The landscape of contact centre management has undergone a remarkable transformation, with the increasing trend of remote work. In a paradigm shift from the pre-COVID era where 100% in-office work was the norm, today’s telecommunications business, in particular, has witnessed a drastic shift towards the work-from-home model. With the majority of individuals seamlessly operating from their homes, the benefits (listed below) are substantial. However, there are also a few considerations for remote contact centre managers.
Cost Savings and Increased Talent Pool
One of the standout advantages is the significant cost savings associated with the work-from-home model. Contact centres are achieving as much as 40% cost reduction by implementing remote work as an option for employees. With the elimination of expensive office infrastructure, most of the direct costs are shifted to the employees. However, the convenience of working from home and eliminating travel time and costs seem to outweigh these costs. In addition, the convenience of working from home has resulted in remarkably low employee attrition rates, creating a stable and motivated workforce.
Not only does the remote work model eliminate the need for expensive office infrastructure and decrease employee turnover but it also enables the recruitment of top talent from anywhere in the world. No longer are employers limited to their local talent pool. In addition, potential employees who were limited by various disabilities are also able to form part of the talent pool. These individuals have often showed that in the remote work model they are able to outperform those with no disability. The work-from-home solution, in effect, becomes a catalyst for job creation amongst disabled individuals.
Enhanced Productivity and Autonomy
Remote work has brought about a paradigm shift in productivity. As mentioned already, the shift has increased the employee talent pool, leading to higher competitiveness and quality of work, as well as having employees available at more hours in the day. Agents are no longer bound by the traditional office constraints and having employees in different geographic areas allows for continuous availability of agents.
The introduction and availability of robust work-from-home management systems for contact centres enables continuous monitoring, ensuring that every hour is utilised efficiently. Managers of agents have access to analytics such as how much time agents are spending on what activities and this information can be used to continuously coach and improve agents’ productivity. Agents tend to prefer this method of monitoring and feel motivated rather than micromanaged.
Recruiting and Onboarding in a Remote Environment
One important consideration for remote contact centre management is that not all agents are suitable for the work-from-home model. Recruiting in a work-from-home environment demands a strategic approach. Assessments used for recruitment in traditional office settings need to be adapted if they are to accurately gauge an individual’s suitability for remote work. Onboarding processes often need to include initial on-premises dialling to ensure the competency of the individual working from home.
Fostering Employee Engagement
Maintaining a sense of team cohesion in a remote setting is paramount. Employee engagement is fostered using:
- Regular virtual meetings, group chats, and collaborative tools to create a virtual team environment
- Personalised, non-monetary incentives delivered to agents via couriers to increase motivation
- In-person wellness checks (at least every three months) to ensure employee well-being
These activities not only ensure that employees feel connected but also contributes to a positive and engaged workforce.
Technological Infrastructure for Seamless Operations
A crucial aspect of successful remote contact centre management is the implementation of a robust technological infrastructure. As mentioned above, there are many benefits to remote contact centre management, but these only materialise if managers put certain technological infrastructure into place to curb some of the dangers of the remote work system. These include:
- Cyber security software to monitor the activity of employees on their laptops, preventing any security breaches
- The prevention of the use of USB ports for the removal or transfer of any data from employees’ devices
- GDPR and/or ISO compliance to protect the integrity of the company’s data
- IT support that educates and empowers agents to resolve as many issues by themselves as possible
- Speech analytics software to measure agent performance and perform quality assurance
As the remote contact centre landscape continues to evolve, the adoption of speech analytics is poised to play a pivotal role in creating data-driven, responsive, and customer-centric customer service operations. If you want to learn more about how Callbi Speech Analytics can help your remote contact centre achieve 100% call coverage and insights, please contact us for more information or a demo.