The problem with call centers is that management wants to get the maximum amount of labor out of their workers. Many call centers don’t train their call center agents much if at all. Many of these call centers put lots of pressure on their workers to do more calls per hour and work long hours. The result is a high attrition rate, and high burnout. The management can’t handle the pressure either and they tend to quit frequently as well.
The problem is, how do you get high volume, high quality work out of your workers? Keeping them in a pressure cooker will upset them. Is there a better way?
I have a friend who works in a tax preparation center. The more returns she does, the better she gets paid. There is an incentive and profit sharing program in action. She gets paid on an hourly rate, but that rate is set based on how well she did the previous year. For call centers, you could do the same. Pay your workers based on how good their quality and quantity was in a previous time period. That way you don’t have to hassle them and you can all be friends! Work at your own pace. Since call center work has a high turnover rate, why not pay people on how good they were the previous quarter? Give quarterly raises.
If you want to keep your callers around longer — don’t mistreat them. Give them appreciation, and more freedom, and pay based on results!
Business need to remember that when a customer calls in, it is either to understand a bill, add on to service, or complain. The first experience that a customer gets when calling for these reasons is the receiver on the phone. A pleasant experience can bring more business, a bad experience can get a good customer to look for options. For these reasons, the company or person you choose to outsource, needs to reflect your company best light. Many companies have experienced, difficulties in learning the language, they may know English but not familiar with the cultural nuances of the country they are calling from and may get the order wrong or worse not understand the problem. How much do you love your business and your customers? How much do you want to keep the voice of your company happy so they portray the above?