ICMI's Customer Management Insight - September 2007 - (Page 7) TECHNOLOGY They recruit, hire and train for email aptitude and skills. Successful call centers realize that the skills required to handle email differ from those required to handle phone calls. Thus, these centers have adapted their hiring and training programs to ensure that their frontlines are consistently staffed with qualified e-support agents. It begins with recruiting — or, more accurately, “e-cruiting. This ” includes posting agent job openings on the company’s Web site, as well as on online job sites such as CareerBuilders.com and Monster. com. There’s even a site dedicated to call center jobs — CallCenter Careers.com. Not only does posting jobs on such sites tend to attract candidates who already possess at least some online savvy (otherwise they likely wouldn’t be searching for jobs on the Web), doing so also makes it easy to assess potential agents’ email writing and general online skills early on in the hiring process, since candidates will be asked to apply electronically (i.e., respond to questions via email, attach their resume and cover letter, etc.). To further ensure that candidates have what it takes to proficiently handle customer email contacts, top call centers test aspiring agents’ skills via simulated email transactions. Some have even invested in special assessment software whose sole purpose is to measure applicant's email-handling aptitude. For example, Employment Technologies’ “e-Skills” product places candidates in the Web agent seat by having them read realistic (though basic) customer emails, look up available information, and respond via email. The system then provides managers with a report evaluating the applicant’s spelling, grammar, vocabulary, tone and overall response content and accuracy. Progressive call centers also focus on email in their training programs, incorporating modules that address not so much how to write (as such skills must already be present in an effective email agent), but rather how email is handled in the center, the agents’ specific role and performance objectives, features of the email management technology indeed received; and b) find out when they will get their answer. Such wasted and repetitive calls are enough to drive agents insane — and costs through the roof. The best centers don’t only post the expected response time on their Web site and/or email form for customers to see. They use the autorespond option featured in even the most rudimentary email applications: The customer sends a query, and instantly receives a response While there is no universal “industry standard” response time objective that is right for all call centers, the practice of letting customers know how long they can expect to receive an email response from your particular organization is certainly right for all centers. the center uses, and security or privacy issues that agents must be aware of. Their email response times are “visible” (and feasible) — and acceptable to customers. One way that many cen- ters shoot themselves in the foot is by not clearly communicating their email response time objective to customers. It’s such a simple thing to do, and it can save the center and its agents from suffering major migraines. While there is no universal “industry standard” response time objective that is right for all call centers, the practice of letting customers know how long they can expect to receive an email response from your particular organization is certainly right for all centers. Centers that fail do so get inundated with follow-up emails and phone calls from customers who want to: a) make sure that their email was stating something like, “Thank you very much for your email. One of our agents will provide you with a complete response within four (or 12, or 24) hours. Problem solved — ” the customer is put at ease, and the risk that agents will spontaneously combust is greatly reduced. When establishing and advertising a response time objective, the important thing isn’t merely how high the stated objective is, but how consistently the center hits the objective throughout the day, and how acceptable the objective is to customers. Top centers ignore arbitrary response time “best practices” listed in general studies, and instead determine their objective based on the center’s and the customer’s specific needs and expectations. They tap the full potential of their email management systems. Show me a call center on icmi’s insight www.icmi.com | SEPTEMBER 2007 7 http://www.careerbuilder.com/ http://www.monster.com/ http://www.monster.com/ http://www.callcentercareers.com/index.jsp http://www.callcentercareers.com/index.jsp http://www.icmi.com
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