Tag: Growth

Call center workflows can help you automate tasks, free up your agents’ time, stay financially lean, and ensure that customer inquiries are handled on time. 

However useful they may be, though, you don’t need a million workflows to get your call center going. Just the right ones.

Pro-Tips for Implementing the (Free) Workflows Below

First and foremost, you can grab any of the frameworks below as they are and start using them. However, every business is different, and yours will likely show particularities you need to integrate into your workflows. Take a bit of time to review and adjust each template.

One of the main reasons workflows are so helpful is because they connect different departments. Don’t limit them to just your Customer Care team, for instance.

Building a workflow for a call center means you have to align multiple platforms to ensure seamless communication with customers. Start by identifying your customer’s preferred platforms, whether it be traditional phone calls, emails, social media, or live chat. Then integrate them together so information flows freely across all touchpoints. This helps you make sure all customer communications are managed and tracked from one place.

Documenting everything is crucial, even the smallest changes. Without taking notes on what you’re doing or the changes you’re making to a workflow, you’re left with zero traceability and continuity. 

Make sure your entire team is trained, and regularly ask for their feedback. You want to fine-tune your processes to make sure they are up to date with customer demands, business changes, and shifts external to your business.

A mistake to avoid when using call center workflows is being too rigid. Your workflows should be a blueprint, not a robotic template. At the end of the day, every customer interaction is unique, and your team should know how…

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The most basic hosted IVR plans can cost as little as $20 per user per month. For more advanced cloud-based IVR systems, prices can go up to several hundred dollars per user per month. On-premise IVR systems involve a larger upfront investment, ranging from $5,000 for the most basic setup to $100,000 or more for advanced systems. There are also ongoing maintenance costs to consider.

The key factors influencing call center IVR pricing are whether the system is on-premise or hosted, the number of users (with volume discounts often available), the number of phone lines or numbers required, the payment terms (annual versus monthly), and the specific features needed. For example, adding features such as advanced voice recognition and integration with proprietary systems will increase the cost.

We’ll cover pricing for these categories:

• Outbound IVR
• Inbound IVR
• Hosted IVR
• On-premise IVR

Keep in mind that these are ballpark figures to help you understand what to expect when it comes to IVR pricing. Actual costs can vary based on your specific requirements and your chosen vendor. 

The Most Common IVR Pricing Structures

Different IVR pricing structures cater to different business needs. Read on for a breakdown of the most common types of IVR pricing structures.

VoIP IVR Pricing

Many VoIP providers include IVR features in their call center plans. These are typically structured around monthly fees and vary from basic to advanced plans, calculated per user or per line. This option is ideal if you’re looking for a modern, internet-based solution that offers a variety of features. 

Hosted IVR Pricing

This is a popular choice for many small and medium-sized businesses due to its lower upfront costs and scalability. Hosted IVR solutions are cloud-based and involve a subscription-based pricing model. Hosted IVRs are an excellent…

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Ever wonder what your website looks like on a smartphone? There’s a simple way to do it even if you don’t have your phone handy. Use your computer. It’s easy to do and we’ll show you how.

And if you want to see the desktop view of your website on your phone? We’ll walk you through that, too. We’ll even show you the options for different ways to view your site using website builder tools.

Use Desktop Browser View to See the Mobile Version of Your Site

Popular browsers like Google Chrome and Safari have many semi-secret features that most casual users don’t know about. One of those is the ability to view the mobile version of a website from your desktop computer.

Why should you care? According to analytics firm Statista, nearly 60 percent of website traffic comes from people using mobile devices—and this doesn’t even include those using tablets. Knowing this, you can’t afford to give your mobile visitors a subpar experience.

If you have or manage a website, especially one with an ecommerce component, you want to make sure your site is mobile-friendly. The easiest way to identify issues is to see how your site looks when viewed on a smartphone. The more responsive your site, the better the visitor experience.

Every popular browser lets you see your site through the “eyes” of a mobile phone. While the interfaces vary among browsers, all make it easy to do. Let’s take a look at how this works in two of the most popular browsers, Google Chrome and Safari.

View your mobile site on Google Chrome desktop browser

Step 1 – Open the Inspect Element tool

There are four ways to access the Inspect Element tool in Google Chrome.

Option 1:…

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When it comes to keeping customers on the line, there are four key call center IVR (Interactive Voice Response) practices that make a real difference. These practices are vital because they address common reasons why customers hang up—and can help you prevent customer hangups in the future. We’ll break down these four practices, explaining what they are and why they’re effective, and we’ll give you the exact steps to start implementing them in your call center.

4 IVR Best Practices That Stop Customer Hang Ups

1. Make It Easy To Reach a Live Agent

What it is: With this strategy, you provide an option within your IVR menu that allows customers to bypass automated responses and speak with a human agent.

Why it prevents hang ups: Technology is great, but sometimes customers want to talk to a real person. According to a retail communication report by First Orion, more than half of U.S. consumers prefer phone calls for complicated issues, underscoring the importance of human support in customer service.

By offering a live agent option, you’re there for customers who want a more personal touch or don’t like dealing with automated menus. This can be particularly helpful for complex or sensitive situations. 

And again, some customers just don’t want to interact with an automated system, no matter how well it’s set up. Giving them an option to speak to a rep will go a long way in keeping them happy.

How to implement it: To set this up, include an option in your IVR menu, such as “Press 0 to speak to a customer service agent.” Make sure your system is programmed to quickly reroute these calls to an available customer service representative. You should also keep an eye on how many calls go to your…

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Although call masking can be used to keep some phone numbers hidden, it’s nice to know who is calling you the rest of the time. One of the lesser-known ways of doing so is to have your device announce caller names out loud. Not only can this save you time, but it can also help you determine whether or not a call is legitimate. 

The way to enable this feature differs across device types, platforms, and hardware models. However, there are still some basic step-by-step instructions you can follow for announcing caller names on all major phones and operating systems—as well as some other platforms.

Just remember, some limitations may apply depending on your mobile carrier, device model, hardware type, and country. In any case, we’ll call out any caveats as they come up so you can enable this feature seamlessly and never have to wonder who is calling again when your phone rings. 

Announce Caller Name on Apple Devices

Apple offers a few different options for announcing incoming caller names on iPhones and other devices running iOS.

Use Siri on Your iPhone

The built-in Siri voice assistant can speak caller names for incoming calls on compatible iPhones. The following steps will help you enable it.

• Step 1: Open the Settings app and select Siri & Search. Make sure Listen for “Hey Siri” is enabled. This allows Siri to listen to your voice commands while your screen is unlocked.
• Step 2: Depending on your device, toggle or open the Announce Calls setting to have Siri read the name of the person calling you. You may have the option for Siri to announce calls all the time, whenever you are connected to headphones or a car’s audio interface, or only when you are connected to headphones. 

You…

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Sales and technical support teams are like little armies protecting a company’s reputation. Call center representatives, meanwhile, are like field commanders who answer calls, troubleshoot issues, and track all of their progress to protect the company and its customers.

But being a call center representative requires a lot of skills related to marketing, sales, and management—and it’s also a highly stressful job at times—so it’s not always clear why someone would go after such a challenging position. However, when the market is competitive, being a really good call center representative can lead to huge opportunities down the line.

Even today, certain technologies are already advancing and affecting the competitive landscape of call centers in new ways. 

For example, modern chatbots and self-service menus are removing the need for many call center agents to deal with some of the easiest and most repetitive customer support tasks, leaving only the more advanced customer issues for them to handle. This means that highly skilled human agents are becoming more important than ever—especially at a time when 64% of customers will switch their loyalty to brands with proper phone-based customer service. 

When it comes down to it, customer service centers present many opportunities for agents who possess the right skill sets, and the jobs themselves have low barriers to entry along with high flexibility and tons of room for career advancement. 

That said, if you’re a first-time call center job seeker and you’re wondering what to expect from the application process, just know that the right tips and tricks can pave the way to a pretty comfy career.

Tip 1: Choose the Right Type of Call Center

The term “call center” is a catch-all for at least four main types that you can apply to—namely inbound, outbound, blended, and offshore call centers….

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Call screening lets you learn who’s calling before you respond to incoming calls. It’s like looking through the peephole before opening the door. Doing so, you’re able to eliminate unwanted spam and scammers and save precious time.

Wondering how you can screen calls? Good ol’ Google has got your back.

Well, mostly. Unfortunately, Google’s call screening service isn’t available in all countries or devices.

Despite this drawback, it still has a lot of good going for it. If you want to learn how you can leverage Google’s call screening features, you’re at the right place. Here, we have a comprehensive guide on how you can screen calls using Google.

Here’s How Call Screening Really Works. And Why You Need It.

The best thing about Google’s call screening feature is that it doesn’t require WiFi or mobile data to work. Instead, it uses your device’s own technology to screen calls.

The advantages of not relying on the internet include:

• Your caller’s information and your response remain private
• Call screening works even when your data or WiFi are turned off

Call Screen is powered by Google Assistant. Once you turn this feature on using the Google Phone app, the assistant answers calls from unsaved contacts before you even have to speak. It will ask for the caller’s name and reason for calling along with introducing itself as your assistant.

In the meantime, you will see a real-time transcript of the caller’s response on your screen. Based on that, you can choose to answer the call, send it to voicemail, hang up, block, or report the number.

Google Assistant also gives you a handful of responses you can give to the caller such as:

• Is it urgent?
• I’ll call you…

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If you’re busy managing or running a business, the last thing you want to be stuck doing is manually testing your IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system.

Fortunately, there are several IVR testing tools that can do it for you. This means you won’t have to conduct your own simulated phone calls for every navigation option of your automated phone menu. Plus, with the IVR testing tools doing the work for you, any problems it finds can be fixed before your customers ever notice them.

To get the most out of testing, however, you may need to take some time to understand the different types of tests, why they are used, and how to interpret their results. That said, implementing an IVR testing tool typically comes with long-term savings. With the right tools, you can catch issues that are easy to miss, reduce the number of incoming calls your support agents need to manage, and increase customer satisfaction.

Why IVR Testing Tools Are Important

Without properly testing your IVR, customers can get frustrated by confusing menus, poor routing, and unhelpful outcomes that overload live support agents. This can create a negative perception about your company, impact key metrics like first-call resolution, and drive up operational costs both for your call center and its underlying internet network.

Meanwhile, the right tools can make testing your IVR way more efficient—first and foremost, by automating use case validation. After that, you can also use tools to check for speech recognition accuracy, routing logic, audio quality, and more. Many of these tests are extremely tedious, especially if you have high call volumes or certain issues that might only crop up at scale.

If you truly care about creating a better customer experience, then investing time in IVR testing tools is…

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Call center shrinkage refers to the lost productivity and efficiency that call centers experience due to factors like high employee turnover, absenteeism, and poor training. It’s estimated that the average rate of call center shrinkage falls between 30% and 35%, leaving a big impact on a given center’s productivity.

Naturally, most call center managers seek ways to reduce or avoid shrinkage—because it directly impacts their bottom line.

However, many of the common tactics used to lower shrinkage (such as monitoring bathroom breaks) can actually demoralize employees. This, unsurprisingly, can further lead to increased turnover rates as employees feel micromanaged.

Nevertheless, there are better ways to improve the productivity of your call center without keeping an eye on your employees 24/7. The key is to find the right balance by using proven techniques appropriately, ultimately leading to happier, more engaged teams and greater customer satisfaction overall.

How to Calculate Call Center Shrinkage

To understand how much shrinkage your call center faces, you first need to calculate it. The formula is relatively simple:

Call Center Shrinkage = 1 – (Actual Staff Time Worked / Potential Staff Time Available)

Imagine a call center with 50 agents working 40 hours per week.

The potential staff time available would be as follows: 50 agents x a 40-hour work week = 2,000 hours per week.

However, the call center may actually only have agents actively on the phone for a total of 1,500 hours in a week after accounting for breaks, meetings, sick days, and other miscellaneous reasons.

In this case, the shrinkage would be calculated as follows:

1 – (1,500 actual hours worked / 2,000 potential hours) = 1 – 0.75 = 0.25, or 25% shrinkage.

This call center is losing a quarter of its potential productivity to shrinkage factors. Of…

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