When the global pandemic struck, companies around the world scrambled to move to a work from home call center model virtually overnight. Now, many organizations are embracing the flexibility remote work can offer employees as well as the cost savings and other business benefits. And a dispersed workforce makes it easier to ensure a seamless customer experience in any event.
Remote working has reached new heights in recent years. Giving customer call center agents best-in-class work from home tools and practices allows brands to stay up and running even in times of crisis. Weather major global events and natural disasters as well as seasonal fluctuations, promotions, and other unexpected changes with ease. Plus, you can empower a more diverse workforce with flexibility and choice.
Establishing a virtual work from home call center requires a robust and resilient framework for everything from recruiting and hiring talent to ensuring data security. As a top-notch call center management leader with global experience in asynchronous messaging and chat, [24]7.ai knows what businesses need to make the work from home model work for your Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) agents.
Increase your access to talent with virtual recruiting, hiring, and training, and let employees maintain a work-life balance more easily. Create new opportunities for homemakers, retirees, and others looking for flexible work from home employment. Boost satisfaction for customers, too—because happy agents do better work.
Whether you’re responding to a major event or entering a new market, putting proven processes in place to vet, onboard, and engage employees using cloud-based tools and platforms helps to maintain vital human connection. Keeping your team engaged remotely also improves agent productivity, satisfaction, and retention.
Moving beyond the traditional call center allows you to easily adjust to fluid staffing needs due to things like seasonal spikes and promotional events. It starts with empowering your work from home call center agents with tools and technology to serve customers better while maintaining the highest security and compliance standards.
Get up and running in new locations—faster and at a lower cost. Tap into the local talent, set work from home call center agents up with a secure desktop at home, and train them virtually. Streamline processes and reduce your carbon footprint while you’re at it. Stay up and running whatever happens so you can ensure seamless call center customer service.
[24]7.ai has been running call centers for over 20 years. When the pandemic struck, we moved quickly to protect our employees, communities, and clients with WFH solutions. We understand what it takes to succeed in terms of people, processes, and technology.
Call center customer service starts with people, which is why hiring is so important. Streamline the process and identify the best candidates with automated digital assessments for language proficiency, work from home agent technologies, and emotional intelligence. Conduct interviews via a video conferencing platform such as Zoom.
Onboarding, joining, and induction can also be done via Zoom. In addition to virtual introductions and application training to reach proficiency faster, use biometric face registration scanning to ensure agents are the only ones accessing sensitive systems and information. Be sure to include engagement platforms and activities so they know they’re part of a team.
Make sure agents meet some basic requirements, such as having a high-speed internet connection and a space where they can work free from distractions. Next, you need to send them a desktop or laptop computer that’s equipped with security features including multi-factor identification, facial recognition, and encrypted data.
To meet your business goals, it’s important to support ongoing learning and development. This can include online coaching and classes or group training activities. You can even make it fun by gamifying the process with interactive apps, virtual reality, and community events. Don’t forget about management—train your team leads and trainers to drive CX excellence, too.
Meet with your work from home teams regularly to set goals, assess performance, and reward good work. Smart AI-powered tools can help identify opportunities for improvement, and AI detection technology can keep agents productive by making sure they stay focused on their work. Our industry-leading Accelerating Consistent Excellence (ACE) global operating framework forms the foundation for standout performance.
Creating a strong team culture is vital for morale. In the absence of a break-room to chat with colleagues, set up regular online engagement activities to keep your work from home team’s spirits up. Meet your agents where they are with a dedicated messaging platform for contacting team leaders and a 24/7 helpdesk to show they’re valued and supported.
At [24]7.ai, we focus on ensuring consistency in delivering critical KPIs. We support continuous learning through multiple platforms including virtual learning sessions and gamified apps. Our innovative “supervisor as a leader” coach program empowers supervisors to manage performance, engagement, and goals. A single line of command builds high-performing teams and closes the gap between an identified coaching need and improved outcomes. And our automated performance management tool serves as a one-stop-shop for virtual work from home call center team leaders.
We employ our unique ACE framework to consistently deliver results. Key ACE components include holding monthly goal-setting discussions, using analytics to manage agent behavioral quotient (BQ), and keeping teams engaged with regular group activities. We create a culture of coaching through virtual training sessions plus agent incentives and recognition. To support success and drive better outcomes, we provide a performance management playbook and make it easy to centralize control with our all-in-one tool.
Ensuring customer and company data stays completely secure is a core component of any WFH framework. Be sure to follow stringent standards and protocols, including:
Whether you’re looking to ensure business continuity or want to expand your workforce options, we can help with work from home call center agent solutions and best practices expertise. Contact us today to get started.
