Secrets To Contact Center Success

Garry Gormley is the founder of FAB Solutions - the contact centre specialists. He has nearly 20 years' experience in the contact centre industry. In that time, he's working across a wide range of industries, and has been responsible for a number of projects.

Garry also runs The Contact Centre Network. The Network holds free monthly events, with industry thought leaders sharing practical advice and support to help improve the running of your contact centre.

He shares the key considerations when it comes to deciding on your post-pandemic operating model.

Garry's Top 3 Tips:

1. Evaluate what your operating model needs to look like. If you've still got resource challenges 12 months on from COVID, there are some core issues which need to be addressed (21:55).

2. Listen to your employees and take action on what they're saying. The employers who do this will suffer lower attrition when certainty returns and people start looking for jobs again (22:37).

3. Invest in the capability of your leadership team, so they're better able to coach and communicate with their team remotely (23:37).

You'll Learn:

• The percentage of remote workers who want to remain remote, return to the office, and want a combination. The numbers may surprise you (05:26).

• 9 advantages of having an operating model with 100% of agents working from home (07:15).

• 3 benefits to agents for working in centre (11:38).

• How remote working can jeopardise agents' resilience, and what to do about it (12:27).

• What needs to change to ensure work from home agents get the support they need (13:28).

• Advice from a leader of a 100% remote BPO, to get the best from work from home agents (16:26).

• Garry's Customer Experience equation. Get these pillars right, and great Customer Experience is assured (25:17).

Show notes: https://bravatrak.com/garry-gormley-podcast

Connect with Garry here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garry-gormley-fism-the-contact-centre-specialist/

Join 'The Contact Centre Network'. Garry runs free monthly events, with industry thought leaders sharing their experience and best-practice tips.

If you'd like to understand how the future of contact centre coaching - which is a behavioral science based approach - can help you to strengthen employee engagement and enhance customer experience, send me an email (at [email protected]) and we can organize a 15-minute call over Zoom or Teams.

Dave Hoekstra is a Workforce Management (WFM) Evangelist at Calabrio. He has more than 20 years' experience in the contact centre industry, much of that spent in Workforce Management.

Dave spends much of his time talking with Contact Centre Leaders and staying abreast of the latest developments in WFM. As a result, Dave has deep insight into the trends in WFM which will transform your contact centre.

Dave's Top 3 Trends:

1. There's a shift to empowering agents to have more of a say in their schedule, to lift their engagement (03:59).

2. The computing power of the cloud is unlocking functionality which has never before been cost effective. Like Speech Analytics now able to transcribe 100% of calls, and WFM Planners being able to change the roster throughout the day (16:56).

3. With the ease of updating the roster in WFM software, WFM teams are able to focus on the bigger picture. Like working with HR to find the right type of agent (25:55).

You'll Learn:

• The problems associated with letting agents design their schedules (05:14).

• Why employee empowerment and employee engagement will only become more important (07:00).

• Dave's key question when he's asked for job advice (09:33).

• The piece of technology that has ruined us all (11:05).

• What Dave thinks of the quote from Paul Stockford (Director of Research at the National Association of Call Centers) - that contact centres are "white collar sweatshops" - and the change Dave's seeing across centres (13:27).

• What new functionality is coming to contact centre software (22:30).

• How we're almost at the tipping point where centres will be able to create better Customer Experience for lower cost (30:14).

Connect with Dave here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davehoekstrawfm/

Tune in to Dave's podcast, 'Working Smarter: Presented by Calabrio': on Apple, Spotify, or your favourite podcast app.

If your priorities include strengthening employee engagement, lifting customer experience, or increasing your focus on coaching and development, I can help you out with a few ideas that you can steal. Send me an email (at [email protected]) and we can organize a 15-minute call over Zoom or Teams.

Mark Burton-Brown is the Managing Director of Engagement Partners. He's a sales growth expert, with more than 20 years' experience in sales management.

In recent times, Mark has been working closely with inside sales teams to achieve their sales growth objectives much faster than they were previously able to.

He shares the importance of having a formal sales process in place, and how you can go about developing one.

Mark's Top Tips:

1. Create your sales process based on a best-practice and proven template. Mark has one he's happy to share, and talk you through - get in touch with him on LinkedIn (14:27).

2. Get buy-in from your team by getting them involved. Identify up to 8 people in the business who are already following a sales process. Run a workshop with them, and refine the sales process they follow into a one-pager (04:31).

3. Start to implement the process. It's not going to be perfect, but it's going to be better than what you used to do. By continuing to iterate the process, within a year you'll probably be surprised how far you've come (09:37).

You'll Learn:

• The 3 common challenges inside sales teams struggle.

• How a formal sales process can lead to 28% faster revenue growth (03:37).

• The 4 key things to include on your one-pager, so your people are clear on how to succeed (05:27).

• The most important phase of the sales process, which most salespeople do poorly - and what to do about it. The secret ratio Mark shares helps position your people as trusted advisors - rather than product pushers (07:12).

• The 2 changes in perspective you can make, which will help your people succeed (09:37).

• The best-practice approach Mark recommends for keeping your sales process up-to-date (10:49).

• The 8 positive outcomes which result from having a formal sales process in place. You'll never guess the third one (11:11).

• The common concern salespeople have about following a sales process, and the answer (15:32).

Show notes: https://bravatrak.com/mark-burton-brown-podcast

Connect with Mark here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markbb/ If you'd like a copy of his sales process template, get in touch with him on LinkedIn. He's happy to share it with you, and talk you through it.

If your priorities include strengthening employee engagement, lifting customer experience, or increasing your focus on coaching and development, I can help you out with a few ideas that you can steal. Send me an email (at [email protected]) and we can organize a 15-minute call over Zoom or Teams.

Katy Langridge is a Team Leader for ACC New Zealand. She's responsible for the annual CCNNZ (Customer Contact Network of New Zealand) Awards being held in September.

In 2018, she won the CCNNZ National Contact Centre Team Leader of the Year.

She shares details about the Awards - including how you can enter - and the secret to her success as a Team Leader.

Katy's Top Tips:

1. Don't be afraid to enter. If you believe you're doing a great job, put yourself forward. Even if you don't win, you'll get feedback from the judges which can help with your development.

2. Give specific examples in your application.

3. Talk about your application with your manager. They may have ideas which could help your entry.

You'll Learn:

• The 7 Awards which are up for grabs (02:51).

• About the $500 professional development grant for each Award winner (05:11).

• The dates for registration (06:59)

• The coaching approach Katy uses which has turned her people from good to great, and strengthen employee engagement (09:05).

• The quote from Angela Ahrendts (Senior Vice President of Retail at Apple) which guides Katy in how she manages her team (12:50).

• What Katy does at least twice a day which she credits for her success (14:04).

Download the CCNNZ Awards Pack here: https://ccnnz.org.nz/event-directory/awards/

Email CCNNZ: [email protected]

Connect with Katy here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katy-langridge-b06723149/

If your priorities include strengthening employee engagement and boosting customer experience, I can help you out with a few ideas that you can steal. Send me an email (at [email protected]) and we can organize a 15-minute call over Zoom or Teams.

Kelly Brickley is a Business Development Manager at Pyrios, an AGC Black Box company. She has more than 25 years' experience in the contact center industry internationally, including 7 years with ICMI as their Director of Educational Services based in Southern California.

She shares her thoughts on how to better support your Agents post-COVID.

Top 3 Tips:

1. Provide online resources customers can use to resolve their issues themselves (15:19).

2. With self-service options taking some of the pressure off Agents, they now have an opportunity to be proactive with customers; reaching out, educating them, and doing more for them (15:48).

3. It's time to look at how bots can fit into your strategy. They're becoming very useful in assisting Agents mid-call, serving up answers straight away which saves Agents from trawling though the knowledge base (03:07).

You'll Learn:

• A best-practice approach to provide real-time support to remote Agents (03:57).

• Why call analytics is the future of Quality Assurance (08:00).

• How leading contact centres are changing the way they do coaching (10:03).

Connect with Kelly here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-brickley-2b04692/

If your priorities include boosting employee engagement, lifting customer experience, or increasing your focus on coaching and development, I can help you out with a few ideas that you can steal. Send me an email (at [email protected]) and we can organize a 15-minute call over Zoom or Teams.

Shoby Abraham is the Customer Care Manager of Samsung Electronics New Zealand. He's COPC certified and has 20 years' experience in the contact centre industry.

From his extensive experience in Quality Assurance, he's identified there are 3 common pitfalls of most QA programs. He shares what they are and how to solve them.

The approach he shares helped Samsung shift Customer Satisfaction from 75% to 90%+.

The 3 Common Pitfalls of Most QA Programs:

1. Calls are often given an overall score. Instead, give a call an overall 'pass' or 'fail' (03:34).

2. There is often bias in how calls are picked for evaluation – Team Leaders and QA often pick them based on length. Instead, random calls should be evaluated (06:51).

3. Team Leaders and Quality Analysts should be calibrated in their ability to assess calls. This ensures alignment of call quality across your contact centres (08:33).

You'll Learn:

• The 'sword' metaphor that Shoby uses, which defines what a Quality Assurance program should and shouldn't be (10:35).

• The different way of thinking Team Leaders and QA need to adopt when evaluating calls, to ensure great customer outcomes (11:09).

• What feedback should be given to agents – and when – which will make a massive difference to your Customer Satisfaction (11:28).

See the full show notes here: https://bravatrak.com/shoby-abraham-podcast

Connect with Shoby here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shoby-abraham-08381587/

If your priorities include boosting employee engagement, lifting customer experience, or increasing your focus on coaching and development, I can help you out with a few ideas that you can steal. Send me an email (at [email protected]) and we can organize a 15-minute call over Zoom or Teams.

Hector Farmer is the Digital Team Manager for TSB Bank's Customer Engagement Centre.

He's been a Digital Team Manager for the past 7 years, at 2 different banks. In 2020, he won the Customer Contact Network of New Zealand, National Team Leader of the Year Award.

He's got a fantastic mindset which helps his people thrive. Exactly the sort of mindset to look for if you're recruiting Team Leaders, or to replicate if you're a Team Leader.

Hector's Top 3 Tips:

1. Share your "Why" with your team. And if you can, align your "Why" to that of your business. Purpose matters (11:45).

2. Have positive intent in how you coach and lead your team. It's the foundation of great leadership. When you create a safe environment for your people, they're empowered to be their best selves (12:03).

3. Slow down to speed up, by stepping back from the detail, and doing what only you can do as a leader - setting strategy, enabling others, and removing barriers (12:21).

You'll Learn:

• Hector's apple orchard metaphor, which shows how you can help your team deliver great customer outcomes (03:42).

• The actions Hector takes each day to help his team thrive (05:52).

• The emotional bank account each of your team has, and why it's vital to keep topping it up (06:15).

• The model which Hector uses to identify what coaching each team member needs (06:56).

See the full show notes here: https://bravatrak.com/hector-farmer-podcast

Connect with Hector here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hector-farmer-488a68161/

If you'd like some ideas on how an evidence-based Coaching System can help you reduce unplanned absenteeism and attrition - while boosting employee engagement and customer experience - send me an email at [email protected] to book your 15-minute chat over Zoom or Teams.

Vanessa Varela Escobar is the Operations Trainer at Sykes Holiday Cottages. She has more than 12 years' experience in the contact centre industry, and has worked as an agent, Team Leader and Contact Centre Trainer.

As a Trainer, she was heavily involved in helping the New Zealand Automobile Association contact centres win the Member Support Services category, at the 2017 CCINZ (Contact Centre Institute of New Zealand - now CCNNZ) CRM Awards. And then in 2018 helped the Association win the Supreme Gold award for contact centers over 50 seats.

She shares her tips on how the Automobile Association went about winning these awards, so your centres' can do the same.

Top 3 Tips:

1. As a Contact Centre Manager, be clear about what award you're trying to win, and ensure your Trainers share this vision. Then it will be very easy to lead you contact centre through the journey (15:34).

2. Get pre-audits from the people who will be judging the awards. They'll help guide you in the behaviours they're looking for in your agents (16:37).

3. Have your Trainers block out time in their calendars, to be out on the floor giving coaching or doing side-by-sides, to coach agents to use the behaviours the judges are looking for (17:04).

You'll Learn:

• The ABC model which is critical to motivating your agents to use the behaviours needed to win (05:48).

• The 2 things Vanessa credits for helping maintain momentum in her centres, leading to back-to-back awards wins in 2017 and 2018 (10:19).

See the full show notes here: https://bravatrak.com/vanessa-varela-escobar-podcast

Connect with Vanessa here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessa-varela-escobar-169386167/

Get your free copy of Game On here: https://bravatrak.com/game-on-book

Craig McFadyen is Director of LearningPlanet. He has over 30 years' experience in the contact centre industry, and has been at the forefront of providing training services to the industry for more than two decades.

As a result, he's got fantastic insight into how to create a learning culture in your contact centres, as well as how to take advantage of the latest trends in contact centre training.

Top 3 Tips:

1. A learning culture starts at the top. Where there's executive level buy-in to the importance of training, it cascades right down the organisation and transforms the entire culture (03:09).

2. You don't need as large a budget as you might think. With the online training that's accessible these days, you don't need a big budget to have a big impact (12:33).

3. Be responsive to the new trends and technologies that are coming through. They're shaking up how contact centre training needs to be done (12:47).

You'll Learn:

• The common mistake made in the selection of contact centre trainers (which sets them up to fail) and how to solve it (04:42).

• The 2 trends in contact centre training which are likely hurting the training your agents get (06:41).

• The next frontier of contact centre training, that will bring vital content to the fingertips of your people (07:32).

• The approach some contact centres are taking, which means agents are being trained before they even start their job (09:37).

• How the typical training approach goes completely against how most agents learn, and what to do about it (10:51).

Check out the full show notes here: https://bravatrak.com/craig-mcfadyen-podcast

Connect with Craig here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigmcfadyen/

Get your free copy of Game On here: https://bravatrak.com/game-on-book

Josh Krissansen is the Managing Director at Blogger Boy. He's a Millennial born in 1993, and with five years' experience as a Sales Manager, he's also managed Millennials. Particularly as Head of Sales, responsible for an inside sales team doing outbound calling.

As a result, he's got a number of great tips on how to get the best from the Millennials you manage.

Top 3 Tips:

1. Many Millennials see working in a contact centre as a career steppingstone. Find out what their career goals are, so you can help them understand how what they're learning and doing is going to benefit them in the future (25:30).

2. Give them more autonomy where possible, along with the tools they need to come up with their own decisions. Retention will improve because they'll be more engaged, and you'll have happier customers (25:57).

3. Like Gary V suggests, use kind candour. Which means being straight up and honest, coming from a place of good intention (26:25).

You'll Learn:

• The personality trait which separates Millennials from previous generations, and it's implications (03:07).

• Why working for established companies can be a challenge for Millennials, and what to do about it (04:00).

• What happened at school and at home for Millennials, and its huge impact on how they want to be managed (05:27).

• What Millennials need more than any other generation, but often don't get enough of (10:30).

• How to let them self-correct when they're off-track (13:50).

• How to have a constructive conversation with a Millennial if they're off-track (14:44).

• The changes in your business systems which Millennials require, so you get the best from them, and deliver better customer experience (19:15).

• The number one thing your youngest employees want to be in their career, and how you can help them achieve it (23:19).

Get the full show notes here: https://bravatrak.com/josh-krissansen-podcast

Connect with Josh here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-krissansen/

Get your free copy of Game On here: https://bravatrak.com/game-on-book (you'll also get the latest podcast episodes sent straight to your inbox).