Secrets To Contact Center Success

Nigel Piper is the Executive General Manager of Customer at Xero.

He's been responsible for architecting and building Xero's support model during the company's hypergrowth over the past 9 years, going from 100,000 customers to more than 2.7 million.

Today, he shares how he reinvented his contact centres to create outrageously great customer experience, and how you can do the same.

You'll Learn:

• How Nigel is allergic to inbound voice, but loves outbound voice, and the advantage to customers (03:51).

• How Xero's hypergrowth has forced Nigel to think differently about customer support (04:51).

• The 'cart before the horse' technology problem which Nigel sees companies make, and what to do about it (07:38).

• Why Nigel wants to increase customer contacts (beyond organisational growth), not decrease them. Although counter-intuitive, it's very clever (08:15).

• The exact parts of Xero's people culture which enables their CX offices to deal with exponential growth in customer contacts (10:53).

• How Xero's world-class content, education and help platform gives customers exactly what they need, when they need it. It's created extremely high NPS, and massively cut down on the number of cases raised (12:23).

• Xero's customer service workflow that allows for hypergrowth (13:42).

• The advantages of Xero's open and transparent culture (16:59).

• The values Nigel believes are key to creating great customer support experiences (18:01).

• The trend Nigel sees in how customers expect to be helped, which is only getting bigger (19:01).

Full show notes: https://bravatrak.com/nigel-piper-podcast

Connect with Nigel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigepipes/

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Josh Walton is the Workforce Planning Manager at Allianz Australia.

He was the Auscontact Association, National Workforce Management Champion for 2020. And he was part of the Workforce Optimisation team that won the National Operations Award in 2019.

Today, he shares how your workforce management team can help your contact centre make better decisions.

Josh's Top 3 Tips For Creating A High-Performing Workforce Management Team:

1. Continue to invest in training and technology for your team. Which also means grabbing as much budget as you can for your team (14:59).

2. Develop a diversity of strengths within your team. Josh is also a big fan of using CliftonStrengths to understand team members' innate strengths, so he can assign the right person to the right project (15:31).

3. Collaborate with your team to come up with what Josh calls 'operating principles' you expect each other to follow (16:14).

You'll Learn:

• The value that your workforce management team adds to your business, which often goes unnoticed (02:13).

• The 3 steps Josh took to turn his workforce management team into a major contributor to the business (05:18).

• The principle he applied from professional sports, that he credits for helping win the National Operations Award in 2019 (09:12).

• Exactly what he looks for when hiring great workforce planners and analysts (10:33).

• The way he motivates his team to ensure new hires are successful in their roles (12:48).

• The philosophy Josh has when it comes to hiring (13:50).

Connect with Josh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-walton-524120108/

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Deepak Selvaratnam is the founder and COO of Snapshotz and Remotability, which has more than 10 years of validated data on how to improve mental health of contact centre team members.

Today, he shares what to do about the abuse your agents face from customers.

Deepak's Top 3 Tips For Addressing Agent Abuse:

1. Define the levels of abuse that customer agents face, so they can be trained and supported accordingly (07:57).

2. There's technology available to understand customer nuances and why they're upset. Take advantage of it, so you can better support your agents (08:17).

3. Make your centres aware of any issues - whether external or internal to the organisation - which are impacting customers. That way, a defense can be formed for angry customer calling about the issue (08:43).

You'll Learn:

• What 'emotional labour' is, and how it damages agent mental health, and craters their motivation (04:05).

• The 2 common reasons why customers are abusive (04.19).

• The shocking percentage of organisations which haven't taken the first step to addressing agent abuse (05:39).

• The critical skill gap that's stopping agents from better handling abuse (10:35).

• The problem you face if you have an outsourced contact centre, and what to do about it (07:03).

• A simple and effective way to identify what's missing to better support your agents (09:44).

Full show notes: https://bravatrak.com/deepak-selvaratnam-podcast

Connect with Deepak on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepak-selvaratnam-b8182a11/

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Clare Baker is the Country Manager for Australia and New Zealand at eGENTIC.

She has 25 years' experience in sales, both as a BDM (Business Development Manager) and in sales management. Most of that time, she's worked in the outsourced contact centre industry, with many clients across a wide range of industries.

Today, she shares how to lift the performance of your outbound sales teams.

Clare's Top 3 Tips:

1. It all comes down to the environment. So make sure you create one that's set-up for success (13:37).

2. Make sure that your Team Leaders have been trained in how to coach and understand their individual agents (13:47).

3. Make sure the calling lists give agents the best change of success, by making sure the people they're calling actually want or need what you're selling (14:15).

You'll Learn:

• Clare's controversial advice which will help your team leaders best understand their team, so they get the best from them (04:05).

• A couple of easy ways team leaders can recognise the success of agents (05:20).

• The 2 common gaps Clare sees in lower performing centres. Plug these, and success is assured (07:12).

• What Team Leaders are often saddled with, which gets in the way of them growing sales (08:14).

• Clare's great 'Haystack Metaphor', that will help you ensure your agents remain motivated (08:53).

• The one thing Clare's noticed that makes the world of difference in agents being fired up (11:44).

• The simple question that will guide you in how to improve outbound sales (12:18).

Connect with Clare on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clarebaker1/

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Andrew Sidwell is the founder of BareZero, strengthening transformation teams.

He was previously Executive Director of the Customer Experience Transformation Program at DBS Bank in Singapore, where he helped the bank transform into the World's Best Bank, 3 years in a row.

Today, he shares how the bank made the transformation.

Andrew's Top 3 Tips For Managing Change:

1. Get a very clear picture of what your role is in the transformation, to support your people. It will be different from your business-as-usual role (21:43).
2. Change yourself first. It's okay to be vulnerable, and be willing to be bare and open with your team. Keep resetting in order to do your best work (22:30).
3. Your people are the change makers. Not you. So it's crucial to create space for your people, so they can do the work needed to get where you want to go (23:45).

You'll Learn:

• What organisations DBS looked at, to get a head start on creating world-class service (05:58).
• The first of 5 pillars which Piyush Gupta (CEO of DBS Group) focused on to begin the transformation (05:14).
• The steps the bank took to hone the service they wanted to deliver to customers into 3 words (07:02).
• What 'RED' stands for, and how it forms the basis of service provided by the bank. Chances are, it will be equally applicable in your business (09:47).
• How DBS got buy-in to the transformation at all levels (12:43).
• Andrew's number 1 tip for the mindset to have as a leader, so you can help your people learn and transform (16:12).
• The process which senior leaders followed, to get deep insight into what was working in the transformation, what wasn't, and the opportunities that existed (16:58).
• The 'minefield' some of your people may feel they're having to find their way through, when you're in the midst of change, and how to help them (20:27).

Full transcript: https://bravatrak.com/andrew-sidwell-podcast

Connect with Andrew on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewsidwell8

Get the book by Paul Cobban (Chief Transformation Officer at DBS Bank), which Andrew highly recommends (Eat, Sleep, Innovate: How to Make Creativity an Everyday Habit Inside Your Organization), on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Eat-Sleep-Innovate-Creativity-Organization/dp/1633698378

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Emma Riordan is the Customer Care Manager at Econowaste.

Prior to her current role, she was with Skinny, as the Head of Skinny Care. In her time there, the contact centre won numerous awards.

Today, she shares how to create an award-winning contact centre with servant leadership, based on her 23 years in the industry.

Emma's Top 3 Tips:

1. Do real life. It's essential to enable your people to manage their work-life balance. You'll end up with agents who are more motivated, and have better conversations with customers (07:36).

2. Truly listen to what your people say, and treat it like a gift. Even though it's not always a gift you want (14:45).

3. Make sure your people feel valued, and that their future is with you - even if it's only an emotional attachment to your organisation (16:19).

You'll Learn:

• The 3 standout experiences which formed Emma's approach to leadership, one terrible, two great (01:33).

• The 'family first' approach one of Emma's past managers, that helped get the best from her team (04:03).

• The 2 critical parts of servant leadership which enable your people to do their best (05:22).

• The small things which make a world of difference for your agents (08:30).

• How winning awards at Skinny was never the focus, but the by-product of putting their people first (09:52).

• The wider relationships it's essential to have within your organisation, so you're always the first to know what's going on, and ensure your people are kept front-and-centre of what other departments are doing (12:49).

Show notes: https://bravatrak.com/emma-riordan-podcast

Connect with Emma on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmalrio/

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Lance Burdett is the founder of WARN International. He spent 22 years with the NZ Police, becoming their lead crisis negotiator.

In that time, he was also responsible for recruitment and training at the Police Emergency 111 call centres, where he delivered programmes on handling emotional conversations and personal resilience.

As a result, he has extensive experience in operating in stressful environments, and has practical tips to deal with stress in your contact centres. Today, he shares them.

Lance's Top 3 Tips:

1. Connect with others. The best way is to have face-to-face conversations, one-on-one (05:51).

2. Exercise. A 15 to 20 minute walk a day will burn off the stress hormones we get throughout across our day (17:46).

3. Get a better night's sleep (18:39). Lance's 'sleep tips' document shows you how. To get it, click here, and in the 'Interest' dropdown, select 'Sleep Tips'.

You'll Learn:

• 7 ways to check whether you're overwhelmed - even if you don't feel it (01:18).

• The simplest way to calm your entire body in an instant, thanks to a special nerve (02:25).

• What to do every hour to feel better. It only takes a moment (03:54).

• 2 quick actions agents can do after calls to keep in balance (04:39).

• The four pillars to mental wellbeing (05:38).

• Why working half in the office and half from home doesn't work well for most people, and what to do about it (06:02).

• Lance's take on group meetings that you might find controversial (06:40).

• The temptation which gets in the way of your work-life balance when working from home (07:18).

• Lance's catchy phrase that helps you bring your best-self when working from home (08:01).

• A great way to switch off from work at the end of the day, that's also used by undercover police (09:18).

• How a blanket can make the difference in your work-life balance (10:24).

• The 3 stages people go through when struggling with their mental health. You'll learn the warning signs of each and what to do to help them (11:40).

• The food to eat just before bedtime which will help have uninterrupted sleep (18:51).

Full show notes: https://bravatrak.com/lance-burdett-podcast

Get Lance's sleep tips document: Click here, and in the 'Interest' dropdown, select 'Sleep Tips'.

Connect with Lance on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/warninternational/

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Daniel Ord is the founder and director of OmniTouch International. He's spent the last 20 years helping and inspiring people to deliver great customer experience, employee experience and contact centre performance.

As one of only 15 recognized training providers in the world for CXPA (the Customer Experience Professionals Association), he has deep insight into how to create world-class customer experience in your contact centres.

There are 6 domains of Customer Experience, which you're probably not paying attention to. Daniel shares what they are.

Dan's Top 3 Tips For Lifting CX:

1. Ask yourself whether the metrics you have in place to measure productivity are aligned with achieving your CX ambitions. You won't achieve your ambitions by focusing on ones like number of calls handled and average handling time (23:15).

2. Develop a 'service delivery vision' - a one or two sentence statement that says what kind of service your contact centre delivers (23:49).

3. The whole organisation is responsible for delivering on CX. Not just the contact centres. Build relationships with other department heads, so you can work together to fix customer issues holding back CX (25:09).

You'll Learn:

• Dan's 'circus tent' metaphor for CX, and why it's vital to understand it to lift CX in your organisation (04:50).

• The 6 core competencies of CX, and how you contact centre can contribute to them (06:11).

• The problem caused by asking an NPS (Net Promoter Score) survey at the end of calls (10:36).

• The 'spaghetti diagram' and how it can help you lift CX (11:26).

• The percentage of low NPS scores caused by other departments (discovered by the Head of CX, at the biggest bank in his country). The number will shock you (12:10).

• The one question Dan asks to get a sense of how well a contact centre is operating (16:54).

• Dan's PQ and A model which highlights the metrics to focus on to lift CX. This will also help you recruit the right people (18:17).

Connect with Dan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellawrenceord/

If you want to steal some ideas on how to lift operational efficiency while reducing unplanned leave, send me an email (at [email protected]) and we can organise a 15-minute call over Zoom or Teams.

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I'm Blair Stevenson, founder of BravaTrak. Since 1997, I've specialized in developing team leaders' capability to get better results.

Working with over 7000 managers of customer-facing teams, I've identified there are 7 traits high-performing team leaders have in common.

These are the ones to look for when you're recruiting team leaders, to ensure they've got high potential.

The 7 Traits of High-Potential Team Leaders:

1. Honesty (05:09).

2. Action oriented (11:02).

3. Low need for approval (14:32).

4. High IQ (20:10).

5. Social awareness and ability to maintain good relationships (22:57).

6. Self-awareness and ability to self-manage (25:02).

7. Great time management (28:08).

You'll Learn:

• The most important characteristic people say they want in their team leader - based on global research since 1987 (05:34).

• The 2 questions to ask during an interview to identify whether a prospect has this characteristic (08:02).

• The competency area of your team leaders which has the greatest impact on employee engagement (07:08).

• Why most successful team leaders aren't perfectionists (11:58).

• The percentage of decisions made by Chief Executives which are wrong - the number will shock you (12:33).

• What high performing team leaders have in common with dictators (15:19).

• Strategies they use to keep maintain self-awareness (25:32).

• The common red flag which shows a person has poor self-management (26:04).

• The hack high performing team leaders use to ensure they get things done in the required timeframe (28:38).

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Laurie Smith is the director of CRM Consulting. She's the force behind the annual CRM Contact Centre Awards, the industry's largest awards in New Zealand.

Laurie shares her top tips on how to win.

Laurie's Top Tips:

1. Get a preaudit done by the CRM Consulting team - you'll get their recommendations on where to improve, which will also lift everyday customer service (10:34).

2. Talk to past winners, which you can do at the showcasing events. You can also check out the past winners here https://www.crmconsulting.co.nz/crm-awards/2020-results. They always offer lots of tips (11:36).

3. Bring your agents to the awards. If you don't win an award on the night, they'll come away from the event really wanting to be up on the podium next year (12:12).

You'll Learn:

• The 3 things the CRM Awards have done for the contact centre industry in New Zealand (01:50).

• The awards up for grabs (03:32).

• The 4 key characteristics the Supreme Award winners have in common (05:42).

• The timelines for the awards each year - what happens, when (08:15).

• How CEOs and Managing Directors often say the awards evenings are one of the best they've ever been to (12:48).

Check out the full show notes here: https://bravatrak.com/laurie-smith-podcast

Check out the highlights of the 2019 CRM Awards: https://vimeo.com/384424183/eb4f6423fb

Connect with Laurie here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurie-smith-24875a14/

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