Orion Learning

The physical space provided for you to work in can cause stress.  Cramped conditions, or isolating conditions, a lot of noise interference, poor ergonomic set up, and/or faulty equipment can all contribute to an increase in employee stress level.  You may feel that some of these things are beyond your control; however, there are things you can do to make your workspace less stressful.  Sit Ergonomically

Ergonomics is the study of how workers interact with their workspaces and the equipment they use while at work.  The goal is to determine the most efficient or best way to support this interaction to create the healthiest workers and the most productive working environments.  For example, employees are trained on how to properly lift heavy objects in order to prevent injury.  

If your workstation is not set up ergonomically, you are more likely to get repetitive strain injuries, and overall be less productive.  In this case, what’s best for you is also best for your employer.  There are things you can do to make your workstation more ergonomic.

Ergonomics Checklist: ears, shoulders, and hips should line up vertically; elbows should be bent at a 90 degree angle; hips should be as far back on the chair as possible; knees should be bent at a 90 degree angle; feet should be flat on the floor.

Personalize Workspace

Contact Centers can seem unwelcoming and impersonal.  There may be a number of workstations separated by low cubicle walls that all look alike.  For some, this is not a motivating or welcoming environment. 

If you have your own cubicle or workstation that you don’t share with others, you can personalize your workspace with pictures, and other decorative items.  If you share a workstation with someone on another shift, you will need to be more creative.  You can still bring in a travel mug or water bottle you like, favorite pens, etc – any items that will make you feel more comfortable in your workspace.  Of course, you don’t want to display anything that could make your co-workers feel uncomfortable, or take up too much space.

Combat Isolation

Cubicle walls are good for providing you with the quiet and focus you need to deal effectively with customers, however, they can create a barrier between yourself and your coworkers that can be difficult to overcome.  Agents often feel isolated at work. 

There are things you can do to combat this isolation.  Don’t just sit at your desk during break times.  Go to the break room and hang out with, talk to, and joke around with your co-workers.  When you have a longer break time, consider going for a walk with a colleague.   You can also talk to your supervisors.  It is their job to support you.  Agents are often divided into teams to try to deal with feelings of isolation. Joint training opportunities and team meetings will help to combat feelings of isolation and help agents know that they are part of a larger group.

A summary is a brief rundown covering the main points that you covered in the conversation.  This is a great tool to use as a contact center agent to confirm understanding between you and the person with whom you’re speaking to.

Steps to Conversation Summarization

Eliminate differences in perception. You will need to perceive critically, check your perceptions, reduce uncertainty, and be culturally sensitive.

Use simple language or at least language you know that the listener will understand. Avoid the use of jargon and ambiguous words.

Set the right environment by removing distractions and removing noises.

Make effective use of body language.

Provide constructive feedback, but go easy on argument and criticism.

Put the person at ease by being sensitive to his or her point of view.

Ask questions to clarify and ensure that you understand what is being said.

According to Albert Mehrabian, communication can be broken down into the following:

7% of communication consists of spoken words

38% of communication consists of tone of voice

55% of communication consists of non-verbal behavior

With such a large portion of communication coming from non-verbal behaviors, it is important to pay attention to them. Static Features

Distance: The distance a person stands from another person conveys a message. In some cultures, distance is a sign of attraction, while for others it may reflect status.

Orientation: People present themselves in various ways during conversation, including face-to-face, side-to-side, and even back-to-back.

Posture: Different postures convey the degree of formality or relaxation that exists during the communication exchange.

Physical Contact: Examples of this include hand shaking, touching, holding, embracing, pushing or back patting. They all convey different messages, usually of intimacy or attraction.

Dynamic Features

Facial Expressions: Facial expressions continually change during interaction and are constantly noticed by the listener. Some of these expressions have similar meanings across cultures, while others do not.

Gestures: Hand movements are the most frequently observed non-verbal behaviors. Some gestures have universal meanings, while most must be learned.

Eye Contact: This is one of the major features of social communication. It can convey emotions, signal when to talk or finish, or aversion.

Kinesics Kinesics is the interpretation of various body movements as part of communication.

Forward & Backward Movements: If you extend a hand straight forward during an interview or tend to lean forward, you are good for an organization that needs energy or a big change.

Vertical Movements: If you tend to draw yourself up to your tallest during a handshake, you are seen to be good at presenting and selling yourself.

Companies use customer demographics to help them determine the following:

Core customers

Groups that use their products or services

What can be done to better meet the needs of customers

What product or service changes might appeal to customers

How to gain new customers

How they should direct their marketing projects and who the target audience should be

Once you have determined your customer base it is time to determine your service strategy. Undifferentiated Strategy:

All customers are treated the same. 

No efforts are made to satisfy particular segments, or groups.

Identical promotional material is sent to all customers.

Concentrated Strategy:

Particular segments or groups are focused on or targeted, while other groups are ignored, or left to be served by competitors.

Promotional material is used to advertise benefits to only a specific segment or group.

Differentiated Strategy:

An effort is made to target a wide variety of customer types and needs by providing multiple product and service options.

Attempts are made to meet the needs of as many segments of the population as possible.

Different promotional material is created for different groups, which are aimed at meeting that group’s specific needs.

Another useful way to think about your customers is to divide them into internal and external groups.  External Customers:

External customers can be thought of as the general population, or any customer that does not work for the same company as you.

 External customers come from outside of your company. 

These are the customers who spend their money on your products and services.

There is no set captive audience when dealing with external customers.

Internal Customers:

Internal customers are the people you serve who work within your company. 

This could include co-workers, supervisors, managers, other departments, etc.  They have no options. 

They are relying on you to provide them with excellent service.

Benefits of KMS in Contact Center Environments

Information Sharing: KMS allow for the easy sharing of information.  There may be places for agents to post and access tips, share and read articles on best practices, etc. as well as access product and service databases

Meeting Customer Expectations: Customers have come to expect immediate answers to their questions. Agents can provide answers quickly by searching the knowledge database

Easy Access to Very Large and Changing Body of Knowledge: Agents may be responsible for providing information on a very wide range of products.  This information may change from day to day.  KMS allows for easy access to information and allows for easy product information updating. 

Ability to Better Meet Metrics: The ability to provide quick answers to a variety of questions will help both First Call Resolution Rates and Average Handle Times.  This will also help reduce employee stress.

Knowledge Retention: Employees can post solutions and tips.  Even if an employee leaves, the knowledge they have shared in the database is still accessible.

Greater Consistency of Information Provided: Agents can all access and pass on the same, accurate information to customers, creating a higher level of consistency. The information the customer receives no longer relies as much upon individual agent knowledge, but rather how well the agent can use the KMS.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the overall strategy companies use to guide or oversee interactions with their customers.  The goal of CRM is to use technology and software programs to integrate and automate business processes.  The idea is that this integration will create a service-oriented customer experience, as well as increase profitability. CRM software is used to manage customer relationships in sales, marketing, customer service, and offers features specific to each, and some features used by all, such as analytics and workflow. Common Features of Customer Service CRM Software

Store/Share Customer Information: allows you to easily access, add, change, and save contact information; allows you to access and create customer histories and see updated account activity.

Store/Share Knowledge Base: allows you to access stored service and product information, articles on best practices, tips from supervisors and other agents, and to post your own advice for others to benefit from. (Please note: many contact centers have a Knowledge Management Systems separate from the CRM).

Scheduling: allows you to view work calendars and resource availability in order to best schedule service for customers; allows you to check your own work schedule.

Workflow: allows you to use rule-based procedures to escalate contacts, assign particular activities to specific agents, easily access and review proper procedures.

Tools Used to Monitor Quality in Contact Center Environments

Call Monitoring: Supervisors can monitor calls in different ways, from casual side-by-side style observation to the recording and analysis of customer-agent conversations.  Supervisors will be assessing things like the agent’s communication, problem solving, and interpersonal skills, as well as the agent’s knowledge of products and services.  Supervisors may make personal suggestions to help agents improve, design team training session, and/or complete performance reviews based on their observations.

Mystery Customers: Mystery customers are hired to pose as normal customers, perform certain tasks, and then provide detailed reports back to management staff about the customer experience they had.  Mystery customers may be required to ask specific questions, buy specific products, complain, or even be deliberately difficult.  They may be reporting on the overall experience or just certain aspects of their experience.

Metrics: Simply put, metrics are numerical measurements.  Contact centers collect numerical data in many areas in order to measure and analyze service quality and agent performance.

Abandon Rate: the number of calls that hang-up before connecting to an agent. Generally speaking, the faster a call is answered, the smaller the abandonment rate. Calculation: Abandoned Calls/ Total Incoming Calls

Have you ever considered whether remote agents would work well in your call center environment?  Here is some food for thought!

Virtual Call/Contact Centers: home-based agents are linked to a centralized contact center via the Internet. Benefits of Employing Remote Agents:

Lower Churn Rate: agents are happier working at home, so companies are able to keep agents longer.  This saves money required to hire and train new staff and improves customer service as agents become more and more experienced.

Increased Customer Satisfaction: due to the lower churn rate, customers receive better service from experienced agents, creating increased feelings of customer satisfaction.

Lower Overhead Costs: companies can expand their workforce without needing to expand their office space.

Concerns about Employing Remote Agents:

Distractions: agents may become distracted by children, housework, television, etc.  Employers may insist that all remote agents have an office space that is separate from the main living space in the home.

A contact center agent’s ability to ask the right question at the right time is as important as being a good listener. By using the right questions in a particular situation, you can improve many communication skills. Uses of Questions           

Learning: To learn information, you can ask open, closed and probing questions.

Relationship Building: People typically respond positively if you ask about what they do or ask for their opinions. If you do this in an affirmative way, you will help to build and maintain open dialog.

Managing & Coaching: To help people reflect and commit to courses of action that you have suggested, you can use rhetorical and leading questions.

Avoiding Misunderstandings: You can use probing questions to seek clarification and avoid jumping to conclusions. This is particularly important when the consequences are significant.

Defusing Heated Situations: You can deal with angry customers by asking them questions. By doing this, you can get more details about the problem or issue that they are experiencing. As well, you will be able to distract them from their emotions and identify a small practical thing that you can do to defuse their anger.

If you write clearly, you express your message in a familiar and meaningful way to the reader. Whenever possible, use short, common, simple words to say what you mean. Tips to Clear Writing

Avoid Jargon: Jargon refers to the use of words that are typically known only by someone who is familiar with a particular industry or organization.  For example, contact center agents will typically know what AHT refers to, but someone from outside of this industry may not know.  A doctor would not usually tell his or her patient that he/she is experiencing a ‘code blue’.  ‘Code blue’ would be jargon specific to health care and would therefore not be understood by someone who does not work in or have any experience in that industry. Only use jargon when you are writing to someone who you know will not only understand but also expect that you use jargon.

Use Concrete Nouns: Concrete nouns name objects that are easily imagined. In business, it is important that you help the reader visualize what you mean by using concrete language whenever possible.  The opposite of concrete nouns would be the use of abstract nouns.  Abstract nouns are things that describe an idea, concept, or a quality.  Abstract nouns are generally difficult for people to visualize.  Concrete nouns are things such as desk, chair, or laptop.  These types of nouns are very easy for people to visualize.  With the use of concrete nouns in your writing, you’ll have more success in getting your message across to your readers.

What are Case Notes? Case notes are records of important details about interactions with customers. They help to document the different steps you have taken to resolve a problem or any outstanding issues that may still be taking place. Case notes are used by your colleagues to follow up on any customer issues in your absence or in the case where you are unable to provide a solution. They are a good communication tool for you to use with your colleagues. Why are Case Notes Important?

Allows for activity assessment

Since case notes summarize interactions between customers, you can easily pinpoint any problems or barriers linked directly to your activities

Allows for case management

Case notes track and report customer contact in progress. Issues can be dealt with before they become bigger problems

Maintains accountability

Case notes allow for internal accountability to be maintained, since customer interactions can be monitored

Professional & ethical responsibility

People who work in services need to maintain good records as an ethical requirement. Case notes can help you keep updated records

Allows for information sharing

Internally, case notes let important data and outstanding issues be shared so that your organization can provide good customer service

Even with a diligent security plan, and conscientious internet surfing, the use of third party applications can allow for personal information, especially email addresses, to be traded and sold by third party application creators.  One of the most prominent results of this information becoming known is a proliferation of junk mail, or unsolicited e-mails, and an increased susceptibility to phishing scams.

Phishing:

The criminally fraudulent method of trying to obtain sensitive data by masquerading as a trustworthy source in the form of an email or other electronic communications.

Since the majority of people know enough not to reveal sensitive personal information like passwords, or bank account and credit card numbers, phishers often have to trick their victims into giving up the data.

By using emails with the logos or legitimate messages from actual companies, phishers will replace links or email addresses with their own fraudulent links and addresses in order to obtain your information.

The phishing message will often contain a message that elicits a sense of urgency in the victim to act immediately.  The following are ways in which phishers often elicits responses from their targets: Threaten victims with account cancellation if they don’t respond immediately, thanking victims for purchases that they never made, or asking victims to reset their username and password.

The point of a phishing email is to gain information by having the victim act before they think.

In all of these situations the victim is being threatened with some sort of loss or disruption so that he or she will be more willing to follow the phisher’s link and provide information in the hopes of resolving the issue.

Phishing Methods and Phrases:

In order to appear even more authentic, phishing messages will contain links that appear to go to a legitimate web site, but instead:

1)      The victim will be taken to a fake scam site. 2)      A pop-up window will appear that looks identical to the official site, but it actually part of the phishing site.

There are some phrases that you can look for if you suspect that an email might be part of a phishing scam:

“Verify your account”

Real businesses will not ask you to send your passwords, social security numbers, login names, or other personal data via email.

For example, if you receive an email from Microsoft requesting your credit card or banking information, do not respond.  Microsoft would not ask for such information through an email communication.  This is a phishing scam.

“You have won the lottery”

There is a common phishing scam called the ‘advanced fee fraud’ that is perpetrated using the promise of large cash winnings.

By promising victims that they have won a large sum of money in a lottery, phishers ask for a smaller sum of money as an advanced fee that is to be paid before the winnings can be delivered.  In reality, there are no lottery winnings that will ever be delivered.

This scam often makes reference to large or prominent companies like Microsoft.  In reality, there is no Microsoft lottery.

“If you don’t respond within 48 hours, your account will be closed”

This type of message is created in order to produce a sense of urgency in order to elicit an immediate response from the victim.

Dealing with difficult people can be stressful in any profession and is a great skill to master. It is especially important for contact center agents, who come into contact with a great number of people throughout each working day, to have strategies and supports in place to help them deal with customers who are difficult.   A customer may be considered difficult for different reasons.  Abusive Customers

Most angry customers can be dealt with by acknowledging their feelings, offering an apology, and then focusing on solving their problems quickly and thoroughly.  However, there are times when this isn't enough.  Customers may become abusive, or try to demean, intimidate, or control you.  They do this by using vulgar language, yelling, refusing to listen, insulting you, and/or even threatening you.  It is important to know what to do in these situations.

Keep Cool: when customers are being abusive, it is important that you keep your cool.  If you respond with anger, the situation will likely only get worse.  Take a deep breath and try to not take any comments or insults personally. 

Stand Your Ground: be firm.  Tell the caller that if he or she continues to insult you, use vulgar language, and/or yell; you won't be able to continue with the call.  Remind the caller that you want to help fix the problem, however, if he or she continues to be abusive, you may want to remind the caller that you are documenting the call.  Sometimes, if people know they are on the record, they will behave more appropriately.  If the caller continues to be abusive, you need to follow through with what you said, and hang up on the caller.  Tell your supervisor about the situation immediately.

Follow Escalation Policy and Procedures: contact centers have policies and procedures in place in order to best serve their customers and protect their workers.  They may vary from contact center to contact center, however, all agents are expected to know and follow them.  Make sure you know what you are expected to do when you are faced with an abusive customer.  You may be expected to escalate, or transfer the call to your supervisor immediately, or to call the customer back at a later time.  If you are unsure what your policy or procedure is, make sure you find out from your supervisor.

Chatty Customers

Some customers are very chatty.  Although it is important to build rapport with your callers, it is also important to keep customers on track, solve problems quickly, and then, help out other customers.  After all, you do need to be concerned about average handle times.  You don't want to be rude, however, you need to get chatty customers off of the line.  Here are some tips for dealing with chatty customers.

Recognize Chatty Customers Early: If you recognize chatty customers early on, you can use these other tips to keep them on track from the get go.

Avoid dead air time: Chatty customers will fill any quiet time, so when you are doing something, describe what you are doing as you go or ask the customer relevant and professional questions to keep on track.

Don't interrupt, but:  when there is a pause, acknowledge what the customer said,  then immediately get back on track by commenting on or asking about his or her account or other relevant information .

Use Time Wisely: When the customer is chatting, you need to listen, however, you may also be able to use that time to fill in any necessary fields in your customer management software, such as taking call notes.

10 Principles of Electronic Information Protection

There are 10 principles that have been set out by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada that have helped set the ground rules for the collection of personal data by the private sector in Canada.  All Canadians are protected by the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, which provides privacy responsibilities that must be adhered to by private businesses and organizations.

Principle 1: Accountability When an organization is responsible for personal information, it is the company’s responsibility to ensure that there are individuals charged with the business’ compliance to the following principles.

Principle 2: Purpose Prior to the collection of personal data, the purpose for the data collection must be identified by the organization.  Frivolous reasons or unstated and concealed purposes are unacceptable motives for an organization to collect personal data.

Principle 3: Authority The organization must gain the authority to collect, use, or disclose personal information by obtaining the knowledgeable consent of the individual whose data is in question.There are certain circumstances where it is unacceptable to collect or share personal data.  These may include situations involving legal, medical or security matters.

Principle 4: Restricted Collection The collection of personal data should be restricted to only include information related to the stated purpose(s) of the organization.Only lawful and fair means should be used in the collection of personal information.  Personal data should not be collected using deceptive means.

Principle 5: Restricted Use Personal information should only be used or disclosed for the reasons explicitly stated during its collection.  Any use or disclosure of personal information for purposes other than those explicitly stated must be either consented to by the individual or as required by law.  Personal information should be retained for no longer than is necessary to fulfill the organization’s stated purpose(s).

Principle 6: Accuracy All personal information should be as complete and up-to-date as reasonably possible for the purpose for which it is being used.

Principle 7: Safeguards Appropriate security safeguards must be in place in order to protect personal information.  Safeguards should protect against the following (depending on the situation): loss, theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, duplication, use, or modification.  The highest levels of security should be reserved for the most sensitive information.

Methods of protection include: 1.       Physical Security: Locked file cabinets, restricted access to areas. 2.       Organizational Security: Security clearances, limited access. 3.       Technological Security: Passwords, encryption.

The maintenance and protection of personal information is the responsibility of the organization and its employees. The disposal or destruction of personal information should be handled with due consideration in order to ensure that unauthorized parties do not gain access to personal data.

Principle 8: Transparency The specific policies and practices of an organization’s methods of handling personal information should be made readily available.

Principle 9: Access Any individual shall be informed of the existence and use of his or her personal information upon request.  Furthermore, an individual shall be given access to this information upon request.  Individuals have the right to challenge the correctness and completeness of the information, and have any necessary information amended.  Any exceptions regarding an individual’s access to the information should be specific and narrow.  The reason for a request denial should be provided to the individual upon request.  Reasons for exceptions to access: Information may be too costly to provide, may contain references to other individuals, or may create security, legal, or proprietary concerns that outweigh the importance of the individual’s request.

Principle 10: Challenges Individual challenges regarding compliance with the above principles shall be made to designated individual(s) responsible for the organization’s compliance.

What is not covered in this Act?

Any collection or use of personal data by federal government organizations (as listed under the Privacy Act).

Provincial or Territorial governments and agents of the crown.

An employee’s name, telephone number, business address, or title.

The collection, use, or disclosure of personal data for personal purposes (ex. Greeting card list).

The C.A.C.T.U.S. model provides a system made up of 5 categories that help establish the needs and values of customers. Consistency:

Reliability is not exclusive to any one business or industry.  Regardless of the products or services you are selling, providing a consistent and helpful experience is a key customer need.

Consistency has different elements including timeliness, honesty, regularity, and accuracy.

In order to ensure that your customer will leave any transaction happy and satisfied you need to be able to do what you say you will do.  This means responding to customer needs quickly, correctly, and with the proper amount of follow through.

No matter how good the products and services are that you are providing, if the customer can’t trust that you will fulfill his or needs with a high degree of reliability and accuracy, then you will not have done your job to the best of your ability.

Assurance:

The customer needs to be assured that you are both knowledgeable about the products and services that you are providing and how they met his or her needs.

This assurance comes from sales agents who are knowledgeable about the products and services that they are providing, and are confident in their ability to meet customer needs.

Customers can also gain assurance by witnessing a sales agent that demonstrates professional and credible behavior.

Other issues including competence, respect, honesty, confidentiality, and information security, can help a customer feel assured that he or she is receiving the best sales experience possible.

Compassion:

Compassionate service can be a sure-fire way to convey to customers that their needs are understood.

Empathetic phrases and actions allow customers to feel at ease and taken care of. 

Needs can only be met by those that truly value the customer.  This is done through empathy and an understanding that is an essential part of a compassionate approach.

Compassion is also useful when dealing with difficult customers who do not make their needs known.  By providing consideration and kindness, sales agents are better able to gain the trust of customers, who will in turn be more forthright and honest with their needs and concerns.

Tangible Materials:

When it comes right down to it, customers need products and services that work well. 

By improving the user-experience and ensuring properly working products customers will have their tangible needs met.  This element of the customer experience cannot be overestimated.

Conversely, it is also important to have properly working facilities, programs, and computer networks in your contact center to ensure that you are able to actually fulfill customer requests when they are made.

The true needs of a customer may never be uncovered if there are technical problems that impede the sales agent from doing his or her job with any degree of effectiveness.

Understanding:

Understanding a customer’s needs is crucial in providing the best sales experience possible.

This understanding can be done with empathetic words and phrases, but also by providing timely and accurate information.

By creating the sense of a truly individualized experience, customers will feel comfortable, which will in turn allow them to more easily convey their needs.

Finally, you will become a better sales agent if you are able to put yourself in the shoes of your customers and understand their motivations, frustrations, and the reasons behind their actions to the best of your abilities.

Service:

All customers want their problems fixed quickly and effectively.

By going out of your way to provide optimal service, you will be able to meet the primary customer need that exists; the need to have their problem resolved.

Demonstrating superior customer service and problem resolution abilities, customers will be able to focus on their own concerns and not have to address service-related concerns.