The COVID-19 virus has unleashed a global crisis in a few weeks, leading many countries to take extreme measures in the workplace since the situation prevents workers from going to their work areas to avoid possible contagion, promoting remote work.
Among the different sectors affected, there are the contact center services, which cannot stop their work since they are the ones in charge of customer service to manage the different services that a company can offer.
Taking this situation into account, different companies are using the teleworking or remote work method, thus allowing them to continue working from the tranquility of their homes. Here are some tips to help you effectively manage your agents through remote work.
Tips to manage remote agents
Workplace
The challenge has been to create a workplace at home in a period of forty-eight hours, with the respective onboarding before the end of that time. Through companies such as ICR, whose software has allowed excellent quality customer service communication even before the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, a workstation can be created for your company within your remote agent’s houses.
This software will allow communication equipment to be connected directly to your company’s network, so that your company’s contact numbers are diverted to the station in real time, and serviced remotely by your agents.
Teams
Provide agents with mobile equipment or install the call recording option on their private mobile equipment. This service can be provided by an authorized telephone company, and would allow both agents and their superiors to access calls made in real time, and thus be able to offer solutions more effectively.
This service can be installed in a few days and without the need of a telephone company intelligence agent. By having this option on the equipment of your agents, you will be able to keep track of the calls made and, as a consequence, have more organized the technical support that is provided to customers.
Software
Through a high-quality and reliable platform, such as EVOLUTION software, you can create a network that connects company lines with landlines at remote agents’ homes and their mobile devices. Using this technology, you will be able to manage calls made to your company remotely, since these will be answered through the assigned devices no matter where the agent is at that time.
Through this service, your company will be able to continue serving its customers without interruption, providing the information they require in order to solve the problem presented.
Planning
Create an effective plan and schedule that can be applied to remote agents. As there is no direct supervision of the work carried out by the agents while they remain at home, it could possibly happen that the agents are delayed or do not meet their objectives, since they do not have the pressure of a schedule to meet or the presence of a supervisor who is in charge of ensuring that the work is carried out in the estimated time.
To avoid this, you can create a schedule, for which you can get useful tools through the internet.
Using these tools, you can efficiently organize your agents and set a schedule that they must adhere to in order to provide the personalized and effective attention that your customer deserves.
Internal communications
You should not ignore all the activity that is carried out in the internal side of your company. Although the priority of contact centers is based on the relationship and attention provided to the customer, you must also keep administrative work, payroll, and accounts up to date in the same way as if it were office hours.
You should also try to keep in touch regularly with your remote agents, so that they feel your interest in what they are doing and if they are offering the service correctly and effectively.
Some ideas thay might help you:
- Promote healthy games and competitions among your remote agents to keep them active and interested in improving themselves, and be sure to let them know that you recognize their credit when they have done a good job. Staying close to your agents will motivate them to do a better job and to do their best to get it done.
- Let them know that you are there for them and that you will be attentive to any questions that may arise while they are working remotely. Remote agents will be more encouraged to meet their objectives if they can see that their superiors are aware of what they are doing, something that can be missed by not having the physical presence of a supervisor.
- Hold frequent meetings through communication devices to monitor and advise agents so that they can resolve cases that may arise during work.
To sum up
While measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 continue, companies should apply different methodologies in order to keep their teams busy with their daily tasks.
ICR Evolution has useful tools that allow communication between agents and customers to be continuous and effective. Through ICR’s customer service software, its agents will be able to offer quality and good service to their customers from the tranquility of their homes.
Applying these tips in your company will allow you to keep your agents motivated and active while they work remotely; this way you can continue to provide personalized service for those who need it. Working at home can be as efficient as working on the premises of the company.
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