We are, as this is being written, coming into the Christmas period. For many businesses, this is a prosperous time and a very busy one. However, because of the SARS-CoV-19 pandemic and the restrictions around it, many businesses are unable to open physical stores, and instead, are reliant upon eCommerce. Because of this, companies are expecting call traffic to rise and need to deal with this high call volume effectively and efficiently. If they do not, it can hinder their performance and deter their customers from wanting to return to do business with them.
In this article, we will tell you how your business can better manage high call volume and improve the efficiency of your call centre [or call handling team]. By the end of this article, you will be appropriately equipped to handle the Christmas period and will not have to worry about the underperforming staff and lacklustre call centres.
If you want to improve your customer experience this winter, you need only read this page, for we will tell you everything that there is for you to know so you can improve your call centre’s performance by 110%.
Here is how your business can manage high call volume.
Call Centre Management Platforms
For many businesses, the problem does not lie with the call centre itself, nor the staff, but rather the management thereof. Thankfully, many platforms offer call centre solutions that enable you to manage the progress of your call centre remotely and digitally. These platforms allow you to check your analytics, call volume, and responsivity. These platforms are often suited to all types of call centre, from small to large, and can be used to great success in any business type. For the benefit they offer, we have included these platforms at the number one spot.
Assign Your Team Properly
A problem for many call centres is that they are assigned other duties, which can hinder their progress and slow down their performance. If you want your team to run at maximum efficiency and effectivity, it is essential that you assign them to the call centre and the call centre alone. If your staff is bogged down with other tasks not relating to answering calls, their performance will be hindered massively. When in a busy call centre, they need only answer phones and deal with the calls directly. Trying to have them multitask will not be successful.
Alternative Self-Service
With call centres, it is not uncommon, as your staff will attest to, for customers to ring and ask the same questions over and over. Because of this, it may be easier to set up an alternate self-service program on the internet for your customers to use. This self-help program will mean they do not need to call into your call centre and suggests that they will be able to answer their own queries a lot quicker, working out better for every single person involved.
Data
Analysing your data is very important should you want to predict when the largest surges in calls will be. For many, as we have mentioned throughout this article, Christmas is a very busy period. It is safe to say that you can expect to see a surge during this period [in some businesses]. However, there are other periods throughout the year when a business may surge. By reading your data, you can predict when these surges may be and designate more staff into your call centre for the duration of those periods, thereby improving your call centre’s efficiency.
Automation
There are many tools with which you can automate your staff’s work. Automating their work enables them to focus on the real issue – the phone calls. We previously mentioned that you should not assign them to work not relating to the call centre itself, but even so, the work from the call centre can still become too much when the phone is ringing every few minutes. Instead, automate many of the functions relating to the call centre, such as the ticket system. By automating these, your staff will be able to focus on calls and calls alone and improve the customer’s experience.
Call Back
Call back services have been very successful for many major companies and their call centres. As the name may indicate, a call back service is when you call into the centre and are given a designated slot. This slot is when the call centre staff will phone you back. During very busy periods, this can be a great help to your team and your customers. Instead of them having to sit on hold for hours, and instead of your staff having to rush to pick up calls, they can be called back later, which is convenient for them.
Voice Response Systems
Voice response systems, or as you may know them, ‘the annoying call centre robots,’ are a must for every single call centre. Voice response systems are much more developed than they once were, which means you can provide a more seamless and fluid experience for your customers. Your customers should hear a voice immediately upon ringing, even if it isn’t human. These voice response systems will enable you to direct your customers to the right department without having them block up phone lines or having to employ someone to handle calls.
Outsourcing
If you simply cannot keep up with the high call volume, outsource. Outsourcing has become the most popular way for businesses the world over to improve their efficiency in recent years. Outsourcing is when you source your services from abroad. Overseas call centres are an excellent way for you to improve the efficiency of your call centre and ensure you have a twenty-four-hour phone line for your customers to call into. Outsourcing agencies are everywhere, so you should have very little trouble finding an agency to outsource from. We recommend outsourcing very highly, although it can be expensive.
With the help of this page, you now know a few ways to deal with high calling volume in your call centres. The solutions that we have listed here are recommended by experts and said to be the best way to improve your call centres. We hope this page helped.