One year old!

Greatest hits!

In honor of my one-year anniversary, I’d like to share some of my favorite posts with you:

• Why you should hire "hackers" to improve your NPS
• Taking your email advisories from zero to hero
• My most popular entry ever! 5 types of reps you need on your team
• What is "service heart" and why do you need it?
• Discover BranchTrack!

Beyond the phone: helping your front line employees grow

Working in a call center is one of the few jobs that employees with little or no formal secondary education can do, and expect to “rise in the ranks” to an “office job”.

There’s a few career paths your employees could take:

Operations:

The most likely path. From agent to team lead to supervisor, and up the ranks. I’ve seen agents go from answering phones to managing accounts in about 5 years or so. Not bad for those who started with very minimal English language skills and no college degree.

Training:

Another very easy path. Agent to SME to trainer to lead trainer, and up the ranks. For those that would like to expand their skill set, or maybe even travel, this is the way to go. This path could lead all the way up to office jobs such as Instructional Designer or Project Manager.

Specialist:

This is a shorter path, but is a good match for those that might want to leverage years in a certain specialized field into consultation one day.

There are some other paths, but those are the options that I’m most familiar with.

Now, how do you help your employees get there?

Talk to them about their goals

                Where do they see themselves in a year? Do they have any work heroes or people they look up to?

Encourage them to get certified, take classes, and continue their education in and out of work

                Many offices offer professional development classes of some kind or another—these can be valuable when applying for internal jobs.

Coach to their strengths

                Rather than hammering away on a skill set they may leave behind in a year or two, focus on how they can develop long term skills like problem solving, leadership, and innovation.

Develop a good relationship with Human Capital or HR/Recruitment

                Your word will count for something when you want to recommend an employee.

Make your employees aware of these paths

                It’s hard to keep people in your team when they feel the job is a dead end. Make sure they’re aware they have options.

Use these tips and resources to make sure your employees stay with you and stay engaged! 

Top 10 reasons your employees are failing at customer service

Top 10 reasons your employees are providing poor customer services

1: They don’t know how to fix the issue

                This is the number 1 reason issues don’t get fixed. Lack of training, constantly changing policies and offers, consistent turnover that means newbies on the floor every 10 days…and so on.

2: They don’t care about fixing the issue

                It may surprise you (it did me!) to learn that many people work for reasons unrelated to “I want to do a good job and achieve something”. Pocket money, meeting romantic partners, having fun, making friends, or just getting a line on a resume may all be the reason Tootums is more interested in taking long breaks than helping your customers.

3: They aren't empowered to fix the issue

                This really grinds my gears. The company breaths down the vendors’ necks to find out why their NPS score is so low…only to find out that there’s a mandatory 7 minute AHT, after which a manager *must* get on the line, no matter how the call is going. (True story!).

4: They are overwhelmed or intimidated by the customer

                Some customers come on the line like a charging rhino- swearing, yelling, threats, huffing and puffing. For many of your reps, who might be 18 year old-s at their first post school job, this can be very upsetting and scary.

5: They have decided that arguing with the customer is more satisfying than fixing the issue

                This is admittedly rare, but for about 5% of reps (usually those in collections, tech support, or sales), they seem to enjoy arguing with the customer more than fixing the problem. Maybe because it’s a change in their boring daily routine?

6: The client company policy is forcing their hand

                Mandatory Early Termination Fees. Low, low, low bandwidth caps. A limit to refunds. A Byzantine return policy. Why, MegaCorp, why?

7: The vendor company (you!) policy is forcing their hand

                Sometimes the policy of the company that handles the outsourcing is at fault. When you count seconds as “over break”, you tend to alienate your labor force.

8: They are distracted by personal issues

                Breakups, family problems, money issues…you know the drill.

9: They literally don’t have the ability

                Also rare, but sometimes a rep is just…wrong for the job. They’re shy, easily confused, not verbally inclined, or just…not over-blessed with brains.

10: The customer is in the wrong or the issue is un-fixable             

                We've all been there. Sometimes the situation doesn't require customer service, it requires triage and patience. And a coffee break. 

7 things you should NEVER accept as a customer---and how to eliminate them.

1: Paying a fee for being broke

                This is just so evil. Late fees above $50 dollars on rent. Bounced check fees resulting from “stacking”. Minimum balance charges. Interest rates that vary depending on your credit. These are the ways unethical companies make money. You shouldn't have to stand for it.

Your move(s): Work with a credit consular or money manager to get less broke, find less predatory companies to work with, publicize the nefarious practices of the Evil Ones, use a service like Manilla to track your bills and payments.

2: Impatient service providers rushing to the solution

                Everyone’s rushed and overworked, especially front line reps at a call center. But it’s their job to hear you out (within reason!)

Your move(s):Sympathy, with an iron edge. "I know you're eager to help me, but I actually need to explain my situation a little bit more before we move to the solution, okay? Thanks."

3: The blowback from the previous rude customer landing on you

                You’re not the a$$hole who just threw your organic coffee at your barista, right? So why are you the one trying to turn her frown upside down?

Your move(s): Sympathy, with a humorous edge. "Wow, that last guy was some piece of work, eh? Well, we're not all like that, I can tell you." If this doesn't work, try yoga breaths, remembering your first job, and just letting it go. 

4: Huge mergers with the potential to significantly lower your quality of life

                Why more people aren't in a froth about banks, cable companies, and tech companies taking over the earth is a mystery to me. It’s going to make your life really, really miserable when ComCast/Time Warner has the power to throttle content from other providers, yet…somehow it’s pushed through.

Your move(s): Short of slowly weaning yourself off cable and the internet over time, I honestly don't know. This is so scary, yet so real. Any ideas? 

5: The first (unreasonable) “no”

                Refunds, rebates, replacements---sometimes you need to push a *little*. 

Your move(s): Just do it calmly and politely, and use the “threat sandwich”. Compliment the product or service, threaten to take your business elsewhere, and then assure the rep that you’re positive something can be worked out…can’t it?

6: Purveyors or service providers who fail to hold up their end of the “bargain”--after you've invested your time or money with them (i.e. 24- hour plumbers not answering the phone after 9 PM to come back and repair the drip they missed the first time)

                You paid for a service or good, not a marker at a blackjack game. Reliable, honest, and consistent service shouldn't be a gamble.

Your move(s): Ask for a recompense for the miss, and failing that, get on Yelp or Twitter and detail your disappointment. 

7: Consistently poor service, performance, or longevity of the product

                One or two incidents in the lifetime of a relationship is no big deal. Monthly or weekly screw-ups, multiple disappointments from the same company, and Houston, we've got a problem. 

Your move(s): Time to change your provider or brand. If you're stuck with a dud product or service (contracts, cable company monopoly), try to work with the company and see if you can improve the problems. If that fails...channel your righteous rage into inventing an alternative. 

Use these 13 expert tips to improve YOUR teams' customer service performance

1: Track numbers

                Telling someone that they’ve improved by 5% since last week is more powerful than a simple “Good Job, keep it up.” Especially for teams with commissions or bonuses at play.

2: Single people out, but list as many names as you can in your reports and emails.

                Everyone likes to read their name. List the top ten, the best in different categories, the most improved, best newbie—don’t list everyone, but give people a reason to scan your email blasts and reports.

3: “Rip” scripts from the floor and distribute them to your team for use.

                When you hear a great phrase—“I wish I could tell you differently, but unfortunately, that’s the case”—a phrase I heard 3 years ago that I can still remember comes to mind—jot it down and use it!

4: Use pop culture

                Whatever your agents are talking about or enjoying on their breaks—from Candy Crush to Breaking Bad—try to incorporate elements of into your reports, emails, and notes.

5: Talk to your people every day

                Things on the production floor change every day. Attrition, personal dramas, updates and upgrades—your agents often know more than you about the rapidly changing face of C/X in a call center.

6: Know your tech

                Technical issues with tools can be the Moby Dick of your C/X scores and results. Know what tools are helping, which are hindering, and the work-around-s.

7: Understand what customer feedback should be ignored

                Be familiar with the issues of policy or product that cause customers to complain. These are generally unrelated to the quality of service being given. Don’t get caught up in giving a low quality or customer service score to an agent simply because the customer complained. Know why they complained.

8: Give your team the benefit of the doubt

                When you first hear some of the things agents say you’ll want to shake them. Over time, however, when you get to know your team, you’ll understand that most of the time they’re really doing their best—they just don’t have the skills or tools to do so. They’ll respond much better to your advice and coaching if you come from a place of generosity.

9: Customize training and feedback

                Use the agent’s name in your comments, track their progress, and give them tips based on their particular strengths and weaknesses. Avoid using empty slogans and ‘value statements’.

10: Offer tips and tricks every day

                Agents often get bombarded with updates from corporate and other emails. Keep a file of quick and easy tips to share every day to stay current and to avoid having your emails pushed to the bottom of the stack by a ton of “Organizational Announcements.”

11: Use SharePoint, Chatter, Yammer, or other enterprise social media

                The fun (sort of) of Facebook or other collaborative sites,  in a contained environment.

12: Use data to find your bell curve of performance

                Know your team. Who’s performing where? Who should you focus on? Who’s your priority?

13: Catch people doing it right

                This is one of the most powerful pieces of advice I was ever given. A thumbs up, a literal pat on the back, a piece of candy slipped onto a desk with a whispered “Great Job”, an extended break after a big sale or extra hard call—all these go a long way to getting the performance you want. Remember: what you focus on, you get more of. 

Are you getting the most out of your up-sell efforts? How to up-grade the up-sell!

While I have you on the phone….A few quick upgrades to help your reps up-sell.

The temperature of the phone call should be warm, not hot.

It seems to be just common sense that your reps shouldn’t be trying to sell upgrades to irate customers, especially those whose issue did not get resolved. However, some companies, for reasons lost to time, have policies in place that require an up-sell attempt on every phone call. If this is the case, we’ll give you a few tips to handle that.

If your reps are allowed to make a judgment call as to who they offer up-sold products to, advise them to offer to neutral customers, customers whose issue was resolved during the call, or happy customers.

The up-sell should match a stated or implied need.

These needs could be in the form of a comment about the product, issues the customer is trying to resolve unrelated to the product (for example, the fact that the cable company won’t string cable to their location could be an opening to up-sell a satellite TV package), or connections you build with the customer (for example, you and the customer commiserate over high interest rates on your car note. Wouldn’t it be nice to get an annotated credit report every month showing you any risk areas?)

The up-sell should (ideally) seem like a friend offering advice or suggestions.

“You know what, Mr. Smith? While I have you on the line, I’d like to let you know about our MaxBuster 2000. You mentioned at the start of this call that rats have chewed through your phone line and you’ve had to call the exterminator 3 times this year. We actually have a subsidiary line of pest control products, and for a small extra charge we’ll have one of our Ratz-no-more professionals come to your house and deploy the product. No muss, no fuss! So, shall we get that set up for you today?”

The up-sell should be part of the *entire* phone call, not Frankenstein-ed on at the very end.

Have your reps build rapport, take note of stated and implied needs, and maybe even hint or allude to the up-sell product before the big end of chat alter call. One of the biggest challenges to overcome with customers is that the up-sell seems so different in tone and delivery than the rest of the call. Your reps are setting themselves up for a “no” when they switch from light and friendly “service consultants” to bitter robots determined to get through the “no” and onto the next failure. Make sure that the set-up moments are sprinkled evenly through the call.

What if your client requires an up-sell attempt on every phone call? (Or has other shot-in-the-foot restrictions?)

If it’s possible, write the reps a script that alludes to this. “Before I finish up today, we’re offering all of our customers our new MegaTornado Insurance Coverage. I know things didn’t go quite as planned on our call, but since this is a great deal, I wanted to make sure you had a chance to take advantage of it.”

Acknowledge that the call wasn’t ideal, that “all” of the customers are getting the offer, and that you’re offering them a deal/value/exciting product. Explain in a few words why you’re making the offer, perhaps even saying something like “Our company wants to ensure all of our customers get a chance to take advantage of this one time opportunity to get 2 Exercise Chairs for the price of 1. Is that something you might be interested in?”

With these few tips, your reps could be well on their way to more effective up-selling in no time.

This one amazing tool will completely change the way you train!

Change up your game! Using branching scenario games to add engaging challenges to your training curriculum.

Branching scenarios are a great way to teach thought processes, behavior, or communication skills, and to show the consequences of choices, all while playing an immersive, challenging, and realistic game.

In order to be successful, the scenario should be realistic and complex, should have a series of cascading choices, and should support two or more choices that appear equally valid for each scene.

Branching Scenarios are so much fun to make and so exciting for the learner that you’ll want to immediately convert all your existing topics into the format.

 The only bad news about Branching Scenarios is that they aren’t a good match for all topics. Like aged cheese, the films of Quentin Tarantino, and opera, they are only for certain audiences.

They work very well for nuanced situations like cultural integration, ethical choices, conversations where word choices are key (such a sales and performance coaching) and customer service interactions that are “off-script”.

I have found through experimentation that this game doesn’t really work to teach fact-based topics, such as “how-to” or “tips”. The end result is very flat with the choices being very obviously right or wrong—no real challenge for the player.

The best fit for Branching Scenarios is a very specific situation where a series of decisions must be made, and these decisions lead to consequences.

You need:

1: A situation that is real, complex, detailed, and specific.

“An irate customer” is the right direction, but we need the same level of detail an associate faces on the floor– account history, product specs, scripting, and tools.

2.  The common mistakes or errors made during the process, and the consequences of same.

If we are teaching our learners to make nuanced choices about sharing confidential documents, get your SME to tell you what happens when an internal power point is leaked, and then write that into your scenario.

3.   A clear, actionable goal.

 “Awareness” or “compliance” is simply not enough.

What specific steps, behaviors, scripts, or actions does the employee need to demonstrate, and how will we know they are being done? Drill down deep to get the real performance objective to build a successful scenario game.

Resource Guide for Branching Scenarios

http://www.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/

This blog is an incredible warehouse of gems on e-learning, instructional design, graphic design, and how to use PowerPoint and Articulate to your best advantage.

http://blog.cathy-moore.com/

This blog will change the way you think about creating training materials. Highly recommended!!

http://www.worldwarfighter.com/hajikamal/activity/

Cathy Moore’s exceptional game. Use as inspiration for where we can go with our Branching Scenario Games!

http://www.branchtrack.com/

Branching Scenario Game tool.

So get out there and start branchin'!!