Want to know the secret of top-performing companies? They enhance customer engagement by focusing on their agents needs.
High customer engagement is every brand’s goal. To get there, however, managers must first gain a clear picture of how well they re performing in terms of customer care. Without this knowledge, they ll end up targeting only the symptoms, rather than the root causes, of poor engagement. Thus, every attempt to uplift one s performance will only be in vain.
A culture that fails to highlight the role of frontline employees propels a brand toward failure. |
In their haste to create solutions, many enterprises don t realize that the core problem usually lies within the organization. A culture that fails to highlight the role of frontline employees—the call center agents—propels a brand toward failure. If managers can t optimize the processes that influence agents performance, they won t be able to execute their tasks well.
And then, you already know what happens next: The customer experience suffers, and the brand loses credibility. This is a vicious cycle that can be hard to get out of.
To avoid this, take a look at the four most common culprits behind poor customer engagement.
1. A distraction-filled environment
Employees can easily lose focus if their workplace isn t comfortable or is filled with distractions. You may think that office equipment such as chairs, computers, or headphones barely matter, but they do. Because agents sit in front of a computer all day, all facilities they use must allow them to physically relax. This way, they can fully concentrate on their jobs without difficulty.
Too much noise can also get in the way of agent-customer communication. If this is the case, you may need to invest in noise-cancelling headphones, or better yet, individual office cubicles.
2. Glitch-prone tools
A big portion of customer experience is dependent upon technology. Agents utilize various programs and applications to deliver continuous assistance to callers. However, if they don t function perfectly, they will only slow you down.
Remember that every tool you purchase must first go through a strict evaluation. All forms of technology you acquire must serve a purpose in uplifting the quality of your services. If not, you’ll only be wasting a lot of effort and money trying to fit them into your established strategies to no avail.
3. Lack of involvement
As a way to make call center agents feel valued, let them voice out their opinions or recommendations. The more involved they are in the company s activities, the more motivated they will be to carry out their duties the best way they can.
On the contrary, if they don t feel that they’re essential to the team, you’ll eventually notice their performance declining. Even worse, this could result to high attrition rates.
4. No opportunities for growth
As the most precious asset of companies, employees deserve to be given opportunities to grow professionally and personally. Managers must continuously challenge them and allow them to express their creativity. When you fail to recognize people s hard work, it s as though you re robbing them off the chance to be promoted or play a bigger role in the organization.
The lesson here is simple, although many brands and call centers alike commonly miss it: To heighten customer engagement, businesses must invest in their employees well-being and growth. Otherwise, you ll lose the people who possess the ability to connect your organization with your target audience. Without that lifeline, success would surely be out of your reach.
