CALL CENTER PLANNING NOW FOR THE NEXT THREE TO SIX MONTHS
Many of our clients are asking, what is everyone else doing to prepare? Here is some feedback on what they could be doing to get ready.
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Make all reps and support staff that can work from home, start working from home as soon as possible to minimize the spread.
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If there are obstacles that prevent reps from working from home, figure out how to solve those obstacles as soon as possible.
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If you have work from home options, staff that test positive but have mild to no symptoms can potentially still work from home without spreading the virus.
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Anticipate that 30%+ of your staff will be out sick over the next three to six months and make hiring decisions now to support that.
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Set up IVR processes that allows you to route calls by product and task so you can route calls based on skill set.
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Allow new reps to be trained on one or two specific tasks to minimize training time.
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Calculate out your anticipated call volume by task to allow for appropriate staffing and training on each task.
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Simplify your current processes by using online scripting and data capture to easily guide the reps through each stage of your process to minimize training time and reduce opportunities for error.
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If your current CMR is not user friendly, figure out how to get the data from the dialer or scripting platform into your CRM systematically.
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If it is not possible to get data to your CRM systematically, the other option is to have reps that know the system do data entry from export files while other reps are taking the calls. This is not as efficient, but keeps production going.
Your planning needs to take into account that you may not be able to maintain an office environment for your staff, and even with work at home options, 30%+ of your staff may be out sick at any one time. Also, you need to simplify all processes so reps with little to no training can follow a guide and still be able to answer the phone.
If you need help setting up a work at home call center, contact CallShaper at www.callshaper.com or email info@callshaper.com.