Making the Most of Multichannel Agents

Agents from a multichannel or omnichannel environment

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Making the Most of Multichannel Agents
Contact CentreInsights

Published: February 19, 2021

Anwesha Roy - UC Today

Anwesha Roy

Contact centres are no longer about only taking calls or telephonically speaking with as many customers as possible. The average contact centre supports up to 9 different channels, and 85% of them do so via multichannel agents.

Who is a Multichannel Agent?

A multichannel agent is a contact centre employee who works in a multichannel or omnichannel environment, attending to customer queries on call, via email, through chat, on social media, using SMS, or any other channel as the organisation may choose. The agent is skilled across all of these channels and is equipped to switch between them seamlessly, both in terms of skill sets and tools.

Interestingly, an agent working in a multichannel or omnichannel contact centre isn’t necessarily a multichannel agent. You can choose to have agents specialise in a specific channel and give them tools for operating that channel, without ever going into cross-training or system integration.

Preparing Agents for Multichannel Responsibilities

The skill requirement from a multichannel agent is very different from someone attending only to calls or dedicatedly responding to emails. Agents need adequate training before moving to a multichannel role; 46% of contact centres recognise that the training needs of multichannel agents are more extensive on an average.

Take the following steps when preparing agents for multichannel responsibilities:

  • Make room for a mindset change: A traditional agent is focused on extremely short-term KPIs, centred around a single channel. In multichannel, on the other hand, the focus is on providing a holistic customer experience across channels with more overarching goals. This requires a mindset change
  • Train in soft skills and hard skills: 64% of contact centres agree that multichannel calls for agents to learn new technologies. Additionally, they need soft skills like time management, multi-tasking, foresight, self-motivation, etc. to thrive in a multichannel environment
  • Specify your expectations in the job description: It is advisable to hire for – and not only train for – multichannel responsibilities, as you could attract candidates with the specific trait needed in a multichannel environment. Interview candidates across channels like video, email, and chat to understand how adept they are at communicating via each
  • Adapt your systems for multichannel: Multichannel responsibilities are already complex, and you don’t want to add to them by implementing fragmented technologies or confusing KPIs. Make sure there is a multichannel routing system in place to transfer incoming interactions, across channels, to the appropriately skilled agent.

Ensuring Positive Agent Experiences in a Multichannel Contact Centre

Multichannel agents are a massive asset for any contact centre, helping you keep up with an increasingly digital world. So, agent attrition and recruitment can be costly – necessitating investments in their engagement, compensation, and overall happiness.

A good way to improve the multichannel agent experience is by leveraging gamification, setting clear targets and encouraging healthy competition, where achievements are publicly recognised. You could also empower agents through flexible shifts, self-scheduling, optional WFH, and paid time off, ensuring there is a good work-life balance to offset the pressures of a highly demanding job.

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