“A job is no longer a physical place that you go to work; work is where you get things done”.
That’s long been a part of UC Today’s editorial promise, and it’s never been more true than right now.
The definition of ‘work’ is changing before our very eyes. We’re operating in ways we’ve never had to before, and facing challenges that we could never have imagined. Yet there’s one constant throughout this whole thing, and that’s the need to communicate effectively with customers. Now is the time to really focus on ensuring that they’re not only experiencing the very best in customer service, but that they also feel supported by the businesses they place their trust in during these worrying times.
Good News & Bad News
The good news is that many are taking the right approach to this unusual situation. Right now, businesses are adapting by increasing or even creating helplines, generating COVID-19 call centres that can be operated remotely by a team of work-from-home agents. The bad news is that call centres are traditionally office-based operations, and none of us have been given the time we really need to transition our tried-and-tested communications setups from the call centre to the home.
Everything is new. That’s why reading up on some effective tips to manage a team of work-from-home agents can be key to helping you maintain the high level of service that you’ve become known for.
Here are some ideas to help you manage your team effectively, no matter where they are:
1 – Generate Support
Support your team, even when you can’t be with them.
One way that we can generate support is through technology, combining tech solutions with best practices and strong communications. Teamwork plays a significant role in a call centre’s ability to manage high volumes, and in helping distributed teams stay connected during difficult times, we’re giving them the tools they need to optimise their processes and figure out new ways of working.
Another way that technology can help is through proactively minimising stress levels and reactively addressing issues that may arise from burnout. According to McKinsey, 64% of people are feeling depressed about the current situation, with 39% worried about paying their bills. So not only are your staff handling more calls, but they’re potentially handling calls from people who may be quite upset.
By tracking working hours through digital workforce management systems, we can take proactive measures to prevent agents from feeling overworked or overwhelmed. And by providing systems that enable simple shift swapping and scheduling, we can have peace of mind that resources are available should our customer service agents require time off to recover from work-related stress or illness.
2 – Empower Agents
Stop micromanaging; give your team the power they need to work independently.
This is a difficult time for our customers. They’re prohibited from doing the things they love, they’ve been separated from their physical support network, and they may be facing financial uncertainty. Customer frustration at this time is naturally at an all-time high, so managing your remote team in the same way that you’d manage your on-site team may make a challenging situation into a bad situation.
While you may encourage your agents to stick to standard tried-and-tested practices and adopt a ‘powerless’ approach in the office, when your agents are working from home, and dealing with potentially irate customers, empowering your staff can go a long way. Right now is the perfect time to adapt and update your management processes and policies to give a greater level of control to staff.
With more control, employees can work at a more independent level; essential when they are operating in isolation. Collaboration tools play a major role here, and can help ensure that you remain involved in the decision making process. By introducing collaboration tools to your team, you’re successfully mimicking the ‘network judgement’ environment of the office and empowering them to succeed.
3 – Don’t Fall Back into Bad Habits
Know what managerial styles work, and stick to them.
Take a look back at your management practices of the past. If, like many managers, you’ve gradually moved away from the structured approach to an integrated management technique, then you’ll want to be careful that you don’t start to fall back into bad habits. And if you’re not entirely sure what the difference is between the two, let’s take a closer look at these two ways of managing a team of agents
Structured management is the technique that was once typical of the call centre environment. It involves managers evaluating calls with agents at a scheduled time, usually once per week, when many calls were then irrelevant. The integrated managerial style looks at performance from a real-time, ‘always on’ perspective. It involves evaluating performance both during and immediately following a customer call.
But managing a team of work-from-home agents throws a spanner into the works. Working with an on-site team provides constant visibility over working patterns and availability; something that you don’t have when your agents are working from home. And this can make it tricky to review calls on a real-time basis. But don’t fall back into bad habits. Use technology to make yourself available and accessible.
Don’t Be Afraid to Try Something New
The situation we’re all experiencing is like nothing we’ve ever been through before. It’s natural that the managerial styles that we’ve previously relied on may not perform as well within this new environment. And that’s OK… as long as we recognise it. Don’t be afraid to try something new. Try introducing new technologies, encouraging greater levels of independence, ensuring that those aspects of management that really were working for you can be translated into your new setup. When teams have the right support, from the right people, at the right time, they can flourish, no matter what the situation.
Guest Blog by David Kelly, General Manager for EMEA at Deputy
Deputy is a software company that provides cloud-based workforce management and scheduling platform to more than 200,000 workplaces globally. David is proud to lead an ambitious and enthusiastic team that supports a rising number of new customers across the EMEA region.
