ICMI's Customer Management Insight - December 2007 - (Page 31) RECOMMENDED READING MARGIE MIDDLETON, CALL CENTRE SPECIALIST, EMMANUELS ADVANCE RECOGNIZE THAT KNOWLEDGE IS NOT NECESSARILY POWER. If knowledge was power then diet books would work! It is what we do that counts. Unless we apply what we know, then all the knowledge we acquire, whether from a great convention, a good book or an excellent training program will come to nothing! As leaders there are things we need to know; there are far more things we need to do; and it is in the doing that we become effective. TEACH AGENTS TO LOVE THEIR JOB. There are someone who is helpful. Call center agents get the opportunity to live and prove their helpfulness again and again every day. DON’T OVERCOMPLICATE CUSTOMER DEMANDS. What do customers really want? > Ease of access > A knowledgeable server > Effective resolution > Respectful treatment Not so unreasonable, really! BE ACCESSIBLE TO STAFF. I would recommend very few people in the world who are fortunate enough to do what they love, so we need to teach them how to love what they do. The best way I have found to achieve this is to redirect the employee’s focus from the task she is performing — which, let’s face it, is often highly repetitive — onto the extent to which the person she is helping values her assistance. Everybody likes BRAD CLEVELAND, PRESIDENT, ICMI FLIP KEY NUMBERS UPSIDE DOWN TO IMPROVE UNDERSTANDING. For example, a first-call that every leader should have an open session of two hours every week where he guarantees he is available at his desk to have impromptu discussions with employees. It is a much easier promise to keep than the proverbial “open door policy” (which usually means my door is always open because I’m never in my office!) FOCUS ON THE SEVEN HIGH LEVEL MEASURES THAT MATTER. Every call center should have these resolution rate of 86 percent looks fine — but reporting that 14 percent of calls are not resolved on first attempt often puts more focus on the issue. Similarly, a report showing that 91 percent of customers are satisfied doesn’t attract much attention; pointing out that 9 percent are not happy tends to compel more action. BUILD AN INTEGRATED CROSS-FUNCTIONAL FORECASTING TEAM. If you’ve ever stepped into a call center the morning after an unannounced marketing campaign, you likely came to the painful realization that the marketing folks need to be an ongoing, tightly integrated part of this process… as do the people in legal who change terms and conditions; IT, which makes system changes; and anybody else who impacts the call center’s work load. A cross-functional meeting (minimum once per week) is essential. The motto of this team: No surprises! icmi’s insight overall performance measures in place: > Strategic value (contributions to other departments — marketing, R&D, operations areas and others) > Customer satisfaction and loyalty > Employee satisfaction and loyalty > Call quality and first-call resolution > Service level and response time > Forecast accuracy > Schedule adherence In many call centers, only two, three or maybe four are in place. But each is necessary because they drive so many other results. FOR EVERY MAJOR CALL TYPE, ASK “WHY?” Why are we getting those contacts? Can/should they be prevented? What can we learn from them; e.g., to make system and process improvements? What other channels may make sense — and how can we encourage customers to use them? • www.icmi.com | DECEMBER 2007 31 http://www.icmi.com
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