How to address overflowing calls?

Straightforward business practice asks to increase the number of employees when work volume increases. But the same business practice also says to minimize expenses to increase profit. Apparently, the only way out of the dilemma seems outsourcing. But how do call center services address call overflowing issues? Here’s what they do:

Establish telephone protocols:

High volume of work can only be managed effectively by cutting out all unnecessary practices that waste time. Therefore, it is important to set clear goals for employees and give them a definite path they can follow while conversing with a caller. For that, a script with standard questions should be prepared and employees trained to follow that without sounding unnatural. In addition, employees should be given a training on positive responses instead of vague, limited answers that will not make the customer any more comfortable. The training should be prepared on the basis of inputs from the front line staff -- an open door policy must be followed for actual results.

Utilize technology:

There are many technological improvements that can be carried out to get more work done within limited time and resources. For instance, keeping online records and maintaining easily navigable portals for customer history drastically reduces the time taken for tracing out solutions for callers. Speed dials or hot-key transfers can be installed in employees’ systems for transferring calls without wasting time.Wireless technologies should be opted for allowing easy movement to facilitate fast solutions. Noise-canceling headsets, sound-blocking panels, sound-absorbing tiles are some technologies that a call center can invest in to improve the working environment.

Allow work-from-home options:

Many industry experts believe that work-from-home option is going to be the future of the corporate sector. And with increasing access to technology, such a future is not too far away. Call centers too can have agents working from home. It will automatically enhance productivity, reduce costs, and boost employee morale. In addition, since work-from-home means no time wasted in commuting, employees will be willing to put in free hours to get a job done. In difficult situations, like bad weather, you can count on your work-from-home employees to meet the target.

Apart from these measures, it always helps to make a flexible plan for the future that can accommodate unprecedented volume. It may mean having arrangements to sub-contract to other answering services or provide training to employees of other departments to take-on responsibility whenever needed. Additionally, various alternatives to calling like web chats and mobile apps are getting more and more acceptance among callers. Call centers that have been hitherto using only calls in customer service can look towards exploring these options too.

Do you have more suggestions for handling call center overflowing calls? Let us know through the comments section.

I am Kea Jones a Content Curator, New York based columnist who love to write about various buzz and current affairs in business world. Besides that I am also writting reviews for various new local business houses, products and services.