“In the time of hybrid work, care is the new currency,” says Jen Docken, Software Product Marketing Manager at Calabrio.
Unfortunate statistics regarding high stress in modern, hybrid contact centre environments support this statement. Consider the Calabrio Health of the Contact Centre: Agent Wellbeing report. It reveals that:
- 96% of agents feel acutely stressed at least once a week
- 33% of agents feel acutely stressed multiple times a week
The study also highlights the significant reasons behind these worrying figures. For example, 36% of agents struggle with complex customer issues. An incredible 73% say that rising customer expectations are a “top challenge”.
[caption id="attachment_43735" align="alignnone" width="1200"]
Here are some additional statistics from Calabrio's thought-provoking report[/caption]
Yet, maybe the most pertinent data showcases what agents want most. Flexibility (34%), a sense of career path (34%) and more training (24%) are all agent desires.
Many data driven tools and automation aided techniques can cater for these. For instance, the latest workforce management self-service technologies give agents unprecedented schedule flexibility.
Yet, enhancing performance coaching processes is perhaps the best method of meeting agent preferences and preparing the team to deal with rising complexity and expectations. Connecting coaching and Quality Assurance (QA) is an excellent starting place.
Connect Coaching and Quality Assurance
Here is how contact centre coaching initiatives often work. Operations spot a customer experience (CX) metric issue before asking coaches to develop a training programme to overcome it. After working hard to create a programme, coaches deliver it and agents say that they feel more confident in dealing with customer queries. The goal is achieved – or is it?
So, what’s the issue? There is no guarantee that agents will not revert to old habits. In addition, the agents may receive conflicting advice from quality analysts during evaluations and from their performance coaches, causing confusion.
However, if the coaching team works closely with the QA department, they can create a follow-up QA initiative for post-training reinforcement, driving better performance.
Such co-operation is just the tip of the iceberg. The two teams may also unite to isolate and address performance gaps, develop shared performance standards and align training materials. By achieving these goals, contact centres set clear expectations for agents and enhance coaching practices. This serves to better prepare the team for challenging customer queries that can create stress.
Design Shared Performance Standards
Designing shared performance standards and criteria for QA scorecards is no easy feat. During a recent Calabrio webinar, Docken suggested that leaders: “Take a look at company objectives and consider how to align them to the quality programme.” What agent behaviours bring them to life?
Additional research into how these behaviours drive customer satisfaction is a worthwhile initiative. The contact centre is then able to determine the significance of each performance standard and balance the scorecard.