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Jul22

Home Working Made Simple

Posted in General Business Comments,Staffing & Resources,Tips, Knowledge and Experience | No Comments

 

Whether you are an employer, an employee or you are in the process of starting up your own small business you will have doubtless considered the challenges associated with home working.

According to a recent YouGov survey on behalf of Citrix Online over 20% of UK employers are being put under greater pressure to by their employees to adopt increased workforce flexibility.

Whilst the employee’s drive is typically to improve work/life balance there are significant benefits to be obtained for the employer if they readily embrace the vast raft of personal communications tools that are available to them.

The fact of the matter is that many employers are used to working this way within specific disciplines e.g. field sales. The challenge for any employer is to gain from the benefits (cost …continue reading

Dec21

Call Handling: How to improve it.

Posted in General Business Comments | 1 Comment

 

Boy do some companies do a terrible job answering their calls!

Whilst completing my University degree and working part time answering incoming calls I estimate I’ve answered (roughly) 24,000 calls and I’d like to think I became quite skilled at what I did – perfecting the art of handling all types of calls and in all kinds of situations dealing with a range of callers from the angry to the hysterically.

Now I’ve graduated and I’ve moved on into the mysterious realm of the sales team I am now very much on the other side of the fence. I’ve now made hundreds of calls to different companies and I’m now experiencing all kinds of receptionists and they are not all doing a very good job.

I have pinpointed my top 5 pet peeves …continue reading

Aug20

How to handle Call Centre Overflow calls.

Posted in Call Centre Industry | 2 Comments

 

Introduction

Whilst our marketing team spend many hours hunting for organisations that are struggling to handle their calls the most effective way to deal with inbound call traffic peaks can often be to treat the causes and not just the symptoms.

Here’s some solutions that may help you to take the “axe out of your head” and there’s also some ideas to dull the pain whilst the wound heals.

Why are people calling you?

When you map the reason that most people are calling you certain patterns appear. Callers always either ask to speak to somebody or they ask about “something”. What are the “somethings”? Can you group them as predictable “call types”?

Now you know why they’re calling can you help without talking to them?

If the caller can’t get an answer to their issue they’ll keep calling. And calling. And calling…….

Can you reduce the number of repeat callers by assisting them in ways other than a “one to one” telephone conversation?

Interactive Voice Response (IVR)

If you know the most common “call types” can you use Interactive Voice Response (IVR) before the call is presented to an agent to deal with the callers reason for calling? My bank, HSBC, do this very well. Call their customer service number and a number of options are offered to reduce the calls going to their call centres, press 1 to obtain your balance etc.

IVR can also be used to give callers updates about ongoing and known issues. A broken lift in a residential apartment block can be reported many times whilst an up to date announcement on an IVR about the incident’s status can be a sensible option.

Can you do anything to reduce the call volumes?

Look at ways to reduce the variability and unpredictability of the demands made on you to answer calls. Some of the solutions to this are not just  to be found within the contact centre management team but will involve other departments.

Simple solutions like controlling how you do promotions and marketing for example. We helped a passenger transport authority to handle a tidal wave of calls that they created by sending out 2 million letters in one go about renewing bus passes. If only the letters has gone out in stages.

Mail order companies who’s customer service departments are being swamped with calls tend to look at customer self help options to reduce call volumes. Putting information inside orders about returns policies and how to deal with faulty products reduces calls? Another mail order client of ours reduced calls by spending money on upgrading the packaging the used. Less damaged products equaled less calls. And happier customers too.

Can you give more information via your website, via email or via text messages to mobile phones?

What days of the week are busiest?

If you deal with the public and choose to close your call centre on weekends then is Monday a particularly busy day? Or Friday?

Closing on Saturdays and Sundays can build up demand to deal with customer service issues leading to manic Mondays. Another shameless plug here but if you don’t have the call volumes to justify opening over the weekend an outsourcer could do it for you in a more cost effective way. You’d find that you’d get reduced call volumes during the work week which you may find easier to deal with.

Call Back “systems” to even the workload over the day.

Setting up  some sort of call back system to allow callers to leave a message and to be called back later rather than sit in a queue or repeatedly call back can help you to even out your workflow. If you are overrun with calls early in the morning but have quiet periods after lunch then you can get back to people then.

Their are a number of automated call back systems on the market or you could send these calls to an outsourcer. If your outsourcer cannot fully deal with the caller’s issue then at the very least they can gather information to allow you to prioritise the calls you want to deal with first. There’s efficiencies to be had in prioritisation.

This spreads out the demand and it gives you some control over it too – so is a pretty good solution.

What times of the days are you struggling with calls?

We spend hours pouring over our call handling performance data looking at individual 15 minute slots. It’s very revealing and we’d advise anybody missing calls to do the same exercise.

Call centre managers don’t need to be mathematical geniuses to know that larger teams of agents are more efficient at call handling. 10 agents will handle many more than twice as many calls in the same period as 5 agents. What this means is that you are more likely to be missing a greater % of calls during your quieter times, when you have less staff in the office, than you are during the busiest periods. The evenings and early mornings are especially vulnerable. This is where outsourcing can give you extra call handling capacity in a more cost effective way than scheduling extra people to man your own centre.

Look at your call forecasts

The science of figuring out just the right number and mix of agents to provide adequate service levels without incurring unnecessary personnel costs is crucial yet complicated. It takes sophisticated forecasting tools even to begin to manage such uncertainty, but computer science and new workforce management tools are up to the challenge.

We have call data going back to 1999 to call on and we use Q-Max workforce management tools to assist with call forecasting and staff planning.

Can the calls be handled elsewhere?

Moving the calls elsewhere – whether that is an automated or human service, whether it is in-house/outsourced/hosted can handle immediate peaks without losing the call.

But you need to ask yourself some questions;

Does it actually deliver the service your require?

Does it result in the same level of first call resolution?

Does it essentially just postpone the problem? (by the caller calling back later..)

If you are considering the outsourced option we would suggest that you work with your outsourcer prior to going live to script as many call  types as possible to offer first call resolution. The goal is to be more than a “talking answerphone” that will simply store up the problem for you to deal with later.

Webchat

Web Chat offers you the ability to handle 3 customer enquiries via human resources in the same time it takes to get through one call. This might be a magic solution to handle more customer interactions without increasing your resources.

Can you change the way you work and answer more calls internally?

Can you train non call handling staff with the skills needed to answer calls and to step in when “all hands are needed on deck”?

This is particularly useful if your peaks are concentrated into short time slots.

Can you reduce you average call lengths to answer more calls per hour?

By introduced new skills to better engage the customer and control the call you could achieve reductions in handling time, faster response times and a reduction in repeat calls.

This type of investment in people can have other benefits in employee engagement and staff retention and get the gains you need right across the day not just at the peak.

CONCLUSION

After working through all of my suggestions (and I dare say some of your own that I’ve not mentioned) and you still got overflow calls then unfortunately there is no magic formula – if you have X of calls being presented then you have to have X of resources to handle it.

by

Martin Blain

Sales Director

Jun23

Top 12 Telephone Answering Tips

Posted in Tips, Knowledge and Experience | No Comments

 

Telephone answering skills are critical for businesses. The telephone is still most business’s primary point of contact with customers and the way you answer your company’s phone will form your customer’s first impression of your business. These telephone answering tips will ensure that callers know they’re dealing with a winning business – of course, if you dont want to do it yourself Office Response can handle all your calls for you:

1) Answer all incoming phone calls before the third ring if possible – this shows whoever is calling you that you value their call.

2) When you answer the phone be warm and enthusiastic. Your voice at the end of the telephone line is sometimes the only impression of your company a caller will get.

3) When answering the phone,welcome callers courteously and identify yourself and your organization. Say, for instance, “Good morning. ABC Construction’, Andrew speaking, How may I help you?” No one should ever have to ask if they’ve reached such and such a business.

4) Enunciate clearly, keep your voice volume moderate, and speak slowly and clearly when answering the phone, so your caller can understand you easily.

5) Control your language. Don’t use slang or jargon. Instead of saying, “OK”, or “No problem”, for instance, say “Certainly”, “Very well”, or “All right”. If you’re a person who uses fillers (known as vias) when you speak, such as “uh huh”, “um”, or phrases such as “like” or “you know”, train yourself carefully not to use these when you speak on the phone.

6) Train your voice and vocabulary to be positive when phone answering, even on a “down” day. For example, rather than saying, “I don’t know”, say, “Let me find out about that for you.”

7) Take telephone messages completely and accurately. If there’s something you don’t understand or can’t spell, such as a person’s surname, ask the caller to repeat it or spell it for you. Then make sure the message gets to the intended recipient.

8) Answer all your calls within one business day. The early caller can get the contract, the sale, the problem solved… and reinforce the favorable impression of your business that you want to circulate.

9) Always ask the caller if it’s all right to put her on hold when answering the phone and don’t leave people on hold. Provide callers on hold with progress reports as the call progresses. Offer them choices if possible, such as “That line is still busy. Will you continue to hold or should I have ________ call you back?”

10) Don’t use a speaker phone unless absolutely necessary. Speaker phones give the caller the impression that you’re not fully concentrating on his call and make him think that his call isn’t private. The only time to use a speaker phone is when you need more than one person to be in on the conversation at your end.

11) If you must use an answering machine to answer calls when you can’t make sure that you have a professional message recorded and gives callers any other pertinent information before it records their messages. Update your answering machine message as needed. For instance, if your business is going to be closed for a holiday, update your recorded answering machine message to say so and to say when your business will reopen.

12) Train everyone else who answers the phone to answer the same way, including other family members if you’re running a home-based business. Check on how your business’s phone is being answered by calling in and seeing if the phone is being answered in a professional manner. If they don’t pass the test, go over this telephone answering tips list with them.

May10

Top 10 Telephone Answering Tips

Posted in Tips, Knowledge and Experience | No Comments

 

The telephone is still most business’s primary point of contact with customers and the way you answer your company’s phone will form your customer’s first impression of you. These telephone answering tips will ensure that callers know they’re dealing with a winning business – of course, if you don’t want to do it yourself, Office Response can handle all your calls for you:

1) If possible, answer all incoming phone calls before the third ring – this shows whoever is calling that you really do value their call.

2) When you answer the phone be warm and enthusiastic. Your voice at the end of the telephone line is sometimes the only impression of your company a caller will get.

3) When answering the phone welcome callers courteously and identify yourself and your organisation. You could say “Good morning. ABC Construction’, Andrew speaking, how may I help you?” No one should ever have to ask if they’ve reached such and such a business.

4) Control your language. Don’t use slang or jargon. Instead of saying, “OK”, or “No problem”, for instance, say “Certainly”, or “Alright”. If you’re a person who uses fillers (known as vias) when you speak, such as “basically” or “um” or phrases such as “like” or “you know”, train yourself carefully not to use these when you speak on the phone.

5) Train your voice and vocabulary to be positive when phone answering – even on a “down” day. Rather than saying, “I don’t know”, say “Let me find out about that for you.”

6) Take telephone messages completely and accurately. If there’s something you don’t understand or can’t spell, such as a person’s surname, ask the caller to repeat it or spell it for you. Read it back to the caller to confirm accuracy. Then make sure the message gets to the intended recipient.

7) Respond to all your calls within one business day. The early caller can get the contract, the sale, the problem solved… and reinforce the favourable impression of your business.

8 ) Always ask the caller if it’s alright to put them on hold and don’t leave them on hold for a long time. If you are having trouble locating someone go back to the caller and let them know.  Offer them choices such as “That line is still busy. Do you want to continue to hold or should I have Mr West call you back?”

9) Don’t use a speaker phone unless absolutely necessary. Speaker phones give the caller the impression that you’re not fully concentrating on their call and make them think that the call isn’t private. The only time to use a speaker phone is when you need more than one person to be in on the conversation at your end.

10) Train everyone else who answers the phone to answer the same way; including other family members if you’re running a home-based business. Check on how your business’s phone is being answered by calling in and seeing if the phone is being answered in a professional manner. If they don’t pass the test go over this list with them.

By Steve West

Marketing & Business Development Manager

Click here to comment on this post…

May05

Top 10 Tips to motivate customer facing staff

Posted in Tips, Knowledge and Experience | 2 Comments

 

Sales and Customer Service personnel are the primary customer contact for most businesses. So what does their attitude say about your company? If some of your team are not communicating the message you want, here are 10 questions to ask yourself to ensure they stay positive, focused on message and deliver an exceptional customer service experience.

1. Are you clear on your values and expectations? This is foundational to ensure that a consistent message is communicated across the organisation. Without clarity from the top, people may be unclear of expectations and rarely surpass them.

2. Are your priorities constantly changing? If you aren’t consistent with priorities and aligning them with activities that customer’s value you are leaving room for confusion. Eliminating confusion will keep your team focused.

3. Are you and your managers leading by example and consistently reinforcing desired behaviours? People copy behaviours and if you do not demonstrate what is expected how can you expect your team to behave otherwise?

4. Are you providing enough information? Providing a centralised location for information on all existing clients, products and services (CRM or Intranet) will give you the confidence to answer any question without having to rely on others for information.

5. Are you providing training for skills that your team may be lacking? If you have hired the right person based on their character and attitude (but they are making mistakes) make sure they have the necessary training to ensure they know how to do it right.

6. Are you providing too much direction? If you try to tell your people how to do everything step-by-step you are limiting them on providing quality customer service. If you free them up to do what they know is necessary — based on agreed expectations — you are providing the freedom to make your customers happy.

7. Do you have enough team members? If you have a team that is spread so thin they can’t provide quality service over the quantity of customers served consider the real cost to your business. Unhappy customers = ex customers! By hiring more team members you may enable your team to make more sales.

8. Do you personally motivate your team? If you reward your team for delivering a great customer service you will almost certainly win new business. Look for ways to provide positive reinforcement on a daily basis in addition to providing performance bonuses, gift cards, or something for your team to earn.

9. Do you provide too much information during training sessions? If you supply too much at once people may take longer to master those new skills. Consider breaking training into smaller sessions to allow time to master a few skills at a time. People who FEEL successful will BE successful.

10. Does the entire organisation understand the critical role they each play in delivering an exceptional customer service experience? Too many companies do not place the same importance on internal customers (i.e. colleagues and peers) resulting in customer facing teams not getting the support they need.

Ask yourself these 10 questions to identify areas for improvement. Then pick one and focus on it. Attacking too many initiatives at once will lead to frustration and probably failure! Once your team has mastered one goal, move on to another. Working together for a shared goal and seeing ongoing improvements will keep the team focused, motivated and positive

By Steve West

Marketing & Business Development Manager

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Jul27

Service Delivery Managers – 3 Top Tips to outsource your telephone calls stress free

Posted in Tips, Knowledge and Experience | 2 Comments

 


For Service Delivery Managers providing your service or product to customer’s expectations is a skill that needs constant tweeking. Add to that a constant pressure to reduce your operational costs and you may start investigating what can be outsourced. The high cost of answering calls in house, especially outside of normal business hours, means that outsourcing them to a trusted partner for financial reasons is a bit of a ‘no brainer’ and is something you should consider.

But a question many Service Delivery Managers ponder is “how painful is this going to be?”

Let’s try to calm your nerves:

“I’ll lose control of service levels” – No you won’t. Make sure your outsource partner provides these as standard and you will keep control:

“They’ll never be able to do it as good as we can” – Talk with your outsourcer about what standards you expect from the start and what to work towards. Remember most outsourcers spend all their time managing other people’s procedures and technology so they will have a good idea of what you are trying to achieve. As long as you can provide all the information that a call handler will need to manage the caller’s expectations, and agreed procedures so they can then act upon that information, you will be surprised how well they can represent your business. You might even end up duplicating your outsourcer’s processes within your own business.

“The handover will be a nightmare!” – With all the project management experience in the world there could be something you may have overlooked.  A good outsourcer will look for teething problems in the early days and sort them out quickly. Talk with your outsourcer to share best practises and discuss any concerns you may have. Again, remember that they will have managed many migrations from customers systems and procedures to their own and should have lots of hands on experience to share with you. In short, they can probably help you more than you think.

By Steve West

Marketing & Business Development Manager

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