My friend (I interviewed) works at a renowned call center in Manhattan. He told me that a job at the call centre is not very easy as people generally think about it. Call centers have their own challenges and problems that have to be overcome by the frontline, which is the employees, on a daily basis. Handling all kinds of people and attending dozens of calls in a shift requires good energy and patience. My friend has to travel back and forth a lot in a cab, and that also normally adds to his stress.
Job Description
Job at the call center is the role of a voice consultant. He answers calls made by the public and help them solve their respective problems. He receives 100 – 120 calls a day on an average and the time taken per call is 2 -3 minutes approximately. If the call needs to be transferred, the time gets reduced to a few seconds. A call center faculty should have the skill to manage people calmly irrespective of the customers’ mood. He should be practical enough to deal with the situation solving their problem quickly.
Job Competencies/skills
Good Communication Skills: This is the most important skill required by the consultants as all of the conversations between them and the customer mostly takes place over the phone. Since it is a two-way process, the consultant should be a good speaker as well as good listener too. Only then, he can listen to the complete problem of the customer and give a solution quickly. He should be able to construct a sentence in simple vocabulary and convey this to the customer.
Organization: A consultant attending dozens of calls in a day should be very well organized. They should be able to multitask. For example, writing information, updating the information base, checking the customer’s account etc. while listening to the phone. This will help them reduce errors in this process ensuring efficient and smooth functioning.
Pressure Handling: Another essential skill required by them is to be able to handle pressure irrespective of the circumstances. They should remain calm while talking to the customer even if the frustrated customer is scolding or yelling to him over the phone. These things should not affect them personally; and they should keep their temper in every situation and learn to manage anger.
Flexibility: Being flexible is the key to success in this industry. Every call center should have special employees to handle their special clients having peculiar personalities. The consultant should be able to roll with the punches. Moreover, the employees may need to work during odd hours like late night, during holidays etc.
Friendly Nature: Being able to represent a warm and friendly image of the company is necessary. The consultant should be able to maintain a healthy, friendly bond between him and the customer. This provides the customer more satisfaction.
Speed: The consultants should be fast and resourceful to ensure customer satisfaction. The customer feels more valued when they are not kept waiting in the queue for long to talk to a real person.
Creativity: A consultant should be creative in coming up with the solution to the customer’s problem or any problem thrown at them during the process.
Knowledge: In order to provide the customers with better support, a consultant needs to have knowledge about the company for which he/she is working. They should be well aware of the products and services of their company.
Training
Coaching and Monitoring were the methods through which the manager provided the required training to my friend. The training in a call center is not a onetime process; and the manager would teach him his further course of action whenever a situation arises during the call. A booklet was provided to him, which had almost all kinds of situations that could possibly arise during work. It also contained details like methods to handle various situations, when to transfer the call, etc. Now he feels that he needs no more training though he had faced a few problems in his early days of work. However, he feels that a few sessions on anger management should also have been given because sometimes it is difficult to be calm.
Proposed Training Program
A hired employee will be given on the job training from the first day of joining. It should continue for a month.
A booklet containing all the possible situations that one may face while on duty will be provided.
Anger management classes should be provided on the weekends to the employees both new and existing.
Tough situations can be created with intent to check the candidate’s behavior and the capability to handle tough situations.
Conclusion
Overall, a call center voice consultant should be hired very carefully as he/she involves the frontline of the company. Call center faculties represent the company in front of the public by their words and actions. Therefore, proper recruitment and training methods should be used to ensure complete customer satisfaction.
