I don’t have a problem with call centre agents trying to build rapport while they’re on the phone. After all they’re only human and, though some people might find it hard to believe, most agents actually deliver a better service when they are able to interact and chat freely with the person at the end of the line.

However, it’s the real time relationship between the agent and customer that is the true driver of customisation. It is not something that is planned and structured by someone sitting in the marketing department. Customisation should be spontaneous.  Problems arise when agents in their personal dialogue with customers, be it via email, phone or internet, do not have the power to act on what the customer is telling them and are forced to remain within the constraints of a pre-written script.     

Ask most people how contact centres can best personalise their customer service, and I guarantee you that most people will rate ‘remember my past communications’ or ‘communicate via my chosen channel’ over ‘constantly use my first name to build rapport’. It’s the power of the human touch combined with technology that delivers true customisation and it’s not something that can be learned from a manual.

I don’t know what the most disappointing aspect of this survey was, the seemingly lack of importance when it came to the choice of communication channels available or the fact that the increasing use of self-service in call centres is supposed to be a good thing? Apparently “The choice of medium (or channel) was ranked among the lowest methods for customer service improvement” with “less than 2% of participants selecting this option in their top three choices for impact on customer satisfaction.”

We live in a multi-channel world; consumers expect to be able to communicate via the channel most convenient for them, whether this be Email, Phone or Internet. Failure to acknowledge this shows a major lack of forward thinking on behalf of contact centres. Furthermore, self service may be a cheaper alternative in these cost sensitive times, however in the long term it’s far more likely to damage the brand than create any long lasting goodwill.

Indeed, from personal experience there’s nothing more frustrating than going through a never-ending list of automated options when all you want to do is speak to a human person!

In my opinion a well trained and skilled agent is far more valuable to the brand, providing important customer feedback to the brand and using their skills and experience to provide a unique and tailored customer service experience. Undoubtedly first time resolution, waiting times and communication skills are all important components in contact centres, however the ranking in importance of one over the other does nothing to encourage a holistic view of good customer service. It’s all well and good asking call centre managers what the most important factors are in customer service improvement, but when are we going to ask the people that matter – the consumer?”

According to the report, since 2002 mobile use has doubled, while PC and laptop use has grown fourfold. Lower prices have fuelled a 6% increase in home broadband in the last 12 months, while more importantly there has been a surge in the number of consumers accessing the internet on the move. But what do these changes mean for brands?

Brands need to change how they communicate with their customers. Gone are the days of the ‘our way or the highway’ attitudes to customer communication. Customers expect to communicate via the channel most convenient to them, whether this be email, phone or over the internet. Indeed, with increasing broadband coverage, internet channels will play a more dominate role in the future. The seemingly eternal wait for a response to an email enquiry will no longer be acceptable. If brands fail to meet expectations, consumers will simply do their talking with their feet.

The communication convergence revolution is upon us. Brands - ignore these trends at your peril…

Reading recent research by Siemens, I was delighted to see that they are acknowledging that there is a new breed of contact centre operative – the neatly defined “Professional Listener” characterised as skilled, loyal and career orientated.
 
The old perceptions of contact centre staff still persist however. If you say you work in a contact centre you’re still likely to be labelled as unskilled, unmotivated, disloyal or something equally demeaning. Such views are of course, at best outdated and at worst a complete insult to all those people who work tirelessly to provide excellent customer service.
 
With contact centres now offering customer communication channels across the different platforms of Email, Phone and Internet, agents need an increasing array of skills to meet these evolving needs.  It should be recognised that excellent career opportunities now exist within the industry, with many companies offering quality training programmes and career progression. Furthermore, if you want to learn about modern customer service and sales techniques what better environment to learn your trade?

See below for the report on the research by Siemens

Professional Listeners: the evolution of the contact centre worker
 
Independent research commissioned by Siemens dials in on the much-maligned contact centre operative; unique insight proves that traditional stereotype doesn’t ring true
 
Contact centre professionals have an unfair stigma attached to them for being disloyal, unmotivated, poorly trained and having a ‘couldn’t-care-less’ attitude.  Independent research, commissioned by Siemens Enterprise Communications, looks beyond the technology employed in UK contact centre environments and into the habits, tips, thoughts and working practices of the workers themselves.  This first of three parts puts paid to perceived wisdom and generates a 21st Century profile of the modern day ‘Professional Listener’.  The research questioned over 500 contact centre workers in the UK, comprising a combination of inbound and outbound workers across both the public and private sectors.
 
The research concludes that there is a new breed of Professional Listener emerging who is loyal, motivated and highly satisfied, all set against a backdrop of ever increasing process and the proliferation of IT applications needed to do the job. Key trends in the survey provide insights into where contact centre improvements could be made, and how to achieve best practice.  Significantly, it highlights that Professional Listeners have the same career aspirations as any professional worker in any other industry.  These career aspirations have in turn created loyal employees who stay in the same job for more than two years, on average.  They crave training, want to improve and, as with all of us, want to be paid more!
 
Some of the characteristics of the Professional Listener include:

• On average, 4.3 years of experience
• 2.2 years average job tenure
• Loyal to company – 44% who would like to progress within the department of their current job
• Keen to work flexibly – 77% of non-home workers would like to work from home, or combine home and office working
• Overall satisfaction is high – 53% satisfied, and 17% “very satisfied”

“The Siemens findings are at an aggregate level, but if you disaggregate the data there is a significant variation in the experience of contact centre workers.  We agree that contact centre work is becoming more complex, and that contact centre workers identify with the job and want to do a good job,” said Jeannie Drake, Deputy General Secretary at the Communication Workers Union.  “Skill levels are rising, and contact centre workers want to be committed to their company and to customer service.  Attrition can be quite low where people have permanent jobs in good companies.”
 
“Contact centres have been undergoing a quiet revolution for some time now – increased automation and efficiencies gained through better working practices and increased usage of unified communications technology.  This research uncovers one of the key drivers behind this transformation: the Professional Listener.  The results clearly challenge the traditional stereotypes of contact centre workers with the modern worker seen as motivated, loyal and keen to progress,” said Tim Bishop, Head of Strategy at Siemens Enterprise Communications.  “At Siemens we are constantly looking to improve the contact centre experience for both the Professional Listener and the customers that they serve.  It is great to know that over time the industry has matured to such an extent that people coming to work within it are seeing it as a valid and valuable career choice.  We are very proud to be part of that shift, but realise there is still a long way to go in ensuring that the technology we provide contributes to this positive perception.”
 
UK contact centres are responsible for employing almost 300,000 people in the UK – this equates to 1% of the UK workforce.  Through automation of processes over the past decade, contact centre managers have a vast array of data at their disposal to inform strategy and business decisions.

 

An article posted on Precision Marketing recently caught my attention.

Sadly, it’s an all too familiar scenario.  You are just about to finish your conversation and hang up, and then you think, wouldn’t it be really useful to have that information on file. So you make a simple request to the call centre agent – ‘Can you email me….” Apologetically and slightly sheepishly, “sorry we don’t have that facility…” comes the reply.
 
Technology is fundamental to enable agents to meet customer expectations, but recent research from Rostrvm Solutions claims that a lack of technology in call centres is jeopardising customer satisfaction so it seems the issue is far from resolved.

In this age of multi-channel communication, it is surprising and extremely worrying how many agents still don’t have multi-channel capability at their finger tips.  Consumers expect to be able to interact with a brand in the way they want - either on the phone, via email or through other digital channels, and surely this expectation must be met.
 
Of course, we mustn’t ignore the influence of the human dimension.  It is has been proved that 70% of our decision to buy is based on how we are treated as people.  But, when prices and products are often so similar, companies are guilty sometimes of forgetting the simple fact that customers are looking for quality service. 

So, agents need to be equipped with the right tools that allow them to seamlessly combine different communication channels on demand.  Providing our agents also with real-time access to all past interactions with a customer, including transcriptions of previous chats and emails, scanned copies of letters received and dispatched, as well as call recordings and comments allows a satisfactory outcome to be reached.                 
 
If we are honest, many companies are still wasting money on employing different channels in an isolated way; providing disjointed, blanket marketing messages which results in lacking a ‘single view’ of the customer.  If an organisation truly understands how to use the right message with the right communication channel at the right time, it can increase revenue, reduce operating costs and increase its word of mouth advocacy.  Agents need to be empowered now!

1) Look at their concerns in isolation

2) Consider which approach will reach them most effectively

3) Use the appropriate responses to demonstrate how closely you have listened
 
It might all be PR puffery designed to soften Gordon’s rocky public image. But the premise is promising. And if the PM who, we mustn’t forget, has sixty million paying customers, can make these small steps to reach out to his audience, then some of our brands should take note. If Gordon can cut out the middle man and talk directly to the electorate in a way that makes them feel that their complaint had been adequately handled, then big business should follow. In fact, I might pen Gordon a little note to that effect and wait for the phone to ring…

I was interested to read that listening to music stimulates the type of wine you drink. Apparently Jimi Hendrix (a man who certainly extolled the importance of listening and as a result a favored icon of TLC) drives you to Cabernet Sauvignon while Chardonnay makes a perfect accompaniment to "Atomic" by Blondie.

Furthermore, wine impresario Clark Smith’s theory that the music you chose to drink wine to has a notable effect on the taste seems to have proven results. Clark’s theory expands on the idea that although we all have different tastes most people can agree on what is harmonious and what is dissident. He considers the same mental processes to be at work in our judgment of wine and music.

This emphasizes the particularly important contribution listening makes on mood and harmony, which our culture, dominated by visual input tends to overlook. Our sensitivity to sound bites runs through our entire system impacting on the positivity or negativity of an experience.

Well, at last - it is great to hear that even the Vintners are catching onto the importance of listening!