How To Set Up A Call Center System

Businesses struggling with their ability to handle customer contact volume and their ability to hire additional staff can save money (and increase customer satisfaction) by contracting with a call center.

One way to improve efficiency with your existing staff is to utilize a workforce optimization (WFO) system available through companies like Bright Pattern. This system can give you the tools you need to better train your staff while providing improved and consistent workflows with a streamlined call center management software system. See below for more information.

Identify Target KPIs

The first step is to review your current key performance indicators (KPIs) to see where the pain points are and prioritize areas for improvement. Review these metrics against the company vision, department goals, and written training instructions to ensure the message of expectations to employees is consistent and clear across the board.

Make sure you have a clear, written policy and procedure for handling KPI shortfalls and for incentivizing metrics that exceed expectations.

Appoint A Liaison

Implementation of any new system works best when one person or a small team becomes the point of contact between your organization and the software or hardware company. This reduces redundancy and miscommunication while giving your staff an in-house representative to discuss the impact of changes and needs to be met.

Your liaison will become the repository for information flowing back and forth between companies before, during, and after implementation.

Flowcharts, Procedures, And Lists

Does your department have a written policy and procedure manual, job descriptions, organizational hierarchy chart, or quarterly/annual goals? If not, then now is the time to coalesce tribal knowledge into written procedures and information.

If different people in your organization are communicating conflicting procedures or expectations to the liaison, this can hamper implementation; putting everything down in writing ensures everyone in your organization is on the same page and gives your team the opportunity to discuss changes and updates to the policy that may have been put off in the past.

Create a list of all employees to be included in the optimization project, including names, titles, and contact information. If you’ll be performing an omnichannel optimization, collect logins and passwords for social media accounts to be managed (this is a good time to update passwords if they haven’t been changed in some time).

Reassure Employees

These kinds of implementations can be intimidating to employees who fear to lose their jobs and managers who fear losing control. Frame the implementation project in positive terms, citing forecast growth and issues like empowerment and increased employee satisfaction rather than focusing on punitive measures. Keeping employees engaged with high morale is a crucial necessity for strong customer satisfaction metrics and implementation success.

Set Clear Project Timeline

Once your liaison has transmitted initial information that will enable the optimization team to begin tailoring your system, discuss and agree to a formal timeline of events to provide your employees. Work to build transparency and trust as you move through the project, giving everyone clear expectations and goals within a set timeframe to avoid confusion and reduce complaints.

Then You Wait

Once you’ve implemented your new system, it’s time to step back and let everyone become comfortable with new roles, new duties, and new expectations.

This can take time and patience; schedule routine discussions with your team to make sure your expectations for improved KPIs continue to be reasonable for the situation. Watch for individuals who still are not making measurable advancement, but give the department time to land on their feet and become comfortable with new skills before making any decisions about next steps.

Companies who implement workforce optimization software not only improve internal processes and management skills, but they discover a formula for quality improvements that can translate to other departments as well. If your KPIs are in a rut and you have high turnover in staff, consider revolutionizing your process with a WFO software implementation.