By April Forer
Call centers face a variety of challenges in today’s ever-changing environment. When it’s time to upgrade your call center software, the selection process can be overwhelming.
Just like buying a vehicle, there are a variety of features available. It’s imperative to consider what features will meet your business needs both now and in the future. The following five features keep your call center operating efficiently and create a better customer experience.
1. Virtual Multi-Channel Platform
Unify communications with a multi-channel ACD capable of processing inbound phone calls, SMS text messages, email messages, social media activity, and web and mobile applications to drive customer engagement. Forty-nine percent of consumers, on average, use three to five different communication channels to contact customer service.
With the increase of hiring work from home employees—with the retention rate for at-home agents at 80 percent versus 25 percent for in-house—browser-based software is a convenient solution for work from home agents. Agents can connect from any desktop computer or laptop and work anywhere they have an internet connection.
2. Reporting and Call Recording
If you are not monitoring reporting and analytics data, you are missing opportunities to optimize your call center’s performance. Monitor agents’ interactions with callers, traffic patterns, agent abandons, and system abandons.
Charts and tables help identify possible performance issues. Historical and live data provides valuable information to set goals and improve efficiency.
Call recordings help evaluate agent performance. And monitoring agents’ calls ensures they comply with standards. This helps with training and to improve customer interactions.
3. Call Scripting
A customizable and intuitive scripting feature will help decrease errors in agent call handling and reduce training time. With protocols integrated into navigation scripts, when agents fill in a caller’s response, the script proceeds to the next appropriate question.
Set specific fields in the message script as required so that agents can’t skip them. Color-coding helps agents identify call types so they can handle calls more quickly.
4. Skills-Based Call Routing
Use skills-based call routing to ensure efficient call-handling and first call resolution. This can route calls to the agent most qualified to handle the call versus waiting for the next available agent.
Configure priority levels so the system distributes each type of call to the most qualified agent.
5. Artificial Intelligence
As technology continues to evolve, the prevalence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in call center technology grows. AI enhances a caller’s experience by determining the best way to route calls based on prior call history.
Using a call’s automatic number identification (ANI), AI can determine the best agent to receive that call based on several factors, such as which agent is the most qualified to handle the call. The ANI can match previous call interactions and provide call history.
Return on Investment
Your call center software plays a critical role in operating a successful business. When it comes to the bottom-line, choosing the right features will streamline operations and help your business with the challenges it faces now and into the future.
April Forer is the marketing specialist for Amtelco. Amtelco is a leading provider of innovative software solutions designed for call centers, contact centers, and enterprise businesses of all sizes.