15 Jul Running the wrong play: Missed Opportunities for Contact Centers
It’s February 1, 2015 and the Seahawks are in the red zone. They have two choices: either run six inches with their star player Marshawn Lynch, or throw the ball to a heavily-covered receiver. In the final minutes of the Super Bowl, they chose the latter. They lost the game, and the championship.
Similarly, in business, we have to make strategic decisions in an effort to move the company forward. You either make the right choice (run with Marshawn), or miss your shot at glory due to a bad call. Just like the Seahawks, so many contact centers overlook obvious elements of communication and run the wrong play. We all know that a bad interaction can turn off a customer forever. Studies have shown that 70% of customers switched their providers due to poor service.
With that in mind, let’s huddle up and make sure your brand will never run the wrong play.
Segment Customers using IVR -Fan Engagement
The NFL has made major efforts to engage with their fans. From play 60 to the Draft’s Fan Zone, the NFL gives fans the power to create their own memories. You may not have prime seating for the next draft, but you can give your customers the power to answer their own questions. Many contact centers are missing the tackle with respect to IVR. Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is a menu system that enables the dial pad to segment and route callers to the appropriate team. Maximizing technology like this allows customers to have the power to solve their own problems, by retrieving the information without speaking to a live agent. As a result, your company’s professionalism and availability to your customers will increase.
Empower agents-Be Vince Lombardi
As the great Vince Lombardi said, “The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual.” Agents are more than a piece of the company, they are the driving force behind it and it’s only right to treat them as such. If your agents feel involved, motivated and valued, you will surely see an increase in their productivity. A pro tip is to use the G.R.O.W method in your coaching session- if you do not have coaching session, start implementing them. G.R.O.W is an acronym that stands for Goal, Reality, Options and Way. This type of coaching sets realistic goals, while creating a safe place for the coachee to develop a game plan to achieve their goals. Do not forget, your main focus as a coach is to unlock hidden potential and guide them in the right direction. With proper coaching, your agents will definitely be empowered.
Maximize the internal knowledge- Veteran players
Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Randy Moss, Micheal Irvin are just a few examples of exceptional veteran leaders. When your company makes the effort to teach each other, the morality of employees will be positively affected. Who knows, you may have the next training and development guru right under your nose. By using internal top performers, they have spent time on the phones, dealt with the clients, and will serve as a role model for the newly added employees. Not only will your new employees receive proper training, but your tenured employees will have new career opportunities.
Simplify the toolbox- Simplify the playbook
Do you know why Quarterbacks wear that abnormally large sweatband on their wrist? Those are called play-call wristbands, and the goal is to simplify the list of hundreds of plays. If we take this analogy and apply it towards agents, we can simplify their amount of unnecessary clutter. Software like salesforce allows agents to maximize their space by putting everything in one location.
Now that your coaching session is over, go out there and win us some championships!
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