the agent’s personalities during the hiring process and place them in the right department where they will thrive and exceed performance expectations. 3. Motivational fit Personal motivators vary from one person to the other but they generally follow Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and can be summarized in three categories. Personal interest: Does the company offer what the person wants in order to achieve their career objectives? For example, if a person has loved working in a high-energy, fast-paced outbound call center, will they enjoy working in an inbound center? Job fit: Do the job roles and responsibilities motivate the person? Is there enough room to be creative in their delivery? Does the working relationship with the immediate boss, hinder or encourage excellent delivery? Is the work environment helpful? Culture fit: Does the culture of the company and contact center equal the individual’s priorities and interests? This includes the type of people who work there, how the center management leads, company values, and company commitment to employee development and training. In conclusion, the above considerations; competencies, personality, and motivational fit are all related in various ways. However, an established contact center comes in handy because we are able to give you the right people who will guarantee results. Having the right people in the right position at the right time is critical to the success of your campaign. This blog was first published on Linkedin
Four Ways to Boost Customer Experience
Customer care representatives are a necessity to any company offering customer experiences. Because they are at the forefront, they determine the kind of service customers enjoy or otherwise. Best-In-Class organizations realize this fact and work to turn this service resource into a critical asset. This is done most effectively through engaging and empowering the customer care representatives. An empowered employee will be motivated to deal with any obstacle as long as they resolve customers’ issues and protect the company image. He or she will strike a balance in the service delivery because they understand the organization’s standards as well as the needs and expectations of the customers. Here are tips and practices that will help boost front-line performance leading to excellent customer experiences. Measure Current Performance : It is essential to know your current performance situation. What are your front-line employees doing to deliver exceptional customer experiences? Someone once wrote, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” You need to know where you are going and where you are, for success path mapping. Most companies have customer service goals and measuring tools in place. However, you need to align the metrics to the brand standards for exceptional experiences. Utilize all the available resources to ensure that you measure the essential performance metrics. Give Individual Feedback : For the highest impact, you need to monitor each employee and how he or she interacts with the customers. You may have a script and have trained them on call and chat etiquette, but subsequent to training, you need to monitor each employee and give feedback accordingly. Acknowledge and reward the agents that are doing well and encourage and train those who are lagging behind. Constant monitoring allows you to notice low-quality interactions and therefore, react before it gets out of hand. When you correct an employee immediately, it helps him or her to change and act in line with the corporate standards. In a large contact center, this might be a challenge given the high number of agents. You can overcome it by holding calibration sessions and group coaching with a few agents at a time. Encourage Accountability : Accountability stems from taking responsibility. When an agent understands and owns his or her role in the customer experience chain, then they will be accountable not only to themselves but also to the company. You can know whether your employees are responsible during individual coaching sessions. A responsible agent will acknowledge their errors and suggest behavior changes that would ensure it does not happen again faced with similar circumstances. However, if an agent cannot see where they went wrong, they have yet to embrace accountability. Another great way to check for accountability is through customer surveys. After every interaction, the agents should administer the short survey to get customer feedback. When you use the above sources of information well, you will know the areas that require enhancement measured against performance metrics. Incorporate Supporting Teams : Front-line employees do not work alone; a variety of teams support their efforts. For example, the technical team is a crucial part of the customer experience process in a product oriented contact center. Analyze the performance of all the supporting departments to know the weak and strong links. Strengthening all teams will ensure that customers experience the company as “one” not departments. Free knowledge sharing and working together to achieve organizational goals as far as customer service is concerned will keep you ahead of the competition. The aim is offer consistent experiences to the customer. In summary, when you measure employees’ current performance state, individualize feedback, encourage accountability and incorporate the supporting teams in the process, you will be on the right track to higher-quality customer experiences. Your goal should be to measure, review and refine agents’ performance. This blog was first published on LinkedIN
