Customer Service | Call Center Insights | A Blog by Inova Solutions

Agent Compensation and Incentivizing Metrics

November 8, 2011 — Tom

Please tell me you don’t still have an agent-of-the-month program. Or an agent wall-of-fame based on tenure. Please. Are such programs helping you achieve your bottom line or customer experience (CX) goals? It’s time to move on. I’ll show you how, in three easy-to-swallow steps.

Ditch the tenure-based or metrics-less “morale” program.

That’s right. No more meaningless agent-of-the-month program. Your agents will thank you, believe me.

Implement a metrics-driven compensation plan.

Linking the customer experience and compensation is near-guaranteed to get your agents’ attention in a big way. Be ready for this; and be ready for negative push-back from your staff. Those that are scared of your new program will do everything in their power to sabotage it, from gaming it to ignoring it. Be ready and take appropriate action early.
Use incentivizing metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS) or Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) to compensate your agents for spectacular performance. First, establish a baseline for inclusion in the compensation package. Be sure your sample is controlled and stable. Also, use a large sample from which you establish your baseline (think 200-400 responses per measurement unit, such as department or skill-group). Such a large sample size will create confidence in the system, and eliminate random swings in the data.
Next, define the data points that will prove successful execution of each behavior, and therefore, the associated metric. Your agents will never commit to a compensation program under which they have no control. Agents’ NPS ratings are not (believe it or not) totally within their control. NPS and CSAT ratings are attributable to groups of employees (frequently not just one), processes, tools, and technology. Don’t blame your agents’ poor CSAT rating on improperly implemented IVR technology. Just as importantly, don’t let poor performers drag down the pack. Compensate by departmental or skill-based group metrics; train the outliers; reward the superstars.

Rinse and repeat.

Zig Ziglar, author and motivational speaker, says, “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” Re-examine your compensation and motivational programs on a periodic interval. Organizations with ten or fewer agents should allow for monthly redesign efforts. Organizations with up to fifty agents should plan on quarterly program evaluations. If your organization has more than fifty agents, annual exams are the way to go.

Posted in Call center KPIs, Call Center Management, Customer service. No Comments »

What’s your “why?”

October 25, 2011 — Tom

It’s one thing to delight the customers that contact your center, but have you considered communicating your “why” statement to them – the reason you do what you do? Your “why” statement is not about “what” you do or “how” you do it. Your “why” statement is all about what you, as an organization, believe in – your business cause or purpose. When’s the last time your agents communicated that on the phone or in an email to your customers or prospective customers.

Let me give you an example. Apple is an easy, iconic one. Apple is as much a computer manufacturing organization as Lenovo and Dell. But what sets them apart? It’s their “why” statement, which I imagine is something like: “to change the way media is created and consumed.” Remember Apple’s Think Different campaign? What was that all about, but changing how media is consumed and created – by thinkers, artists, businesspeople, you, and me. Who doesn’t want to “think different” (sic)?

Here’s the ad text from that campaign:

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

Who is Apple describing? On a one-dimensional level, they’re describing their promotional figureheads: Jim Henson, Amelia Earhart, Thomas Edison, et al. On another level, they’re describing their (hopeful) customer base – their ideal buyer personas. Going one level deeper, we see that Apple is describing their “why” – their raison d’être, or reason for existence.

When’s the last time you communicated your “why” statement to callers? To your agents? To your boss? I urge you to try it out; I guarantee you’ll be pleased with the results.

Posted in Business, Customer service. No Comments »

Why wouldn’t the social customer be right?

September 27, 2011 — Camille

One of the articles in the August 2011 issue of Customer Interaction Solutions struck me as particularly interesting, “The (Social) Customer Isn’t Always Right” by Brendan Read.

The reason I found this article interesting, other than the fact I work in marketing for the call center industry and social media is a hot topic in both arenas right now, is his argument that invalid complaints are clouding social media.

I’ll be the first to admit, there are people out there that take advantage of companies and bend and break rules daily. Complaints from these customers, and complaints that say nothing other than “this company is horrible,” really aren’t worth focusing time and effort on. However, unless you see nothing but suspect complaints on a person’s Twitter feed or Facebook page how do you know their complaint is invalid and not worth pursuing?

From a customer satisfaction perspective, and from a brand management perspective, I would argue that until you see a particular individual taking advantage of your company’s goodwill in responding to social media comments, every complaint is worth pursuing. If for no other reason than the fact that other people will see the complaint and potential customers will see your response.

I’d also like to give a little credit to the “street smarts” of social media participants. People actively engaged in social media are very adept at weeding out, and ignoring, those that aren’t adding to the conversation. If a person uses social media to do nothing other than complain about one company after another people aren’t going to listen. This is where I agree with Brendan, those individuals aren’t worth wasting your company’s resources on.

As call center technology advances, it will be easier to weed out the invalid complaints and focus on the customers, and prospects, that are valuable over the long haul. Products like Cisco SocialMiner and real-time reporting solutions that incorporate social media feeds are well on their way to making social media management in the call center much easier.

What is your company’s policy on reaching out to customers through social media?

Posted in Business, Customer service, Social media. No Comments »

Connecting Smart Phones to your Contact Center

September 20, 2011 — Kelly

Look around you and you’ll notice that it seems like everyone has a smartphone or is thinking about getting one. I’ve found that I actually spend much less time on the computer now, because the smartphone allows me to do many of the same things and functions nearly seamlessly among my email, Internet, and phone. Curious about how smartphones integrate with contact centers, I found “Customers, smartphones, contact centers: Are you making the right connections?,” by Brett Schockley on the Avaya blog.

The biggest factor that Shockley highlights for integrating smartphones as part of your contact center plans is to bring mobile interactions into contact centers in “full context”. This context could include the customer’s navigation of the mobile application or account information as well as a free pass to “cut” in line, based on the time the customer has spent trying to help himself on the phone. For customers and employees alike, he points out the option to send and receive pictures to facilitate the communication process as well.

What other ways can you assimilate smartphone usage into your contact center?

Are there applications that your company could develop and market to encourage and improve customer service? Consider apps that allow a customer to check account status or make inquiries from their phones.
How can you include images as part of your communication with customers? If a picture is worth a thousand words, a photo could save time and frustration in the communication process.
Can you use outgoing contacts (text and emails) to keep customers informed? Especially for time-sensitive information, being able to contact customers who are on-the-go can be critical.
Can you integrate other smartphone capabilities as part of your communication process? Beyond cameras, you could utilize GPS, texting, email, and the Internet to aid communication between the agent and the customer.

Shockely points out that within the next four years, 80% of customers will own smartphones! Contact center personnel must start planning now so they can seamlessly serve the majority of their customers as the technology continues to evolve.

Posted in Business, Customer service, Miscellaneous, Technology. No Comments »

Handling Emotional Customers

September 13, 2011 — Kelly

With a sweep of natural disasters across the east coast the past few weeks and with several friends in the insurance agency working overtime to handle customer calls, I started to think about the highly emotional phone calls that call centers must be receiving. As a customer, I’m sure it’s hard to remain calm and rational if your house has flooded in a hurricane or shaken off its foundation in an earthquake. Certainly these emotional phone calls are not limited to the insurance industry; customers can become very sensitive for a variety of reasons. Customer service representatives have to be able to handle a range of emotions from their callers without offending the caller or diminishing those feelings. Here are a few methods for handling highly emotional callers:

Remain calm. As difficult as it may be, it is critical that you remain calm, both in your tone and choice of words. Do not engage in any arguments with a customer.
Be empathetic. Acknowledge the caller’s feelings. In many situations, it’s OK to say you’re sorry that the customer is experiencing a particular problem or challenge.
Take the complaint seriously. As a CSR who handles many phone calls in a day, a customer’s problem might seem insignificant; however, it is likely not so for that customer.
Avoid jokes. It can be tempting to make light of a bad situation, but many customers will not understand or appreciate any attempts at humor. This is especially true since there are no visual cues, making it difficult for a caller to assess the speaker’s intent.
Repeat your understanding of the customer’s situation. By saying, “As I understand it…,” you are showing the caller that you understand the situation and offering him a chance to correct any misunderstandings you may have.
Find a solution. Do what you can to help the customer. If you can’t find a solution, offer to do further research, talk to a supervisor, or have a manager call the customer at a later time.
Utilize all available resources. Assuming your call center has equipped you with the training and tools you need, there should be few (if any) reasonable situations that you can’t handle. Of course, if you feel that there are tools or training that you are lacking, you might consider speaking with a supervisor to find out how you can get access to those!
Don’t over promise. It can be tempting to say that you’re going to take care of everything, but choose your words wisely and don’t commit to something that your company cannot deliver.

The reasons for emotional customers contacting a call center vary, and may often seem trivial to a CSR. However, effectively handling these calls should be a key part of call center success.

Posted in Customer service, News and events. No Comments »

6 Ways to Keep CSRs Focused on Queue Metrics

August 23, 2011 — Maureen

The operations arm of customer service departments often invests valuable time and resources implementing a real-time data monitoring and display solution. This can take many forms – LED wallboards, LCD digital signage, desktop applications, email alerts or web dashboards displaying metrics from ACDs or other internal databases. This is certainly a worthwhile investment, as awareness of real-time data has been proven to aid call center managers and CSRs in the delivery of quality customer service. However, that value can only be realized if agents and managers notice and pay attention to the data and messages on the screens. Since call center jobs are often a juggling act requiring multitasking and attention in a number of different areas, it is possible that call center metrics displays may be overlooked. However, there are a few easy ways that managers can ensure that agents pay attention to call center wallboards.

Update call center signage frequently. Agents may be interested in flashy digital signage screens at first, but they will tire quickly of looking at the same view. Appoint someone on your team to create new digital signage software views at least monthly. If you don’t have the time or expertise in house, then outsource the task.
Don’t be afraid to utilize non-work related media. Call center managers often tell me they can’t include sports or entertainment news feeds on their LCD or LED call center wallboards, because this will distract workers. On the contrary, including interesting content on contact center displays will actually make agents more productive, because it causes them to check the boards often. They will therefore be more likely to notice an operational red flag or instructional message from management.
Everybody loves a contest. Give agents a reason to regularly look at your call center wallboard. Announce a contest – trivia or otherwise – that will appear on your reader board’s message line during specified hours. Those who notice the message and respond to your email address quickly will be entered in a raffle to win a prize. The cost for this type of content can be low, but the paybacks are high in terms of increased attention to real-time metrics and messages.
Denote attention-worthy thresholds with sound and color changes. Many call center wallboard systems have built-in threshold capability that allow you to indicate levels at which certain metrics require attention. For example, if your team considers 15 calls waiting in queue excessive, then you can set that number in a display grid to change color from green to yellow when calls waiting hits 16. Perhaps the number changes to red when it reaches 20. This is a simple but effective visual indication to your team that adjustments need to be made.
Make sure information is clear and visible. This may seem like a no-brainer, but if your agents aren’t close enough to see data presented on a call center wallboard, or if that information is not clearly presented, they have no choice but to ignore it. I have seen digital signage views that are aesthetically beautiful when viewed close-up, but the designer forgot that the screens may be 30 feet away from the viewer in some cases. When in doubt, go with big, bold numbers and high contrast on digital signs. If you can’t fit all the information you’d like on one screen, create multiple designs and rotate them.
Set to lock or pop-up desktop metrics applications. Since CSRs often have many windows up on their computer – for CRM data and other systems – queue metrics from a desktop reporting application may be lost. If you utilize desktop metrics display software, you may want to consider locking the application on agents’ screens, so they cannot minimize it. Alternatively, you can set the application to be always minimized unless you send a priority message, in which case the application “pops up” and this movement catches your busy agents’ eyes.

How do you ensure contact center agents stay on top of changing operational conditions and messages?

Posted in Call center KPIs, Call Center Management, Customer service, LED displays. No Comments »

Utilizing the Correlation between CSAT and Interaction Cost: A Three-Step Action Plan

August 18, 2011 — Tom

In February 2011, The Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA) released The Current State of Unassisted Support, illustrating that “unassisted support success has been declining, hitting an all-time low of 39 percent in early 2011. Our data shows that customers are avoiding online knowledge-bases, and support employees are rating homegrown knowledge tools as less than satisfactory,” said John Ragsdale, vice president of technology research for TSIA. “For the very first time, we also have accurate cost-per-channel data, which underscores how little is being spent to maintain and extend existing unassisted support platforms.”

There’s much to glean from TSIA’s report; I highly recommend employees from member companies download and read it. What I found most intriguing was the drastic correlation between customer satisfaction (CSAT) and interaction cost, measured by channel. On the chart, you’ll see that the more labor-intensive the customer interaction, the higher the satisfaction score. When it comes to customer satisfaction, an old axiom is true: you get what you pay for.

Traditional phone support was benchmarked at 4.33 out of 5 (highly satisfied), and cost an average of $162 per interaction. Compare this to my analysis last year, regarding the cost of poor customer service. The average value of each lost relationship across all countries surveyed by Datamonitor/Ovum was $243 per year. Losses were defined as transactions taken to a competitor (63 percent of the total) and transactions abandoned entirely (37 percent of the total).

Most customer service organizations work to lower costs with self-service options either on the web or via the interactive voice response (IVR) system. It’s one of those things where technologies exist to support self-service, but how you organize and present the information will affect whether customers still decide to call you (and drive up costs).

There are a lot of savings to be realized by fine-tuning the IVR with clear and concise menus, proper error handling, etc. I recently read a 2009 Forrester research report, Small IVR Investments That Pay Off, which talked about a ticket service which shaved off 20 seconds from call durations and saved $175,000/year by tightening IVR prompts and removing irrelevant information.

But is the goal to constantly lower the cost per interaction? At what ends? If you drive your customers to that $0.06 self-service interaction with a 3.27 CSAT average, aren’t you just contributing to $243 lost customers? Where’s the fine line?

I’m not one to raise questions without answers. One can only look back at my blog posts to see that I’m opinionated when it comes to improving the customer experience while reducing costs. So, here’s my three step plan for keeping CSAT scores high, while leveraging self-service and best utilizing live human agents:

Move self-service to the point of interaction. When a problem occurs with a device, why can’t it tell the customer what to do? A great example of this comes from Xerox, whose imaging equipment doesn’t just tell you what’s wrong; it plays a video for the customer telling them how to fix the problem. Out of paper or toner? No more “Error 232” flashing—instead you see a video of how to replace the paper or toner, step by step.
Invest in the right type of agents for your center. Top performing contact centers drive their revenue and performance through superior hiring tactics. Scripted and unscripted call handling are discrete and different pursuits, each requiring separate personality, job-fit, and temperament factors. Someone with the intellect, problem-solving skills, and “verbal artistry” to serve a caller in an unscripted fashion is rarely a good fit for a tightly-scripted call canter environment. Equally, it is rare for someone who performs well in a tightly-scripted call center to successfully make the transition to unscripted caller interactions. Few people possess the ability to work successfully long-term in both a scripted and unscripted call center.
Find YOUR fine line and use it for forecasting. Ok, so this one isn’t really as actionable as the first two. I admit, it’s a little fuzzy. Where is your threshold for customer loss? If you’re Vanguard, I bet it’s high. Same if you work for CDW, where a positive move in loyalty level results in a 6.4% increase in revenue, a 6.0% increase in margin, and a 3.3% increase in the number of orders placed, according to this report by Forrester. If you’re a small widget company, your threshold for customer loss might be higher. Anticipate this, and project your lost revenue accordingly. Then invest in your self-service and human agents. See steps one and two in my plan.

Thoughts? I’d love to hear them. Shoot me an email at tom@insideinova.com.

Posted in Business, Call Center Management, Customer service, Performance Management. No Comments »

5 Things You Should Never Say on the Phone

August 17, 2011 — Special Contributor

The following article is courtesy of Christopher Elliott. Christopher Elliott is a consumer advocate and journalist. A columnist for National Geographic Traveler magazine and the Washington Post, Elliott also has a nationally syndicated column and blogs about customer service for the Mint.com. He is at work on a book about customer service issues.

Talk may be cheap, but when it comes to communicating with a company, it’s also practically worthless.

Just ask any consumer. Anyone who has spent time on the phone with a customer service agent can tell you that promises are sometimes kept, but often not. Plus, the calls are recorded “for quality assurance purposes” but only the company has access to the tape, so there’s no meaningful record of the conversation – at least from the customer’s perspective.

How convenient.

I was thinking about phone trouble in light of the recent Vocalabs report that found customers were unhappy with some of the phone support they were receiving from technology companies, and specifically the automated components that route a call to the correct department (or sometimes just hang up on them).

Should companies watch what they say when they’re talking with a customer? And should customers listen carefully for these red-flag phrases?

Yes, they should. Just as there are things you should never say in an email, there are also things you should never ever say on the phone. For example:

”Your call is very important to us.” When this is said in person, it smacks of insincerity. When it’s a recording that prompts you to “press one for billing, 2 for accounts payable, etc.,” it’s an outright lie. If the call were important, it would have been answered by a real person. The only worse thing: “Please listen to this message in its entirety, as our options have recently changed.”

”We’ll send you a refund.” Promising a customer a refund or some other form of compensation is great, but unless you follow up with the offer in writing, it’s completely meaningless. (Oddly, I heard from a customer service manager yesterday who says that at his company, a recorded two-way conversation with a customer trumps an email, but the question is, who has that recording?) Instead, say “We’ll send you a refund, and I’m following up with an email to that effect.”

”What the #$&!” Of course, using an expletive makes you and your company look highly unprofessional. But let’s go a step further. Describing any part of your company’s operations in an inappropriate way can have serious repercussions. Those include blaming one department for bad service, or airing your own personal grievances, as an employee. Keep it professional, or you may lose the customer. Likewise, if you’re a customer and a rep gets unprofessional, you may be dealing with the wrong company.

May I have the last four of your social security number? May I have the last four of your social security number? That’s no typo. I meant to say that twice. The last time I called my bank, it asked me to verify my identity three times – once through its automated system and then twice to a representative. That shouldn’t have been necessary. The automated system should follow my call and no one should have to spell their mother’s maiden name twice, especially if it’s Polish, like my mother’s is.

“Thank you for calling.” No, I’m not saying you shouldn’t ever say this. But when you’ve just wrapped up a difficult conversation with a customer, thanking them for phoning, or saying something like, “Is there anything else I can help you with today?” seems overly scripted, if not insincere. In any event, saying, “Thank you for calling [insert name of your company]” anytime makes you sound impersonal. Skip it.

And what if you do say any of these things. Well, remember what I said about customers not having a recording of the call. That’s normally true. There are wiretapping laws that make it difficult to record a conversation.

But it can happen.

Remember this AOL customer who tried to cancel his account? Caught on tape.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of things representatives shouldn’t say. Which is where you come in. If you work for a company, what are some of the things you wish you’d never said by phone, or hope your colleagues never say?

And if you’re a customer, what do you wish your company would put on the “never say” list?

Posted in Call Center Management, Customer service, Performance Management, Training. No Comments »

MicroAge Answers the Call: Contact Center Improves Performance and ROI with Customized Solution

August 4, 2011 — Special Contributor

Driving Efficiencies in Customer Service

As state governmental agencies serve the public, customer service is a critical issue, particularly in managing wait times and routing calls. Nowhere is this more apparent than in motor vehicle licensing and registration services, where customer volume is consistently high.

For this contact center in the northwest United States, while the existing telephony-based Avaya communications platform certainly delivered information and handled calls, upgrades were imperative to better manage demand. Information needed to be pushed out from its central platform to all system users at the same time. Managers and administrators wanted to ensure that information was shared in real time, not delayed by CMS refresh cycles. In addition, the center needed upgraded LED wall boards to integrate with the unified communications platform for customer-focused use.

The division issued an RFI (Request for Information), followed by a RFP (Request for Proposal) and then an RFQ (Request for Quote) for a solution that would integrate with its Avaya system. MicroAge reached out to vendor partnership with Inova Solutions; its proven Web-based solutions integrate seamlessly with unified communications platforms and ensure real-time data management. Further, MicroAge and Inova provided demonstration to give the client a ‘test drive’ of the solution’s capabilities. Upon being awarded the contract, the solution was implemented on site.

The first phase involved orchestrating the software. Using a Web-based portal, the software piece provides volume management by pushing information to call center agents and sends information to populate the LED wall boards. Servers are virtualized and load balanced, all user activity logged, and integrates with the client’s Win 2008 R2 64 bit system and Microsoft Active Directory environment. “Inova and MicroAge combined forces to optimize call center performance and demonstrate ROI with greater productivity… it’s a proven way to manage call center operations,” comments Michael Zitar, MicroAge IT Specialist.

Data displays on 50 work stations, including both general and agent-specific information, and an additional 10 supervisor/administrator displays allow overview access and reporting functions. Managers can identify and respond to changing conditions, monitor global activity, and balance workloads to ensure service quality.

The six integrated LED wall boards, formatted to display three lines, provide real-time information and alerts to customers. These IP-addressable multicolored displays communicate CMS data and instant awareness of service schedules and waiting times. “It’s always positive to create a joint venture with a partner like MicroAge; we drew on our mutual experience to translate our best practices and respond to the customer with a best-fitting solution,” adds Jay De Natale of Inova Solutions.

For call centers, this solution is an investment delivering ‘top of the line’ performance. However, its proven return on investment, especially in the context of tax dollars, ensures measurably improved productivity and customer service for citizens needing its services. In other words, it’s an engine built to last for the long haul.

Posted in Call Center Management, Customer service. No Comments »

How NOT to do Proactive Customer Care

August 1, 2011 — Camille

One of the latest and greatest topics to hit the call center industry is Proactive Customer Care (PCC). I’ve seen lots of articles defining what it is (“a business strategy that makes consumers’ lives easier by addressing issues before a problem or a need arises,” says Donna Fluss and Gary Schwartz in the July/August issue of Speech Technology) and lots of arguments for how much time and money it saves. However, I’ve not read anything yet about how you actually perform PCC and since a friend of mine recently experienced PCC done poorly I thought I’d share my thoughts.

One of the most obvious examples of PCC that has been used for years is notifying credit card customers of unusual card usage. There are lots of benefits for the credit card company and the customer for doing this, like security and time and money saved.

I think anyone with a credit card would agree that finding out there’s been unusual activity on their card is urgent. So when my friend received a letter in the mail from his credit card company stating there had been unusual activity on his card he called the 800 number in a panic. After finding out it was a false alarm, he asked the agent why they mailed him a letter instead of calling. The agent investigated and found out that because he had opted out of some other service he had also been opted out of receiving telephone notifications. How the two services related neither the agent, my friend, nor myself could figure out. Thankfully the agent straightened everything out and my friend no longer has to worry about finding out his card number may have been stolen a week after it happened.

The moral of this story is that PCC is a great concept, but be sure you have the proper business rules and opt-in/opt-out features in place for getting in contact with customers. Think through the various scenarios you want to provide PCC for and think about how customers will best receive that care. Otherwise your company could wind up looking a bit foolish for doing something like my friend’s credit card company did.