Call Center Best Practices Part #2 – Reduce Call Abandonment

Last week we looked at how your business can support pay-per-call with several call center best practices. We will continue with more tips, which also have the benefit of helping to reduce call abandonment and improve the overall customer experience.

Metrics

Always stay focused on the metrics that matter the most. Tracking call metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) go a long way in maintaining agent performance and reducing call abandonment. Make sure to focus on what matters – average handle time, call abandonment, average hold time, call resolution and service level.

Call Monitoring

Call monitoring or also referred to as quality monitoring is essential to gain a deep understanding of your agent’s performance. Today, there are a number of automated solutions which will monitor agent calls using speech analytics and score 100% of an agent’s calls. That being said, it is always a good idea for a business manager to listen to at least several calls per month per agent so that they can formulate a personalized feedback plan and facilitate ongoing agent support and growth.

Training

Although effective training is a no-brainer when it comes to call center best practices, it is an area that many businesses could improve upon. Take the time to properly train your telephone agents to perform at a high level and have the knowledge that they need to succeed – after all they are the foundation of your organization and the first point of contact for each of your pay-per-call leads. Also, never view training as a one-time thing. On-going coaching helps agents grow and improve – even if they are already top performers. For underperforming agents, leveraging best practices or mentoring from their peers can help get them up to the performance level they need to be at.

Career Path

You want to retain your top sales associates. Not only does their expertise help reduce call abandonment but they also convert a high percentage of your pay-per-call leads. Agents that feel that their career prospects are limited are generally less motivated to perform well versus those that see a clear path progress and advancement. Outline to your agents how high performing behavior can propel their career within your organization.

For more details on how you benefit from reduced call abandonment and pay-per-call marketing, contact a member of our team today.