We know that customer experience is one of the most crucial factors for your organization and brand. But a key component often forgotten is the employee experience. It feeds directly into a better customer experience, especially with call center agents being your biggest voice for the company. But do you know what the cost can be by not investing in your agent’s experience?

 

Understanding the importance of customer service experience

We have call centers for a reason: They’re both effective and efficient in settling a customer’s need for convenient service. Contact centers are so crucial to our lives, they make up six percent of the American workforce. 

With more than $700 billion worth of goods and services a year happening through call centers, it’s evident that a lot rides on the customer service experience. Bad customer service could be what breaks your entire organization by giving up business to your competitors. 

 

So what is bad customer service (and what does it look like in call centers)?

You’ve probably experienced it yourself firsthand: a long wait, an IVR that says it’ll understand your request (and doesn’t), finally getting transferred to a real person, lots of holds, with an answer to your customer service request that leaves plenty to be desired. 

It’s not exactly the best experience, is it? That’s just the tip of the iceberg. How about when it comes to speaking to a bad agent?

If they’re in a bad mood, it comes across very clearly through a telephone. If they’re not equipped to answer questions and requests (resulting in lots of holds), that won’t make for a great customer service experience. And if someone has to be rerouted to several people or departments? Forget it. 

Unfortunately, a lot of these weak points often have more to do with your employees being set up for success or treated well – not their individual incompetencies. The need for good employee experience has never been more crucial. 

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How about good customer service then?

If you hang up with a smile, that’s probably a sign that good customer service has been achieved. Customer satisfaction should be the goal for your call center. There are a few ways you can go about setting up your team for success to ensure good customer service is happening.

Your call center should excel in efficiency, employee satisfaction, and customer satisfaction. When you have the first two down, the customer satisfaction should fall neatly in place. 

Call centers should make availability and service easy to customers to improve efficiency. Are you making communication available on an omnichannel level? These days, you should expect that customers expect being able to reach you how they need. Have more than just phone accessibility; make sure email, chatbot, and social media channels are open and manned – even snail mail. 

With employee satisfaction, simple tasks like giving team members the proper equipment and technology to do their job efficiently go a long way. Add in clear communication, good leadership and some basic human understanding and compassion, and you’re well on your way for a great employee experience. 

Content, and educated, employees will ensure they’re doing what they need to in order to provide customer satisfaction.

 

Your business reviews = your brand. How much is that worth to you?

Your call center’s mission should be to support and supply efficient customer service. If not, why else does your organization exist? 

The focus has to shift away from taking more calls in a shorter amount of time. If the customer is not properly serviced and satisfied, you’re doing your entire company a disservice. A lack in these focuses will inevitably show through, and people are quick to leave a review on any and every medium possible. 

That culmination of reviews, whether bad or good, becomes your brand. Your mission statement can say one thing, but with missing action behind it, your brand is now something entirely different. How valuable is the integrity of your brand?

To break it down, let’s see what some numbers could mean for you. Not investing could mean financial losses such as*:

  • $7 trillion lost in productivity globally every year
  • Up to $62 million lost annually per company due to poor communication
  • An additional $4,723 per employee hired

The ROI from your employee experience could be what makes or breaks you. Why not set yourself apart, save your future budgets and get a leg up on your competition?

*Sources: Entrepreneur, SHRM, LinkedIn

As you can see, your call center agents mean a lot. As people, but also as the bread and butter for you customer service and overall operations. Invest in an excellent employee experience strategy and see the rewards that you’ll also get to benefit.

 

Poor call center agent experience doesn’t just put a dent on your overall employee experience. Your customer experience can be the real cost here. Read our white paper to learn how employee experience is the foundation for customer experience.

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Aceyus Team

Aceyus Team

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