Too many companies ignore these common call center challenges, and they’re paying a high price because of it.
You can’t get away from some of the most common call center challenges. Whether inbound or outbound, it’s a tough, competitive field. That means every step you take to improve your call center can have enormous benefits.
Where to begin? There are plenty of “micro” issues you could work on, such as call volume, your call script, or how well your team knows the product or service. Those are certainly worthy of your attention, but these are the fine-tuning tasks. For example, the right call script can only help you so much if the big picture is out of focus.
There are also some larger issues that impact your entire operation. These are the challenges that, no matter what else you do, will still hamper you if you don’t deal with them. Think of it like gardening. You can pull weeds and water your garden like a pro, but if your seeds never germinate, you’ll never harvest those delicious cucumbers and tomatoes.
Make more calls in less time with all of your client details right at your fingertips. See this in action and much more when you schedule a free demo of Call Logic. Get in touch today!
The 5 call center challenges you need to take care of right away
1. High turnover. If we’re going to address call center challenges, this has to be high on your list. High turnover is a drain on your resources; it makes for spotty customer service, and let’s just be honest: it’s a pain.
What can you do about this problem? There are several approaches that may work, depending on your specific situation. Here are a few ideas:
- Increase pay, either through an hourly rate, easily achievable bonuses, or rewards for staying with the company.
- Allow for a flexible schedule. Be aware, however, that this doesn’t mean you should expect employees to be available on your flexible schedule. People need a steady schedule so they can plan other activities. However, that doesn’t mean it should be impossible to take a day off without jumping through hoops.
- Offer benefits. Health insurance, a retirement plan, and sick days go a long way in retaining good employees.
- Improve your onboarding process. Hiring the right people in the right way can improve your employee retention in so many ways.
2. Poor customer service. Good customer service is vital to any business, including call centers. One look at a site like Yelp makes this clear. Here’s the catch, though. Many call center employees don’t have the tools at their disposal to solve anything more than the most basic customer problems.
The solution? Make it easy for your team to help your customers. Look through your history of customer service issues and find a solution to the most frequent problems. Maybe that’s giving your team the freedom to offer a discount or to move the issue up the ladder without taking up the customer’s time (aka, “I’m transferring you to someone right now who is authorized to help with this issue.”)
3. Poor customer service, part 2. Yes, there is a part 2 of this, because not every customer service issue is about employees failing to solve problems. This is actually about how a business treats employees, and it’s one of the call center challenges that so often goes unresolved. To put it quite succinctly, however, satisfied employees lead to happy customers.
What can you do about this? Potentially quite a bit. Pay increases and benefits certainly help. However, there’s a lot you can do that doesn’t cost a dime. It’s as simple as treating people well. Say hello. Ask people how they’re doing. Give them time to take a break if they’ve had a tough call – or an especially successful one. Send out employee satisfaction surveys (and let them answer anonymously.)
4. Outdated software. Old, clunky software can slow the pace of your call center. In addition, it can make it challenging to provide good customer service as call center agents switch back and forth between screens to gather information.
This is, luckily, easy to correct. We’ll refrain from suggesting Call Logic as the solution to this issue, but we will say that a cloud-based software that prides itself on being user-friendly could help your call center perform better.
5. Call center compliance. Of all the call center challenges, this is the one that may be most obvious, especially when you get a visit from the FTC or FCC. Do Not Call compliance is no laughing matter. And while these government agencies probably aren’t going to come after you for an innocent mistake here and there, the more protocols you have in place to deal with compliance, the better off you are.
The solution is, again, quite simple. Invest in call center software that scrubs the Do Not Call list in the microseconds before a call goes out. That alone will save you from making many of the calls you shouldn’t make.
Just because these call center challenges are common doesn’t mean you have to live with them. There will always be issues that come up on the job, but with the right team in place, and the right tools, these issues will be easier to resolve.
Make more calls in less time with Call Logic. From client profile management to automated voicemails to built-in compliance, we’ve got you covered in every aspect of your business. Schedule a free demo today to learn more!