With its 200-strong customer service team handling a range of inbound and outbound calls, the aim of this large, non-profit organisation was to provide a consistently high level of customer service.
When agents found a conversation challenging, they were advising customers to escalate their concerns to a manager. This delayed resolution, put extra pressure on managers and impacted customer satisfaction.
Difficult calls left the team feeling stressed and demotivated, and agents did not have the tools to deal with those emotions or prevent them from impacting their next call.
This was a diverse team, with young and old, experienced and inexperienced, all of which had an impact on the consistency of the customer service being delivered. Managers lacked the skills and confidence to encourage and support their teams in handling difficult calls.
The client recognised that difficult calls were an opportunity to deliver on their core values. This led to a drive to encourage the agents to take more ownership of resolving customer challenges on first contact, keeping the company’s reputation intact and making customers feel good about the interaction they had had.
This ownership required the teams to be upskilled in managing their own personal response to stress, having a more positive mindset towards calls, and having the skills to build and maintain rapport throughout their calls. It also required the managers to develop their coaching skills and confidence.
