We hear about the voice of the customer a lot these days when it comes to programs and initiatives that enhance customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and the overall customer experience. However, the voice of the contact center agent is just as important–and a critical component to any successful customer experience or customer loyalty endeavor.
Here are six top reasons why:
Agents are the first to know when things are broken. Because of the sheer amount of interactions contact center agents have with customers, they know when things are broken before anyone else in the company. Their input, especially early in a campaign, can serve as a good read on what’s working and what’s not. This offers a window of opportunity to make key adjustments that could make the difference between a successful campaign and an unsuccessful one.
Agents have the best feel for where customers are coming from. Agents understand where customers are coming from and what customers are asking for—not only from products or services, but processes as well. Agents understand what is missing in the current environment and what could improve the customer experience.
Happy agents = happy customers. When agents feel energized, effective and that their contributions and opinions are being noticed, it affects how they interact with customers. If morale is low, it can directly affect the customer. A voice of the agent program that coincides with a voice of the customer or customer experience management program ensures both areas are being addressed and that they complement each other.
Let agents tell you what they need to be successful. The contact center agent job can be more stressful than people realize. Ask agents what they need to be successful. It could be more training or coaching. It could be better design of their system screen navigation. Or, it could just be a customer policy that doesn’t make sense to them but causes them to deal with irate customers regularly. An improved explanation of a policy is a relatively simple action that could go a long way toward making an agent more successful.
Find out what their perception of the company is. About 1 percent of the customer base is contacting companies through the contact center—agents are dealing with upset customers all the time. This can affect how they view the company they represent. An agent’s perception could be totally incorrect, but it’s true to them. This has a major impact on how they work with customers and represent the company. By asking them their perception of the company, you have an opportunity to address and correct any mistaken assumptions or views.
It’s an opportunity to boost morale. Few things have as big an impact on morale as agents knowing that their comments and suggestions are being taken seriously. When an agent sees change for the better because of their input, it creates a sense of importance–as it should. Agents will believe in the company, and this will come across to the customer in spades.
Consider incorporating the voice of your agents into your voice of the customer and customer experience programs. It could be the fundamental component that makes your organization’s customer-focused initiatives and customer service experience true differentiators.