However, there are always times in which motivation can wane. Successful virtual call center agents have to be self-motivated. Virtual call center agents need a few critical pieces of equipment to be successful: a corded headset compatible with a landline phone, a personal desktop or laptop computer, and reliable, hard-wired internet connection.īut setting your teams up for success means more than making sure that their physical location and tools are in place. Advise them to create space conducive to taking calls, meaning minimal background noise from their barking pup, children, television, or traffic. One’s environment dramatically impacts one’s productivity, so agents should set up a quiet, designated space in their homes for work. Learn More: Why Communication Is Essential to Employee Engagement Set your team up to maintain call center success This will ensure that your agents are fully prepared to take calls on their own.
One of the best ways you can support your agents is by making sure that they have access to the answers they need to mitigate tough situations. Often, issues within remote management arise when agents are unsure of who or where they can ask questions. It’s crucial to prepare your agents to handle the difficult questions and situations they may encounter and ensure that they are equipped with the knowledge and resources needed to provide the right answers and next steps to the customers. When you think about it, most people are not calling a customer service line to share how much they love their product or service (as lovely as that would be). During onboarding for call center agents, video conferencing can help agents with one-on-one role-plays and dive deeper into any topics that pop up in the learning management system that need further clarification.Īs with any customer service-focused work, call center agents have a tough job.
Creating time for real conversations, interaction, and culture-building is a simple way to make your remote teams feel integrated and connected. I’ve even been a proud spectator at some virtual graduations for agents achieving various certifications. Video conferencing is a great way to host virtual classrooms and meetings, adding a live element to the learning process. You also can’t overlook the benefits of a video conferencing system like 2020’s favorite go-to tool for ensuring attendees are dressed from the top up, Zoom. This also allows new agents to ask questions more frequently and directly with their peers and facilitators.
Allowing your agents to go through these series at their own pace provides them with autonomy and flexibility and manages visibility into their progress and execution. In my experience, we’ve used TOPYX, which has allowed us to track and monitor the onboarding process of all of our agents.Ĭall center work requires detailed onboarding sessions that educate agents on clientele, communication styles, culture, and best practices. These systems enable you to create, manage, and disseminate information to your teams while also allowing you to track progress in asynchronous courseware in real-time. And this accessibility and clarity need to be in place from an agent’s very first day.ĭuring the onboarding process, it’s beneficial to have a learning management system to help guide and train your agents. Managing a virtual call center is all about creating a community where people can feel connected, even when working remotely. Finding which combination of platforms and applications enables you and your team to reach the highest level of productivity and connectivity is the key to running a thriving virtual call center.
I’ve been working virtually for almost 20 years, and I have seen the growth and innovation that comes with the emergence of new tools first-hand. While the pandemic has caused a more rapid shift in digital transformation than would have likely occurred otherwise, it is the technological tools that have enabled organizations to adopt a virtual business style with speed and efficiency. But it’s not just the technology you have, it’s how you use it, writes Matt Miles, the vice president of learning and development at Liveops. In today’s remote world, these things are all made possible by technology. Keeping your virtual call center employees happy requires three C’s: connection, communication, and community. Dealing with angry customers – wherever employees are – is no mean feat.