Highlights

Customer serving organisations have always faced a demand dilemma. This paper lays out the reasons why contact centre strategy is changing, outlining the benefits of the different solutions out there, and provide practical guidance to how to move to a hosted or virtual model.

What specific techniques could you suggest to lower average talk time for inbound order entry/ customer service calls on an agent level? (i.e.: call phrases, call control techniques etc.) For example, many of the extended calls seem to be when a supervisor is requested ... Is there a way to educate the agents in techniques to avoid supervisor escalations? Or is there a way to de-escalate a caller immediately requesting a supervisor?

In an attempt to determine what factors lead to worker job satisfaction, psychologist Frederick Herzberg conducted a study in which people were asked to describe their most satisfying and dissatisfying experiences on the job and to give the reasons why. They also were asked to describe their levels of performance in the two experiences.

Handling customer interactions isn't always easy, since every interaction is unique and different customers present different challenges. We've put together this list of the things call center agents and customer service reps should and shouldn't do during a call center interaction.

Shrinkage can be one of the more elusive metrics in the contact center, but don’t underestimate its power. If properly measured and managed, the use of shrinkage can enable contact center leaders to achieve the ideal balance of productive and unproductive time. Unchecked shrinkage will negatively affect service levels and the overall contact center budget.

Long-term customer retention is especially challenging as social networks and new media allow customers a forum for airing complaints about companies. A new focus on the customer experience has emerged, as businesses walk a fine line of keeping a steady supply of happy customers while maintaining a healthy bottom line with their customer retention programs.

This Genesys white paper outlines the particular challenges facing service delivery operations — both within and outside of the contact center. It then describes the type of solution required to address these challenges. Finally, it shows how Genesys enables you to optimize service delivery across your entire enterprise.

As technology matures, businesses are better able to gauge how happy their customers are, and how likely they are to return. Call center agents and software tools play a part in measuring customer loyalty and retention.