WALKING THE CALL CENTER FLOOR

WALKING THE CALL CENTER FLOOR




I've helped a number of call centers move from a "walking the floor" type of support to an "internal help desk". They have accomplished this by creating a hotline that is staffed with team leaders or specialists handling internal calls from agents that have a customer on hold. While it takes some getting used to, there are three potential benefits to this:
1. Data can be kept on the kinds of issues that are causing agents problems, and training can be developed to address these issues
2. Help line volumes can be tracked and then staffed appropriately -- this can reduce talk time as agents no longer have to "queue up" to get support
3. Team Leaders and Supervisors can be more productive when not manning the hotline, as the number of interruptions are reduced
That first benefit is a big one -- call centers that can reduce the need for support will wind up with more satisfied customers and more productive agents. It's important to make sure the hotline is staffed appropriately, though. If not, too much time will be spent on hold, and that won't sit well with customers.