Managing Virtual Call Center Agents: Tips for Remote Call Centers
Looking to learn how to effective manage remote call center agents? Today's virtual call center solutions allow for more flexibility than ever, especially when it comes to remote agents. But, because remote employees work outside of a central office or location, some virtual call center managers worry about how to monitor remote employee activities.
With modern-day virtual contact center software, it's simple. We'll show you the top call center management tips so you’ll be able to manage a productive workforce, no matter where your agents are located.
Related: At-Home Call Center Software
1. Develop an Ideal Agent Profile and Detailed Expectations for Recruitment
When hiring call center agents, define your ideal employee through selecting top skills and personality traits they’ll need to produce high quality outcomes within your team. Giving a pre-hire assessment to potential employees is a great way to effectively find the best-fit candidates for your team. Also be sure to have detailed documentation of job responsibilities, requirements, and policies so your agents understand your team’s expectations from the start.
2. Allow A Three-Month Trial Period with Detailed Training
After hiring a remote agent, give them a three-month trial period as a means to decide whether they can successfully perform the role remotely. Some agents can be highly qualified for customer service but struggle with remote work, so a trial period is an effective way to have a new or current agent try the role. For remote agents, be sure to set aside plenty of one-on-one time for training, and ensure that a detailed remote training guide and/or videos are available to them for effective remote learning.
3. Facilitate Daily Check-Ins and Remote Collaboration
To avoid feelings of isolation, schedule daily one-on-one sessions between agents and their supervisors. Supervisors should take extra care to include remote agents in all team meetings and work or non-work related activities. To further reduce feelings of detachment, allow agents to talk through communication collaboration tools as a means to promote a unified team culture, get help, and receive feedback.
4. Utilize QA Tools and Reporting to Track Agent Activity, Goals, and Metrics
One of the most important ways that you can manage remote call center agents is through quality assurance tools. Live call monitoring, call recording, call whisper, and call barging is a common feature in contact center software, which will also allow managers to effectively monitor their team remotely. Supervisors can also check call logs and reporting to oversee their agents’ activity.
In AVOXI's Cloud Contact Software AVOXI Genius, there are a variety of reports available for supervisors to keep track of agents, as shown below:
Agent Status Report
In AVOXI Genius, supervisors can ensure that each remote agents is as available as often as they should be through the Agent Status report, which breaks down agent activity-- typically, auxiliary time for call center agents is around 85 percent.
Call Dispositions
With AVOXI Genius's Call Dispositions report, supervisors can create custom call outcomes and track them within the report and filter by day, queue, and agent. Through this report, supervisors can see items such as how often agents are resolving calls, how often callers are transferred, and more. This report is also a great way to identify any training gaps if an agent's calls are trending as unresolved or often transferred.
Outbound Metrics
Through the AVOXI Genius portal, supervisors can also keep track of agents making out bound calls through the Outbound Metrics report. Managers should have benchmarks set on how many calls are made and answered, rather than solely calls made so agents are encouraged to make quality calls. Benchmarking is easier if you have a few in-house agents-- make comparisons between pick up time and call length for in-house and remote employees as a means to create remote benchmarks.
5. Incentivize High-Quality Work
To help motivate and keep your remote agents happy, consider giving awards and recognition to those who produce great outcomes. Incentives could include preferential scheduling, perks of convenience, personalized goods, and team or company-wide recognitions. This will promote a positive company culture and play a role in retaining top agents you want to keep, as well as attract potential agents to join your team.
How AVOXI Can Help
We hope these tips are useful in your search for remote agent management best practices. If you didn’t find what you were looking for, send us feedback and let us know how we can improve the information! Be sure to check back with us regularly as we create new posts surrounding about call centers and other related topics.
If you're interested in implementing an easy-to-use and affordable cloud contact center software, take a moment to check out AVOXI Genius! Our Cloud Contact Center software allows you to have all the call quality monitoring capabilities you need and more at $24.99 per user. You can try it risk free for 30 days-- click the buttons below to learn more and get your free demo.
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