3 Tips for Improved Customer Data Management

Customer data management streamlines how your call center’s information is gathered, stored, protected, and used. Effective management enhances customer satisfaction and complies with all laws and regulations regarding the collection, use, and storage of personal information. Your call center likely has many technology applications that leverage caller data. These data sources are used to drive […]

Your call center likely has many technology applications that leverage caller data. These data sources are used to drive user insights and engagements.

Integrating, managing, analyzing, leveraging, and protecting data is required to gain insights and deliver personalized customer experiences. These processes help your company maintain its competitive edge.

Follow these three tips to elevate your customer data management.

1. Create Unique Identifiers

Assign a customer ID or other unique identifier to use with all of your systems.

An identifier lets you provide customers the omnichannel experiences they expect.
Tracking will be available for each customer.
Analysts can associate each customer data point in any system.
This process leads to more accurate analysis and a more complete understanding of user behavior.
Customers can move among the channels and still receive personalized offers and experiences.

2. Use Technical Tools

A unified call center platform with analytics powered by artificial intelligence (AI) can deliver personalized omnichannel experiences.

Proper integration of applications from different providers is required to properly manage customer data.
These applications may include automatic call distributor (ACD), interactive voice response (IVR), workforce management (WFM), and digital and voice channels.
The cross-channel interaction provides agents with relevant context and history to create seamless omnichannel experiences.
The integration should prevent customers from having to repeat information to get the help they need.

AI creates the ability to analyze customer service interactions and provide meaningful information for the entire call center.

Engagement analytics tools can analyze these interactions from voice and digital channels.
The analytics provide insights into customer sentiment, contact drivers, and trending topics.
Agents can use the information to help customers.
Other departments can use the information to improve product features, marketing campaigns, and other areas that impact the customer experience.

3. Implement a Customer Success Program

A customer success program predicts and proactively addresses customer needs and questions.

This program helps customers get the most from your company’s products or services.
The ability to predict user needs is based on data and requires AI analysis tools.
The tools provide an integrated view of operations and customers.
This picture allows for fast adaptation to changing customer preferences and expectations to optimize the customer experience.
A data-driven customer success program lets your company tailor the customer journey.

Implementation of a customer success program provides the following benefits:

Standardized customer data across your company.
Establishment of a single view of customer data from all business systems.
Leveraging data to measure customer experiences at all stages of the customer journey.
The potential for increased earnings, higher lifetime customer value, net promoter score (NPS), and employee commitment.
Potentially lower service costs.

The Best Way To Better Manage Customer Data? Build The Right Team!

Having the right people on your team that can help you better manage customer data. Need help finding the right people for your team? Trust Salem Solutions to connect you to talented professionals.

Jule Doran
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Posted on
April 6, 2022

Where Are the Qualified Call Center Candidates? Why Hiring Is More Difficult Now Than Ever

There are signs of economic recovery all over the United States. Cities and states are easing restrictions as more people get COVID vaccinations. Businesses are reopening. Retail sales are strong. Customers are spending. Yet, there is a visible shortage of call center workers. A growing number of company leaders are reporting a significant need to […]

Yet, there is a visible shortage of call center workers. A growing number of company leaders are reporting a significant need to fill vacancies with very few candidates.

Show rates for call center training classes often are extremely low. Many employees report that attendance and schedule adherence are off as well.

Most call centers cannot hire enough agents to meet the increasing customer demand. This results in longer hold times and service-related issues that can increase customer frustration.

Fortunately, the shortage of call center agents should start to become easier in the near future. There are steps that employers can take to increase their hiring and retention rates.

Discover some reasons why hiring qualified call center candidates continues to be a challenge and some steps you can take for increased success.

Remote Call Center Work Can Be Challenging

A significant number of agents have limited internet connections at home.

Many of these agents share their networks with other household members.
There may be technical issues with the call center software or equipment.
Accessing the company systems can be difficult.

The majority of agents lack an extra room or space to convert into a home office.

Most agents have to share a workspace with other household members.
Many of these family members include children being schooled remotely.
Working among family members can lead to increased noise levels and distractions.
Focusing on customer issues can be difficult.

Remote Work Can Lead to Burnout

While many workers are looking for remote work opportunities, they aren’t right for everyone. Working and living in the same place is causing increased levels of fatigue.

Many agents struggle with isolation from their coworkers and the work culture.
The majority of supervisors and team leaders lack training in remote engagement, management, and collaboration techniques.
Feelings of isolation can lead to increased stress, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues.
Most agents are becoming increasingly stressed dealing with frustrated customers.
The majority of agents are under pressure to resolve more issues in less time.
A significant number of remote agents are experiencing burnout.

Other Industries Are Becoming More Attractive

A significant number of call center agents are using their transferrable skills to find jobs in other fields.

Many warehouse and shopper jobs offer high hourly starting rates, sign-on bonuses, and stipends for COVID vaccinations.
Most call centers cannot match the increased income and benefits.
Business processing outsourcing (BPO) companies would need to increase the hourly rate compensation models they bill to their clients.
The BPOs would have to charge separately for supervisors, program managers, attrition training, cost-of-living adjustments, and additional line items.
The majority of clients do not want to pay significantly higher expenses to run a call center.

Call Center Agents Want More Than Increased Income

The psychological impact of the coronavirus pandemic has many call center candidates rethinking how they want to earn a living.

A significant number of agents are changing their field of work to pursue their passions.
Many agents are participating in job retraining programs or educational opportunities to upskill.
These agents want greater career prospects for the future.

Call Centers Should Emphasize Career Paths

Operators of call centers need to point out the career opportunities available to agents.

Offer hybrid work to help with work-life balance.
Showcase the benefits of the call center’s training and skill development.
Talk about the valuable customer service, problem-solving, and decision-making skills that can be developed and transferred to most professions.
Point out that many call center agents go on to become professionals in marketing, training, consulting, or IT.
Providing agents what they want helps increase attraction and retention rates.

Ask for Employee Referrals

Encourage your agents to talk with members of their networks about applying for a job with your call center.

Employee referrals are among the most successful candidates.
Because the referrals tend to have characteristics similar to the employees, the referrals tend to blend with company culture.
Employees typically discuss details about a job opening, company operations, and other relevant information when referring someone they know.
The referrals often require less vetting because an employee introduced them to the hiring manager.
Employee referrals tend to stay with a company long-term because they have a personal connection with a coworker.

Partner with a Staffing Agency

A recruiter from a staffing agency that specializes in call centers can increase the speed at which you hire.

Recruiters have a vast network of active and passive candidates to fill vacancies.
The recruiter can match you with candidates who have the skills, experience, and qualifications you seek.
The recruiter sets up the interviews and negotiates any job offers on behalf of the candidates.
Because the candidates are prescreened, they can begin onboarding, training, and producing in a short amount of time.

Work with Salem Solutions

Ready to find the right call center candidates? Salem Solutions offers a variety of options to fill your call center staffing needs. Contact us to get started today.

Jule Doran
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Posted on
March 23, 2022

Job Search Starter Tips

Beginning a job search can be frustrating. There are many approaches you can take that lead to variable results. Having a plan of action can increase your odds of success. The less time you spend finding a new job, the more time you have to enjoy your new opportunity. Use these four tips to begin […]

Beginning a job search can be frustrating. There are many approaches you can take that lead to variable results.

Having a plan of action can increase your odds of success. The less time you spend finding a new job, the more time you have to enjoy your new opportunity.

Use these four tips to begin your call center job search today.

1. Update Your Resume

Make sure all of the information on your resume is current. This makes it easier to customize for each job application.

Add your current employment dates and positions held.
Include your accomplishments and skills gained at your current job.

2. Clean Up Your Online Profiles

Ensure your social media profiles present an image that you want employers to see. Most hiring managers look at online profiles to gain insight into candidates before deciding whether to contact them for interviews.

Take down any inappropriate photos, videos, comments, or other posts.
Maintain a clean image that shows your personal interests.
Add your skills, projects, and related information to your LinkedIn profile.
Ask your previous colleagues and managers to post recommendations for you.

3. Reach Out to Your Network

Contact the members of your network who work in your industry. Let them know exactly what you are looking for in your new job.

Employee referrals are the best way to land jobs.
Your connections may know of job openings their companies are not publicly sharing.
A member of your network may introduce you to a hiring manager.
You may be able to set up informational interviews to learn more about a job and/or company.

4. Partner with a Staffing Agency

Work with a recruiter from a staffing agency that specializes in your industry. The recruiter can help you find a job in less time than searching on your own.

The recruiter has a vast network of hiring managers with job openings that likely fit your qualifications and interests.
The recruiter’s insight into the job market provides clear guidance that can shorten your search.
You gain coaching to improve your resume and interview skills.
You can learn more about an employer, their hiring process, and the job than on your own.
The recruiter can match you with an employer and talk you up to improve the odds of being offered a job.
You should be able to finish the interview process in less time than if you applied on your own.
If you receive a job offer, the recruiter negotiates the best deal on your behalf.

Find Your Next Call Center Job

Salem Solutions is ready to help with your call center job search. Visit our job board today.

Jule Doran
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Posted on
March 16, 2022

How to Level Up Your Government Call Center for Future Success

When the coronavirus pandemic began, government call centers were overwhelmed by high demand. This left customers and employees feeling frustrated. Hold times were extensive. Many customers’ questions went unanswered when the customers no longer could wait to speak to an agent. Many agents were upset because they continued to deal with frustrated callers. Thanks to advances in technology and human-centered design, government call centers are becoming modernized. Due to the shifts already occurring, dramatic improvement is possible for your government call center.

The following information can help you update your government call center for increased effectiveness.

Components of a Reimagined Government Call Center

Running an effective government call center requires a deep understanding of user needs and the appropriate use of technology. The process should include the following three components:

A customer experience hub that provides quality service through multiple channels. Options have to include omnichannel touchpoints and automated no-touch processes.
A technology-powered agent cockpit where integrated workflows gather information from all touchpoints. The smart routing options help agents better process the calls.
A secure technology foundation that supports emerging tools. This operates from a cloud-based platform.

Shifts in Government Call Center Design

There are seven significant shifts impacting the future of government call centers:

Changing from a cost center to an experience hub. Rather than getting the callers off the phone as quickly as possible, the agents aim to solve problems and make the customers happy. This increases satisfaction and decreases costs.
Moving from a call center to a contact center. The center provides two-way communication through phone, text, email, website, and mobile services.
Evolving to automated and automatic self-service. Seamless no-touch and low-touch technology solutions can deliver quality service at low cost.
Shifting to technology-supported human interactions. When customers need to interact with a human, the agent has the information and tools they need to deliver a solution.
Changing to integrated information and workflow. Customer information is stored in one location for agents to easily access on demand.
Providing a better employee experience. Additional training, greater flexibility, and a more satisfying work environment enhance the employee experience.
Moving to empathetic technology. Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and design combine the efficiency of technology with the warmth of human understanding.

Next Steps in Government Call Center Updates

The public leaders responsible for government call centers often have the following four concerns about moving forward with the updates:

How can we afford this? Federal COVID-19 funding and surplus state revenues may help with the upgrades.
Do we have the skills to make this happen? Understanding the contact center experience from a front-end customer perspective and a back-end agent perspective is helpful.
Which underlying technology infrastructure do I need? The cloud is a strong, secure platform that can adapt to agents’ needs. The cloud’s resilience, rapid scaling, and ability to deliver a seamless experience lets agents work remotely. Standardized security certifications help protect private information.
How can we pull together the technologies? Use one vendor to help design and manage your call center upgrades.

Having the Right People Is Your Largest Competitive Advantage

The best way to level up your government call center is by being able to find talented candidates when you need them. Trust Salem Solutions to find experienced, qualified and professional candidates to meet your call centers needs. Get in touch today!

Combat Call Center Attrition

Explore the impact of threats in call centers and strategies to combat call center attrition. Optimize your workforce now.

One of the biggest threats to the call center industry used to be artificial intelligence (AI). However, the biggest threat now is agent attrition.

Although customers can benefit from AI’s technological advances, many still need to talk with humans to resolve their issues. This is becoming an increasing problem for call centers experiencing agent shortages.

The increasing levels of agent attrition are drastically disrupting customer experiences, agent morale, and contact center operations. Strategic action must be taken to address these issues.

Definition of Agent Attrition

Attrition in call centers refers to employees’ departure, voluntarily or involuntarily, without immediate replacement. Unlike turnover, which involves replacing departing employees, attrition focuses on the net reduction in workforce size over time. The attrition rate quantifies the percentage of agents who leave the call center within a specified period, reflecting ongoing challenges in maintaining staffing levels.

High attrition rates pose significant challenges for call centers because of service continuity and operational efficiency. Addressing attrition requires proactive strategies to retain existing talent, ensuring stability and sustained service quality amidst fluctuating workforce dynamics.

Current Challenges Impacting Call Centers

Call centers are confronted with several critical challenges in today’s environment:

Economic Uncertainties: Economic fluctuations, such as inflation and potential recessions, contribute to job market instability, affecting agent retention and performance.
Evolving Customer Expectations: Customers increasingly expect diverse contact options and personalized service, placing greater demands on call center agents to effectively meet these evolving needs.
Workforce Demographic Shifts: Aging Baby Boomers are retiring, and younger generations seek more flexible and rewarding career opportunities, creating staffing and retention challenges for call centers.

Current Causes of Increasing Agent Attrition

Attrition in call centers is primarily driven by several critical factors:

Ineffective Training and Onboarding: New agents feel unprepared and unsupported, leading to an early turnover.
Poor Candidate Selection: Hiring individuals who do not fit the company culture or lack necessary job skills contributes to a high turnover rate.
Employee Burnout: The high-stress environment of call center work frequently leads to burnout, a major turnover driver.
Substandard Technologies: Outdated or inadequate call center technologies hinder agents’ ability to handle customer interactions effectively and meet performance goals.
Lack of Flexibility and Work-Life Balance: Rigid schedules and limited remote work options can impact agent satisfaction and retention.
Poor Leadership and Management: Ineffective communication, lack of recognition and career development, and subpar management practices contribute significantly to agent dissatisfaction and turnover.

Impact of Agent Attrition

High agent attrition creates a ripple effect that negatively impacts every aspect of a call center’s operation.

Industry Comparison

Call centers face unique challenges compared to other sectors due to their high-volume, customer-centric operations. Unlike industries with less direct customer interaction, such as manufacturing or technology, call centers operate in a service-oriented environment where customer fulfillment directly impacts business outcomes.

This dynamic necessitates a high level of agent engagement and operational efficiency to meet evolving customer expectations.

Additionally, industries like retail and hospitality also prioritize customer service but may differ in their approach to staffing and technology utilization. While both sectors emphasize customer service, call centers often contend with higher call center turnover rates due to the demanding nature of continuous customer interaction and stringent performance metrics.

Operational Consequences

Replacing a call center agent is costly, due to hiring fees, training expenses, and lost productivity during onboarding. This ongoing cycle of recruitment and training places a substantial financial burden on call centers. It hinders their ability to attract qualified candidates and maintain staffing levels.

Consequently, operational continuity suffers, leading to longer customer wait times, missed service level agreements (SLAs), and decreased service quality. Burdened with heavier workloads and reduced support, agents experience heightened stress levels, potentially compromising their performance and increasing errors.

Financial Impact

Beyond direct replacement expenses, understaffing and turnover increase recruitment and training costs. This ongoing flux hampers productivity and strains finances. Difficulty in retaining skilled agents further raises operational expenses and reduces revenue. Customer dissatisfaction from longer wait times and inconsistent service worsens profitability.

Employee and Customer Experience

High agent turnover negatively impacts both employee morale and customer satisfaction. The remaining staff face increased stress and workload, leading to lower productivity and higher absenteeism. This cycle of dissatisfaction among employees can escalate turnover rates.

For customers, longer wait times and inconsistent service quality contribute to frustration and dissatisfaction, potentially leading to customer churn.

Methods to Reduce Agent Attrition

Call centers can take proactive steps to deal with attrition and build a strong, stable workforce. Here are some important strategies to consider:

Make a competitive offer: Offering competitive pay, full benefits, and attractive perks like flexible schedules or wellness programs shows that you value your workers. This not only brings in top talent but also gives them a reason to stay.
Invest in employee experience: Onboarding and training programs should be engaging and informative, setting new agents up for success. For instance, new or struggling agents can be mentored by a senior colleague. Regularly recognize and reward their accomplishments. This gives them a sense of value and belonging.
Empower and develop your agents: Giving your employees chances to grow professionally through coaching, skill-building programs, and clear job paths shows that you care about their long-term success. This gives them the information and skills they need to perform excellently in their jobs, making them happier at work, giving them a sense of career progression, and increasing employee retention.
Prioritize agent well-being: Working in a contact center can affect agents mentally and emotionally. So, you can offer tools to help them deal with stress, encourage a healthy work-life balance, and make the workplace a positive place. This can be done through Paid Time Off (PTO), leaves, regular breaks, and a supportive work environment. A good work setting that encourages teamwork and rewards good work can greatly improve morale and reduce attrition. In addition, this makes people more loyal and less likely to look for work elsewhere.

Optimizing Your Workforce

The following are higher-level methods to improve agent performance and retention.

Effective Workforce Management

Beyond organizational culture and employee development, effective workforce management strategies are crucial for maintaining a productive and engaged call center environment. This includes empowering agents with self-service tools such as customer self-service options for common inquiries.

These tools alleviate call center employees from repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus on more complex customer interactions, thus enhancing overall efficiency and customer fulfillment. Additionally, providing agents with real-time decision-making tools like access to knowledge bases and troubleshooting guides enables quicker issue resolution, reducing average handling times and agent stress.

Strategic Technology Implementation

Contact centers benefit significantly from leveraging automation tools to streamline processes. For instance, platforms designed for instant customer verification and information retrieval minimize manual tasks and significantly boost agent productivity.

Imagine a scenario where an AI-powered system instantly verifies a customer’s identity and provides relevant account information to the agent, enabling them to start assisting without delay.

While AI chatbots excel at handling routine inquiries, human interaction remains crucial for addressing complex customer needs and maintaining a personalized customer experience. In strategically integrating these technologies, call centers enhance operational efficiency and reduce workload pressures, improve customer service and job satisfaction, and mitigate high turnover.

LOOKING FOR CALL CENTER AGENTS? BUILD YOUR DREAM TEAM WITH SALEM SOLUTIONS.

Don’t let call center attrition and shortages hurt your business. Salem Solutions has the vetted agents you need to run your call center and build your dream team. Visit our website to learn more.

Jule Doran
•
Posted on
February 16, 2022

What You Need to Know About NPS Scores and How It Helps to Measure Call Center Success

A net promoter score (NPS) measures how likely a customer is to recommend a brand to someone else. The score runs on an index of -100 to 100 and measures the overall satisfaction and loyalty of a customer. You can use your NPS to improve your products or services and grow your business through referrals. […]

Learn how to calculate your NPS to enhance your call center’s effectiveness.

Create an NPS Survey

Use a customer experience management platform or NPS software to gain a comprehensive picture of your customers. You can use the NPS data to determine which touchpoints have high NPS scores and which have lower scores. This provides a basis for the areas that need improvement.

Include as few questions as possible in your NPS survey. You may want to begin with demographic questions about age, gender, or income to create segmentation during your research and analysis. However, avoid these questions if you can gather the data from your customer relationship management (CRM) software, customer database, or other source.

After asking the customer how likely they are to recommend your company to someone else, request the reason for the score. This lets you uncover the drivers for promoters and detractors. You may want to save time by using a text analysis tool to create structured data pieces that are easy to manage and interpret.

Find out how you could make the customer experience better. This is especially helpful if you plan to do closed-loop follow up and customer ticketing. You will be better able to continue customer conversations and resolve issues by responding to the feedback. As a result, your customers should be more loyal to your company and your staff more satisfied with their jobs. This increases your customer lifetime value, brand equity, and employee retention.

Ask to follow up with your customer. Keep in mind that not everyone will want to discuss their issue. If you cannot access the customer’s email or phone number from another system, be sure to ask for it.

Calculate Your NPS

Begin calculating your NPS by giving your customers a scale of 0-10 and asking how likely they are to recommend your product or service to a friend or colleague. Then, categorize their answers into three groups:

Promoters (9-10) are satisfied with your product or service, likely to recommend your company to others, and should continue their loyalty to your organization. They make up the majority of business referrals and contribute to company growth.
Passives (7-8) are somewhat satisfied with your product or service but may buy from a competitor. They are unlikely to refer your company or engage in adverse word-of-mouth advertising.
Detractors (0-6) are dissatisfied with your product or service, are unlikely to refer your company, and may impact your brand’s reputation through negative word-of-mouth advertising.

Next, subtract the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters. Your answer will be between -100 and 100. This is your NPS.

Find Employees That Positively Impact Your NPS!

The right people can help your company reach new levels of customer satisfaction. Need help finding great employees? We can help! Get in touch today!

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