How to Boost Call Center Agent Productivity

Call center agents are an integral part of the customer interaction. They work all day to improve customer satisfaction. Answering customer calls at contact centers is a daunting task. An agent cannot remain with the same state of mind all day because he has to interact with many people with different mindsets.

 

Most of the time, some unprincipled people deliberately communicate with agents in the wrong way. Hence, the agent becomes uncomfortable and restless.

 

As a result, the agent experiences a lack of confidence, which harms the agent’s performance. However, a happy and confident agent works more efficiently. Improving the efficiency and productivity of agents is a challenging task for contact center managers.

 

According to a research by Garter, there is a direct relation between agent productivity and customer service quality. Research from nearly 30 companies worldwide shows that by making reps a priority, service organizations can increase their productivity by 19 percent and their intent to leave decreases by 25 percent.

 

A productive agent makes profits for the company while unproductive agents incur cost for the company. Assessing the productivity of agents helps determine if they are the right employee for the company.

 

Here are some helpful tips that can ease and reduce the burden on managers of boosting agents’ efficiency and productivity at the contact center.

 

Agent performance evaluation:

 

Whether the agent is fresher or experienced, evaluating his performance gives managers valuable insights about his productivity. A complete agent performance report helps trainers create the right training structure that cultivates and encourages the agent. A trained agent can handle any call conversation with confidence.

 

The lower-performers can be further identified and instructed accordingly. Several call center productivity metrics such as abandonment rate, average handle time (AHT), average queue time, first call resolution rate, and address rate are useful for effectively measuring call center agent performance.

 

Artificial intelligence-based products such as speech analytics help evaluate agent performance by monitoring interactions on the call.

 

Give agents a short break:

The call center agent has to deal with numerous pressure and strains throughout the day, such as irritated customers, deadlines, and another rigorous process that follows. All of this can lead to mental/emotional stress that directly affects the productivity of the agent.

 

To avoid this, the agent can take a little break from his day-to-day work. Allow him to do his favorite stress-free activity. This can allow them to take a little fresh air, a little snack/cold drink apart from using a restroom so they can feel refreshed.

 

These trivial but necessary activities help deal with stress. Short break resets and refreshes the agent’s mind to receive calls by smiling at his next customer.

 

Provide autonomy to the agents:

Strict protocols, complex work processes, and harsh environments create feelings of boredom and anger in employees that affect their productivity. Research has shown that autonomous agents pay more attention to customer questions. Therefore, giving them a certain amount of autonomy can significantly impact the agent’s productivity.

 

Independence allows them to use their knowledge effectively. Employees found it valuable to let them do work and make decisions to represent the company more effectively.

 

Allocate appropriate tools and resources:

Improving agent productivity is not an easy task. It does not matter if the agent is smart or hardworking. He cannot achieve productive results alone if it lacks the right tools and resources. Call center Automation software works efficiently to reduce the workload of the agent.

 

Several AI-Powered solutions can identify the call type and transfer it to the appropriate agent who can handle the call more efficiently. The manager should recognize the need for tools and resources that can facilitate the agent’s work to focus and work more productively.

 

Grant easy access to the knowledge base: 

Knowledge is power. A comprehensive knowledge base builds confidence in the company. The agent’s job is to answer customers’ questions and solve the company’s product/service issues. To do so, the agent must frequently access the company’s knowledge base.

 

Managers should provide easy access to agents so that agents can respond to customer questions quickly. Easily accessible knowledge base reduces customer time that improves Average Handle Time (AHT).

 

Give meaningful appreciation:

Another effective way to improve agent productivity is to compliment them. Appreciation develops a positive attitude towards the company. Announcing attractive incentive schemes makes agents self-motivated, which increases productivity. Good rewards, promotion of qualified agents can lead to an appreciation of their hard work.

 

Work Engagement improves after such incentive rewards and appreciation. A responsible work attitude can be cultivated in agents.

 

Incorporate superior technology:

Technology has the power to change business. AI-Powered Voice Assistant automates many complex tasks for the agent. Features such as voice tambourine, multilingual support, and intent analysis can respond accordingly to the customer. The call center agent must perform several tasks repeatedly, which do not bring any significant results.

 

Agents can hire a voice assistant to do such repetitive tasks and can invest saved time productively. Another AI-enabled product like Speech Analytics provides AI-assisted monitoring to gain meaningful call data insight. Speech Recognition can create real-time speech-to-text transcriptions.

 

Speech Synthesis uses AI models that can convert text into speech with a natural human-like voice. 

 

Maintaining a healthy work environment:

The workplace environment directly affects the performance of employees. Managers should not repeatedly interfere in the day-to-day work of agents to maintain a positive workplace environment. Managers can allow employees for little celebrations and tours to maintain friendliness for improved team collaboration.

 

The happy, positive, and friendly employees in the office create the workplace more favorable. 

 

Interested in how AI-Powered products can help your business and boost the productivity of call center agent? Request a free live demo of our AI Solutions. Click Here!