What Are Some Of The Call Center Agent Problems? thecallcenteragent/call-center-agent-problems/ As a call center agent, you will definitely encounter some minor and major work-related problems and issues. Unlike other businesses, BPOs’ can’t be closed for a single day even for an hour (well, depends really whether the company only requires a regular working schedule of 9am-5pm with sat and sun day offs) to receive calls from all over the world; and provide support or help base from the company’s products and services offered. Hence, it is very important to come up with numbers of challenges or problems that an agent faces, and identify ways to resolve or mitigate them. Some of the most common Call Center Agent problems and challenges are: Health Problems. This factor is plainly common or a usual thing that happens in different companies. In call center industry, it shares on the large chunk or one of the primary responsible causes for high employee turnover. Many call centers have limited time breaks. Some companies don’t permit agents to drink water or coffee on their desks because it might spill on machines or clutter on their desks. And because of this, agents will often suffer from dehydration. And sometimes, due to high volume of calls, it often causes them to delay their urgent need in using the toilet. The latter is a risky practice which affects the urinary tract. Additionally, un-sanitized desks, furniture, dialers, continuous use of headphones among others are responsible for some airborne diseases and hearing impairment. Worst thing is, if it is a shared telephone, and the other agent that will use the device has a communicable disease like Tuberculosis, this can be detrimental to the health of the rest of the people in the same production area. This actually happened in one of the call center companies where I’ve worked. Good thing, our floor level is different from the area where it occurred. As such, it is the organization’s responsibility to establish a healthy working environment and policies, in order to maintain the health status of its employees. High Employee Turnover. Employee turnover is one of the biggest challenges of any call center companies or companies in general. In contact centers alone, you can literally observe or see agents that are hoping from one company to another. This may be because of the unfavorable shifting hours or schedules, tough accounts or just plainly personal reasons like salary, working environment, career progression, health issues and many others. The result of this high employee turnover doesn’t only affect the established relationship inside the company but more on financial and legal matters like training costs and leak of any secured information. Economic downturn. Due to global economic challenges, the reduction of currency value sometimes greatly affects the call center businesses, specially the bigger ones. A lot of companies are slashing their budgets while they desire to deliver the same quality of business, which sometimes does not happen because of smaller budget. Due to this, the front-liners of the BPO companies are the ones being impacted the most. Either they will be laid off or there will be added responsibilities in their current scope just to meet the needs and requirements of the company. Technology Control. Means of telecommunication or information technology in general grows dramatically as the earth evolves in a more advanced platform. The result of this shift greatly affects the skills of the call center agents and costs to the companies. Higher technology would mean another set of skills; hence, both factors will affect the financial status of the company. If a call center company cannot afford the training or technologies, then they will be left behind in terms of service, products or even quality. Although there are alternatives, in my experience, newer technologies provide better results. Since agents are the ones who use training or technologies, there are some that might not embrace these developments. Hence, it’s either they will underperform or they will just leave the company. Unwarranted Situations…but expected. Bad customer experience is expected at any time of the day and this usually takes place via complains. If an agent cannot handle irate customers or a bit non-responsive in a positive manner with these types of situations, it will generally affect the whole image of the company. Call center agents are the ones who are “facing” customers; hence they usually leave the first impressions – bad or good. Practically, this challenge exists in every agent’s daily life. In order to cope with these scenarios, the best thing that a superior can do is to properly train, coach and motivate the agent while on the floor, specially before and after each unwarranted situations. Challenges of call center agents can be resolved both by the concerned individuals and of the company. Both are equally responsible for any challenges that a call center agent might face. This just means that these two variables should work hand-in-hand in order to overcome challenges and establish a good working culture. The immense growth of information and communications technology is continuously becoming an integral part of the service industry and the lives of every customer.
Posted on: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 09:33:33 +0000
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