Amy Spieth is SVP of Marketing at Quiq, where she leads and oversees all marketing and PR functions.
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The economy is in uncertain times. Inflation and record gas prices of $5-plus in parts of the United States have led to talk of an imminent recession (paywall). Businesses are shoring up their resources and making moves. Even employees are getting anxious: According to research from Insight Global, 78% of workers are worried about losing their jobs in the next recession, and we’re seeing more articles about how small and medium-sized businesses can work to “recession-proof” their companies. While there is some positive recent news, the mood is still somber for many.
Economic downturns are especially tough if you’re a business that relies on a contact center. As the senior vice president of marketing at a company that offers a conversational AI and messaging platform, I believe downturns could lead to agent burnout, layoffs and diminished customer service. They may also lead to more stress in call centers as agents try to deal with angry customers, which could lead to unhappy customers and exhausted agents. However, there are things you can do now to make your call center more resilient and prepare yourself for a downturn by learning to do more with less. Here’s how to prepare your contact center for uncertain economic times.
Take Care Of Your Agents
Call center agents have hard jobs. The position is thankless, and turnover tends to be high (42% in 2021, according to NICE research). Agents often deal with unpredictable hours and stress, and the internet is filled with reviews that say these jobs are the worst. The first step of any plan for navigating a challenging economy is to take good care of your good employees. Agents may bear the brunt of frustrated customers while feeling that their work doesn’t matter, so anything you can do as a leader to let them know they are valued—offer ongoing training opportunities and support for your agents, improve and build a comfortable work environment, create an open communication culture through forums and shared dashboards, to name a few options—will likely go a long way toward building a committed workforce. No one benefits when an agent leaves a job quickly. Changing conditions so agents not only endure these jobs but also enjoy them is a better plan.
Give Agents Better Tools
Agents who don’t have the right technology to quickly address calls and messages may not be equipped to do their jobs. Leaving agents alone to find information like order numbers or policies on returns is a recipe for burnout. But equipping them with technology that can track every step of the supply chain or find all the details of a customer’s order immediately helps them fix thorny issues. One example is Salesforce, which provides tools that track a number of factors about calls and says it can help boost productivity. HubSpot software has a ticketing system and help desk for customer requests. And there are many more options.
Agents who don’t have the tools to do their jobs may not be able to do the best possible job. They don’t need many tools. But if you give them what they need, they can get the job done and done well.
Change Where Conversation Takes Place
Many consumers no longer want to use the telephone to ask simple questions like “when will my order arrive?” It takes too long and often requires a wait queue or a callback. Messaging is a far more efficient way to take care of everything from account inquiries to checking on the status of an order. It’s also the way many people communicate today. Consumers are already connecting with their family and friends over messaging for simple questions like “what time does your train arrive?” so they should be able to do the same with businesses they support.
While it can seem overwhelming to jump into using messaging for business, there are a few practices that can help boost the chances of success. Like any other business endeavor, start with a plan and do your best to stick to it. What’s even more important is to make sure there is a system to keep conversations organized as well as ensure a unified brand voice. One way to handle this is to equip support staff with a messaging style guide and emphasize that they might need to change their strategy and approach for each channel. If contact center staff know how to speak to customers, those conversations will be more helpful and productive.
Focus On Customer Experience
Strong customer experience starts with the agent. While you may not be able to eliminate agent turnover, you can minimize its impact. For example, you can have newer agents help customers with routine issues, while more experienced agents can work the tougher cases. It’s a surefire plan for better service.
Life presents few opportunities to make something both cheaper and better. By taking a few simple steps, you can improve call center service, improve your agents’ lives and ensure your business is prepared for tough times. Don’t just think about what you can cut with a recession looming—think about how you can do more with less.
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