Call Center Agent Performance: 3 Ways to Turn Your Agents into Super-Agents

When customers call a business with a question or a problem, they want a solution that is both fast and effective. This means having proficient agents on deck is crucial. While it would be ideal to only hire the “correct” people to work in your contact center (i.e. those who already possess specific skill), that’s not always the reality. Fortunately, it is possible to help any contact center agent develop the skill set they need with these three tips.

Despite the incredible amount of challenges they face every day, contact center agents often have a thankless job. Agents want to do their job well. But they need positive reinforcements, rather than negative feedback all the time. Managers and supervisors can provide this with the right tools, such as agent scorecards.

Call scoring presents a comprehensive view of the agent’s strengths and weaknesses. Team scorecards can also identify knowledge gaps where some agents may need more training. This feedback helps agents feel appreciated and that what they do matters – because it does! It seems like such a simple formula. But when you feel appreciated at work, don’t you feel more invested in your job?

While feedback is important, agents must know how to improve. Simply telling them to “remain calm” with an irate customer is great in theory, but difficult to practice in real life. A call monitoring solution provides agents with methods that are proven to get results based on real-life phone conversations. This makes feedback less abstract and more easily comprehended.

Call transcriptions can also be incredibly useful by giving agents a way to clearly see what language they are using that may be detrimental to their goals and what they should be saying, instead. Agents can then put this information to good use.

Just as the feedback you give your agents is important, the feedback you receive from your agents is also valuable. Contact center agents interact with customers on a daily basis and may have some good ideas on what works and what should be left by the wayside. So give your agents the opportunity to use this knowledge, and be open to their suggestions and concerns.

You can also offer them opportunities to grow in the company with career paths based on their skills. These steps will help agents know their contributions to the company are valued, which will help them become more invested in the company’s success.

Agents who feel confident in their abilities are more likely to perform at higher levels and offer a better customer experience. And since customer expectations are constantly changing, contact center agent training should be ongoing and evolving, as well. Your agents are one of the most important parts of your company – when they succeed, you succeed.