What is "effective" customer service?
There are three predominant factors that make a customer service interaction successful:- Effectiveness - was the issue resolved accurately and competently on the first attempt?
- Ease of use - was the organization easy to deal with or did they make the customer jump through extra hoops?
- Emotion - how did the customer feel about the interaction?
Example of effective customer service

Agents are the key to delivering effective customer service
Customer service agents are at the forefront of delivering effective customer service. When upset or frustrated customers contact businesses, they just want their problems solved or their questions answered now so they can be done with it. Connecting them to unskilled agents or ones who aren't empowered with the right policies or tools could be disastrous for customer loyalty. In fact, a PWC study revealed that one out of three consumers would leave a brand they love after just one bad experience. Customers are becoming more demanding and they expect their issues to be resolved quickly and accurately.Problems agents face

Problem #1 - Training
Agents typically receive training when they're first hired and then may nest for a period of time before they go solo. After that, training can be inconsistent. Experienced agents may receive training on new products or attend group refresher training when widespread issues are identified, but these types of training efforts aren't specific to each employee's performance. Agents that don't receive regular, targeted development aren't as proficient as they could be and might not be completely aligned on customer experience objectives.What holds organizations back from providing ongoing training? Many times it's due to labor costs. But it can also be difficult to pinpoint each agent's specific training needs. Customizing training plans is important because it makes them relevant and effective. Most contact centers have quality assurance programs that are supposed to help solve this problem by identifying specific development opportunities. But they commonly rely on a sampling process that may not capture an agent's true strengths and weaknesses. Having an incomplete picture of agent performance will result in suboptimal development.Solution. Contact centers that use industry leading quality management applications can avoid most of these problems by automating the monitoring process. In fact, the right software can review 100% of contacts from every channel and flag ones needing follow up. This ensures agents receive quality scores that more accurately reflect their work.Additionally, this approach helps supervisors more effectively identify agent-specific training needs. Instead of taking a shotgun approach or coaching agents on the wrong topics, leaders can focus on relevant and meaningful development that will positively impact performance results. Better-developed agents will deliver better customer experiences.More information: Watch our recorded webinar, How and Why to Engage Your Agents in Quality Management, for further insights.Problem #2 - Complexity
Too often, agents are required to navigate multiple, unintegrated systems when handling customer contacts. For example, they may need to look up a caller's customer ID in the CRM system, then look up order information in the order management system, access the ticketing system to request a refund, and then go back to the CRM application to log call notes. All the systems likely have their own log-in processes (ie, no single sign-on) and the agent probably has multiple open Windows that she toggles through as she tries to assist customers.Under this type of scenario, the tools that are supposed to be helping agents are actually hindering them from providing effective customer service. Disparate systems increase complexity and the possibility of error, plus if an agent forgets one of her passwords, FCR will suffer.Consider this analogy. In the mid-1990s, before universal remotes were common, having a multimedia TV experience was a complex undertaking. I had a friend who took a 2x4 and velcroed four different remotes on it - one each for the TV, cable box, VCR, and stereo. It took some wizardry to play a video tape with the audio coming from the stereo speakers, and only my friend knew how to set it up, often with some initial trial and error because he sometimes forgot how to do it.Requiring agents to work with multiple, disparate systems is kind of like handing them my friend's remote-covered 2x4. It takes special knowledge just to navigate through all the different tools and sometimes they just might forget how to do it, eating up the caller's time while they figure it out.Solution. To solve this problem, agents should have a unified desktop that integrates all relevant systems into a single interface. In other words, give them a "universal remote."
Problem #3 - Utilization
Agent utilization is something every well-run contact center worries about multiple times every day. When agents are underutilized, meaning the contact volume is too low to keep agents busy, it's an inefficient use of labor dollars and can put the budget in jeopardy. Conversely, when there aren't enough agents to sufficiently handle volume, it makes it difficult for the overwhelmed agents to provide effective customer service.Several factors can contribute to over- or underutilization. The first possible point of failure is the forecast. Forecasts predict contact volume by day part based on volume history. Forecasting can be a complex task and if a contact center doesn't use sound practices, the foundational forecast can be shaky.The second potential point of failure is scheduling. Good scheduling practices need to consider several factors, such as forecasted volume, agent preferences, expected absenteeism, and more. But even if forecasts and schedules are solid, sometimes things just happen – maybe one of your products goes viral and drives unanticipated volume, or perhaps a lot of agents call in because of a blizzard. Contact centers need to have good workforce management practices, including the ability to quickly adjust .when things don't go according to plan.Regardless of the cause, being understaffed will have a negative effect on the customer experience, especially for those customers who use phone support. They'll sit in queue longer, more of them will abandon their calls because they don't want to wait, and those that get through to an agent will likely be rushed through the interaction because the agent feels the pressure of a backed up queue.Solution. Many small call centers use spreadsheets as tools to support forecasting and scheduling. That may work well for small, simple operations, but as businesses grow and customer demands force complexity into the service model, call centers may outgrow spreadsheets. Workforce management software can take over when spreadsheets fall short.Workforce management applications automate and add accuracy to forecasting, scheduling, and intraday adjustments. They can quickly build forecasts based on historical volume, apply several different predictive algorithms, account for future volume-driving events, and facilitate "what-if" scenarios. These capabilities result in better forecasts that help contact centers avoid understaffing.Additionally, sophisticated scheduling capabilities ensure the right number of agents are scheduled during the right times of day across all supported channels. Plus, features like shift swapping and automated time off requests give agents more control over their schedules, which is good for agent satisfaction.Finally, when life doesn't go according to plan, the best workforce management software can recalculate forecasts on the fly and adjust schedules accordingly. Ultimately, workforce management applications improve planning so that contact centers are optimally staffed. This will increase the likelihood that agents will be able to take the time they need to effectively resolve customer inquiries on the first contact.Problem #4 - Performance feedback

Problem #5 - Operational reporting
Agents aren't the only ones who may have difficulty viewing performance data. Sometimes supervisors can't access the data they need to manage operations, especially if they're working with outdated call center software. Legacy systems may capture the data, but sometimes it's hard to get to it. Additionally, creating new or modifying existing reports may require scarce IT resources or vendor involvement (at a cost). And sometimes the data that is accessible isn't real-time.The lack of timely, easily accessible operational data is clearly a problem in a fast-paced environment where data is often the key to operational success. When supervisors can't access agent-level metrics, like FCR rates, they can't pinpoint who or what to focus on to improve overall results.Solution. Modern contact center software packages typically include a multitude of out-of-the-box reports that reflect contact center reporting best practices. The standard reports often include drill down capabilities so that supervisors can see the agent-level details required for targeted improvement efforts. And if none of the out-of-the-box reports suits a particular need, end-users should be able to create their own reports, no IT or vendor involvement required.Benefits and summary
