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Maintaining a strong performance management process with remote contact center agents can feel daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. On a regular day in the contact center, a supervisor will usually walk the floor, check on performance levels and coach agents face-to-face. In a remote contact center, performance management processes look a bit different, but the fundamentals remain the same.

Jeff Kennon, Director of Customer Experience for NeoNova, a customer support enterprise servicing some of the world’s leading internet service and telecom providers, says that leveraging a workforce management platform helped delight both customers and agents. He explains how opening new channels has made for a great customer experience.

Here’s a dirty little secret. Despite the industry’s focus on the customer experience (CX), contacts still take too long and don’t reach closure often enough. Generally speaking, it’s not the agents’ fault. They really want to help customers. They also want to achieve the center’s targets for Service Level (SL), Average Handle Time (AHT), and First Contact Resolution (FCR), among others. What holds them back? Too often, technology, or the lack thereof.

Contact centers spend a lot of time and money trying to improve customer satisfaction (CSAT). And they should! CSAT drives customer loyalty and their bottom line. Some are investing in ACD routing, IVR and even speech recognition software to deliver a better customer experience. But what if I told you that you might be overlooking one of the most effective tools you have for improving CSAT?

Ensuring agents are trained, informed and up to speed on product, process and procedure is an ongoing and significant effort that contact center leaders find as a critical piece to keeping agents fresh and engaged. Balaji Venkatech Bala, Senior Director of Customer Support for Sum Total Systems, sums up the importance for scripting in his organization.

Utilizing performance management software can be a major competitive advantage for your call center. Here’s five reasons why.

Digital transformation and the gig economy have made remote work common across the globe—the contact center industry was no different! In fact, due to the huge array of digital interaction channels, virtual assistants, and more, the contact center field is even better positioned for remote work.