The daily routines of employees have evolved. More people than ever are working remotely — call center agents included. They are relying on home offices and co-working spaces to walk customers through a problem, in addition to the dedicated office building. How does this impact your phone-based operations? Simply put, you require communication software that empowers remote agents, offering the necessary features and flexibility for seamless customer communication from any location globally.
Top 5 Call Center Tools:
- Call queue
- Desktop softphone & mobile app
- Dashboards & call analytics
- Auto attendants
- CRM software
Call Queue
Although immediate support for every incoming caller may not be feasible at all times, implementing a call queue significantly improves the waiting experience. Call queuing is a simple process that involves placing incoming calls in a queue, allowing them to wait for a response instead of being directed straight to voicemail.
Call queues can be customized to ring in different ways, such as ringing all at once, in a pre-defined listed order, or round-robin. You are also able to add a user to a call queue, having that queue follow the user’s answering rules, or add only specific user devices, such as physical phones, softphone, mobile app, or cell phone forwarding.
Desktop & Mobile App
With an increasing number of call center agents working from home, it’s crucial for your call center software to offer features that facilitate seamless remote communication. Opting for a cloud-hosted call center solution, as opposed to on-premise, provides your team with flexibility to handle business calls from their existing devices. Moreover, agents will benefit from virtual business numbers, eliminating the need to use personal lines for customer support.
All your remote agents require is an internet-connected device, whether it’s a laptop, smartphone, or tablet, to efficiently manage business call. With CallHarbor, you simply download the mobile app, sign in with your user access login, and you’re ready to kick off operations. Before finalizing a VoIP provider, ensure that their app is compatible with your operating system if you plan to go mobile, such as iOS and Android.
Dashboards & Call Analytics
Ensuring the highest quality of customer service with speed is the primary objective for call centers. However, in the absence of reporting and call analytics, gauging the status of these metrics and identifying areas for improvement becomes challenging. For call centers, the indispensable tool lies in comprehensive reporting.
To determine whether your call center is meeting its goals, it is crucial to assess whether your cloud contact center software provides real-time reporting and analytics. Ideally, the reporting should encompass key call center metrics such as:
- Call Volume: Keep track of the number of live calls (both inbound and outbound) being managed concurrently. Ensure that you have an adequate number of agents to handle the demand effectively.
- Average Handle Time: Evaluate the duration of each customer service call. If the average call time exceeds expectations and contributes to long queues, educate agents on strategies to reduce call times.
- Service Level: Tracks the number of calls that meet your customizable service level agreement, such as X number of calls handled in Y amount of minutes.
- Customer Sentiment: Assess how customers feel about their interactions with your agents by analyzing sentiment. Determine the effectiveness of your agents in delivering satisfactory service.
Auto Attendants
An auto attendant is an automated business phone answering feature that directs inbound calls to the right person or department, or gives the callers the option to hear a message (such as hours or location), leave a voicemail, join a conference call, and more.
An example of an auto attendant would be when you call a company and are directed to use your keypad to reach the desired department. As a virtual receptionist, you can automatically route calls to your employees or other call queues without needing a live operator.
CRM Software
With increased collaboration between sales and customer support teams, it is logical to ensure seamless integration between your call center software and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform. Verify if your call center solution offers CRM integrations with widely used tools such as Salesforce or HubSpot. Ideally, your contact center software should facilitate the bi-directional syncing of data, providing a comprehensive overview of customer interactions.
Some call center tools go a step further by incorporating a built-in CRM tool equipped with features like Screen Pop. This functionality utilizes the incoming caller’s phone number to search for a corresponding entry in your CRM. If relevant data is available, you will have access to the caller’s:
- Name
- Company
- Survey response
- Account value
- Customer experience score
In conclusion, the evolving landscape of remote work has significantly impacted call center operations, with an increasing number of agents working from home or co-working spaces. To adapt to this shift, it is essential for call centers to invest in communication software that empowers remote agents and enables seamless customer communication from any location worldwide.
The top five call center tools identified for effective remote operations include call queues, desktop softphones & mobile apps, dashboards & call analytics, auto attendants, and CRM software. Implementing a call queue enhances the waiting experience for customers, while cloud-hosted call center solutions with desktop and mobile app features provide the necessary flexibility for remote communication.
Dashboards and call analytics play a crucial role in ensuring the highest quality of customer service, allowing call centers to assess key metrics such as types of inquiries, call volumes, average call time, and customer opinion. Auto attendants serve as automated answering services, directing inbound calls to the right person or department, enhancing efficiency.
The integration of CRM software with call center solutions is emphasized, promoting seamless collaboration between sales and customer support teams. Some advanced call center tools even incorporate built-in CRM functionality, enhancing the caller’s experience by providing relevant data such as name, company, survey response, account value, and customer experience score.
In principle, adapting to the new normal of remote work requires call centers to embrace modern communication tools that prioritize flexibility, efficiency, and a comprehensive understanding of customer interactions through analytics and CRM integration.