The truth is that the world is not prepared for the pandemic. The last year has been very challenging, shifting to unconventional methods to keep businesses from folding.
Today is a very different place for call centers than it was a year ago. Although we aren’t completely out of the pandemic’s shadow, industries have begun mobilization and the momentum is driving demand once again across service sectors.
Here are some tips to increase your productivity when 100% normalcy is restored:
Review Data Security
Most breaches accounted for involved phishing and ransomware downloaded as harmless files on employee devices. These figures should be worrisome as statistics were based on data from pre-COVID times whereas employees worked full-time from an all-encompassing infrastructure. Now imagine not having the infrastructure to alert and defend remote assets from online frauds. These risks can be effectively dealt with by educating agents about vulnerabilities before telecommuting.
Evolve Around Work Demands
Don’t look for hiring agents to fill empty work cubicles. At this time, the most effective way—as per the poll data—is to have a hybrid digital model that focuses on flexibility, productivity, and agent well-being.
Include Social Media in your Corporate Communication Strategy
Today, social media is not just the mouthpiece of businesses. It is a two-way channel for listening and communicating with an audience to build more audience. In the post-COVID world, contact centers should pay more attention to social media engagements to measure people’s sentiments. While it’s praiseworthy to drive engagement via human agents and chatbots, social media works as a personal tool to know your audience in person. In 2021 and beyond, social media will take the center stage to improve brand credibility.
Put More Emphasis on Talent than Location
The post-COVID is the time to expand your talent pool. As remote-hybrid working takes shape, organizations will have more flexibility in hiring. They can tap into offshore markets for talents who can work via remote infrastructure. If your company can adopt the remote onboarding strategy, you can maintain a competitive edge by bringing high-powered employees under your fold who can independently manage targets.
Enable Agents to do More with Knowledge Base
With 80% of agents working independently, it’s no longer an option to turn around and seek help from colleagues. Make standard answers quickly available to agents to improve their agility in serving customers in a fast-paced environment.
Coronavirus has impacted the world at an unprecedented level — and unfortunately, the worst is yet to come. Companies need to act today in order to bounce back successfully in a post-corona marketplace.
