A business’s promise to its clients is only as strong as its weakest staff member. Lack of training and supervision can lead to a confused, demoralised staff member dealing with an important client – and making a mess of it.
So how can you improve quality assurance at your call centre? Here are a few tips for keeping your staff in top shape.
1. Implement Quality Assurance Software
Technology should prove solutions to problems that individuals have struggled time and again to solve by themselves. That’s exactly what call centre quality assurance software is designed for.
Monitoring staff performance and procedures in a call centre simply can’t be done manually. You can’t listen to every employee’s call and generate a comprehensive report. Quality assurance technology isn’t quite at that point yet either, but here’s what it can do:
- Increase the volume of customers providing feedback
- Improve the quality of this feedback
- Allow you to target your reviews and staff training more accurately
- Assure customers that they’re being listened to by helping to arrange follow-ups wherever necessary
Targeting call reviews means you can easily identify key weaknesses in your workforce. You can implement relevant training for individuals rather than your entire team. You can also more easily choose an appropriate, tactful place to raise performance issues with staff than in the middle of the call centre. Quality assurance software is a must-have for busy call centres.
2. Review Your Training Scheme
Notice a repetitive issue with your staff? Perhaps people aren’t sticking to scripted areas as closely as they need to. Perhaps customers are being put on hold when a properly trained handler should be able to find a solution while keeping the customer engaged.
Repeat issues are a sure sign that you need to review your training program. It might be the material or how it’s being implemented – the employees responsible for staff training are among the most important to your business. They’re the first line of quality control before new team members hit the phones. Review the training scheme with them and stress the importance of areas you’ve identified as weaknesses.
If a customer calls more than once and experiences the same issue twice, it will frustrate them. This leads to more negative reviews of your business online, and you can’t afford that.
3. Use Staff Surveys
Want to know what your employees are struggling with? Ask them! Anonymous surveys tend to elicit a groan in the office, but put time and care into their design, and you might find some helpful answers.
A bad survey will optimise its questions for “staff satisfaction” statistics, and your team will see right through it.
The goal shouldn’t be to prove to the outside world that your team is happy; it should be to find out what will make your team feel happier and more confident in their work. Low staff satisfaction is often caused by feeling lost or confused at work, so focus on tackling issues head-on and finding resolutions your staff can agree upon.
4. Keep Your Ears Open
There’s a fine line between paying attention and eavesdropping. Staff want management to be attentive. They want you to notice problems. However, micromanagement isn’t the way forward.
Instead of jumping on staff with notes on every call they make, listen for hesitation or confusion when they’re on the phone. Ask them how they thought the call went and provide feedback through a dialogue about their performance.
Final Thoughts: Building a Professional, Independent Workforce
People like being good at their jobs. They appreciate feedback and advice that helps them improve. However, you don’t have to rely on just your coaching to improve your customer support team.
A blend of bespoke software and soft management techniques can help you build a stronger, happier, more independent team. Bring in additional help to make your team stronger just as much as you work on your own coaching techniques.
