Are telephone agents over scrutinised?

As soon as we determine the need for a specific job function we begin our scrutiny.  As we design the job description, we break down the role into discreet pieces.

The last thing we want is a workforce that doesn’t know what it’s doing.  By creating separate functions within the job role we can easily identify the components for training and measurement of performance.

In the case of customer service representatives in call centres, the bite size morsels of the job function have become microscopic.

It goes without saying that we need to structure our telephone agent’s role with a script.  We need to ascertain how long it will take an agent to deliver the script.  Average Talk Time feeds into the costing of our service and the payment of our staff.

But we all know there is more to a call than talk time.  Other variables such as time taken to answer a call and after call clerical work contribute to an Average Handling Time.

Average Handling Time is a perfectly reasonable performance measure to monitor.  The enormous volume of ‘like’ calls provides a reliable average.  Significant deviations on both sides of the average should be examined by management.

Coaching might be necessary for agents extending their own average beyond or below the centre’s average.

Sales ratio is another meaningful performance measure.  Despite agent protestations that “sales are a totally random stroke of luck”, with the right technique, agents can turn the odds in their favour.

What’s the other measure we should be taking every possible effort to gauge accurately?  Customer satisfaction.  If we don’t know what our customers think of our service we are in deep yoghurt.

Now we get to the nasties.  Telephone agents will always rile at adherence measures.  And they’ve got a point.  Back office staff and managers don’t get tracked down in the lunch room because they are two minutes late back from their break.  Or monitored by the length and frequency of their toilet breaks.

Adherence is one of the greatest internal causes of stress for call centre staff.  If adherence is a problem it is likely to be a symptom of broader morale and motivation issues.  Get to the bottom of the bigger problem and leave the discipline as a last resort.

Accessibility tips the scale into over scrutiny.  Or more precisely, over communication of our detailed scrutiny.  Accessibility problems could be due to sick leave, unreliable call volume forecasts, work force management errors or a combination of the above.

Accessibility is a management issue not an agent issue.  Blaming the agents for poor accessibility is not a good look for managers.  Drill down into the data and manage the root cause of the problem.

The objective of our scrutiny must be optimal productivity, employee and customer satisfaction and sustainable profitability.  Delve into the detail, but communicate your findings wisely.  Don’t leave staff feeling like an expendable cog in the machine.