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Call center Management
The document summarizes a presentation on call center management and performance given by Annette Ammeraal. It discusses key aspects of call centers including their purpose, processes, performance monitoring, job design, types of call centers, and research on factors that influence customer loyalty and service quality. Examples of call center scripts are also provided.
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Overview of call center management by Annette Ammeraal. Introduction of the speaker's background in marketing and education.
Course objectives are to discuss techniques and challenges in call center management with an assignment on their roles and processes.
Defining call centers, their growth since the 1960s, industries that use them, and cost benefits from various regions.
Definition and unique characteristics of call centers, including technology use and the nature of customer interactions.
Technologies used in call centers, highlighting aspects of customer-employee interactions.
Different types of customer interactions; building relationships vs. encounters.
The nature of interactions in call centers, with emphasis on pseudo-relationships.
Discussion on why short interactions are typical in call centers and methods of performance monitoring.
Methods and importance of performance monitoring in call centers, including job design aspects.
Categories of call centers: Mass Service vs High Commitment Service, highlighting their job designs and management.
Importance and structure of call center scripts, outlining common mistakes to avoid and essential guidelines.
Research findings related to service quality and customer loyalty in call centers.
Impact of employee job satisfaction and organizational commitment on service quality and customer perceptions.
Study findings on strategic deception in call center interactions and its implications.
Mission and vision of the Disneyland Paris call center, detailing objectives and team composition.
Key performance indicators (KPIs) used by Disneyland Paris call center and training objectives.
Coaching techniques used in Disneyland Paris call center for enhancing employee performance and customer engagement.
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Call center Management
- 1. Call Center Managementand Performance - 11 December 2009 Call Center Management and Peformance Paris Ouest – 11 December 2009 Annette AMMERAAL – NEGOCIA Paris Annette Ammeraal
- 2. Who is AnnetteAmmeraal? 10 years working experience in Strategic Marketing Consultancy and marketing research (Ernst & Young, Science & Strategy) in the Netherlands, France and Italy Teaching experience at NEGOCIA, ISG, ESG and ESP Managing a master Program at NEGOCIA: Major International Business Teaching areas: international marketing, CRM, marketing research, intercultural management PhD Research: Relationship Marketing: Client Orientation of Call Center Agents, its impact on the loyalty chain (Benavent Paris Ouest, Leeflang/Hoekstra Rug Groningen Les Pays Bas) Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 3. Call Center Managementand Peformance Objectif :Ce cours a pour objectif de présenter les techniques et problèmes rencontrer dans la gestion des call centers, ou centres de contact, ou de relations clients…. role of the call center in the loyalty chain types of call centers research on call centers Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 4. Annette Ammeraal CallCenter Management and Performance - 11 December 2009 - Assignment: Call Centers In groups of 2 students prepare some information on the following issues: What is a call center? What is different? Purposes P rocesses / S ystems Work conditions Client approach Own experience with call center
- 5. Contents Exercise: CallCenter, What is different? What is a Call Center Processes Monitoring/Control KPI’s Training/Coaching HR issues Research on call centers Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 6. Call Centers Startedin the 1960’s USA 1-3% of the working population in EU, USA, Australia. Call centers used by: telecommunication companies, banks, energy companies, insurance companies Of growing importance in India, Malaysia, Philippines, Algeria, Tunisia, Martinique, etc. Why?: Cost benefits (centralization, cheaper labor costs) Extend and improve customer service facilities New ways of revenue generation Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 7. Call Center: DefinitionA work environment in which the main business is mediated by computer and telephone-based technologies that enable the efficient distribution of calls (or allocation of outgoing calls) to available staff, and permits customer-employee interaction to occur simultaneously with the use of display screen equipment and the instant access to, and inputing of, i nformation . It includes parts of companies dedicated to this activity as well whole companies that specialise in such services (Smith & Sprigg, 2001; Waters, 1998) Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 8. What is sodifferent? Nature of the call centre technology Customer-employee interaction is mediated by technology (telephone) Performance monitoring Work and job design HRM practices Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 9. Call Centre TechnologiesAutomatic call distribution Interactive voice recognition Joint browsing Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 10. Customer Employee RelationThe customer-employee relation is mainly telephone based Two types of interaction: Relation shared history, mutual understanding customized service Encounters single, short interaction between strangers Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 11. Relationships Provider andcustomer know each other All providers not equivalent Based on trust Elitist: customers treated differently Customized service Difficult to start Difficult to end, loyalty is a factor Does not need infrastructure Fosters emotional involvement Become more effective over time (bank) Call center examples; counsellor, stock broker Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009 Source: Gutek, 1997
- 12. Encounters Provider andcustomers are strangers: can be anonymous Providers interchangeable, functionally equivalent Based on rules Egalitarian: all customers treated alike Standardised service Easy to enter No obligation to repeat interaction Is embedded in infrastructure Often requires emotional expressions not felt Designed to be operationally efficient,: Fast-Food, Bank teller Call center examples: Telephone banking, ticket sales, telephone operator services Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009 Source: Gutek, 1997
- 13. Call center customerinteractions Relatively short (average 5/6 minutes) Employees only interact with the same customer on a relatively infrequent basis Survey of 142 UK call centers: repeated interactions with the same customer occurred sometimes in 27% of the sample and never occurred in 37%. (Holman and Wood – 2002) A typical interaction involves: Information exchange Advice Building relationship Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 14. Relationships in acall center Call centers develop “Pseudo-Relationships” – an instant report Try to discover why a customer is using a service Use this information to express interest in customer’s affairs Track customers interactions with the organisation and enable employees to anticipate their needs Encounters and pseudo-relationships are more common than relationship-type service interactions Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 15. Why are therelationships like this? A relationship might not be needed, possible or desired for certain services Work in call centers tends to be organised so that simple, short, on-off episodes. It has nothing to due with the fact that the interactions are only telephone-based. Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 16. Performance Monitoring PerformanceMonitoring Observation, examination, recording and feedback of employee work behaviours Traditional Observation (Side by side = supervisor Listening) Work Sampling Customer Surveys Electronic forms Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009 1/3 of the call centers listened to one or more of an agent’s calls each week and 1/3 listened to call centers agent’s call once every few weeks or once a month (Holman and Word 2002)
- 17. Monitoring Call qualityis evaluated on criteria: knowledge based, Behavioral Attitudinal Examples: adherence to a script, call opening and closing, accuracy of information, product knowledge, helpfulness, empathy, enthusiasm, professional tone Evaluation followed by feed back, one-to-one discussions, summated results in team meetings Why Monitoring: Increase performance, identify training needs, reduce costs, enhance customer satisfaction, enable the correct allocation of resources by matching employee numbers to call levels Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 18. Job and workdesign Taylorist jobs Unskilled, repetitive, monotonous Calls of short duration, completed within specified time No choice whether a call can be answered or not Script has to be followed Agent has little control, Level of problem solving demand is low Empowered jobs High degree of control Extensive product or service knowledge with advanced IT Variety of calls and tasks and problems are handled Call can last longer Unscripted calls (apart from opening and closing) Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 19. Two types ofcall centers Mass Service High volume, low added value Cost minimisation Simple or few product or service offers Standardised service Encounter or pseudo-relationship Taylorist job design (low control and variety, low skill, high use of scripts, short call times) High levels of monitoring Emphasis on quality and quantity Higher tendency to use monitoring to discipline and control Recruitment minimal criteria Pay relatively low Training, mainly for newcomers, Little career options High use of temporary contracts Hierarchical Management and low trust Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 20. Two types ofcall centers High Commitment Service High-value customers (Busines, high-earning customers) Low-volume, high added value Customisation of service, cross selling, budling of servcies Complex and multiple products and services Relationships and pseudo-relationships Job design: empowered: high control and variety, little scripting, long calls Low levels of monitorinig Emphasis on quality Use of monitoring for developmental purposes HR policy: use of selection tests and competency models Relatively high rates of pay, higher percentage of total pay that is commission-based, good additional benefits Good promotion prospects Supportive, facilitative management High trust Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 21. Call Center ScriptsAnnette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 22. Call Center ScriptsTypical parts of an outbound sales call script/call guide when one is calling qualified prospects.· Opening – greeting and identification · Statement and interest-evoking question May include purpose of call or request for permission to continue · Introduce offer · Identify and Answer Objections · Trial Close · Close · Order/appointment confirmation, thank you and good-bye Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 23. Call center scripts MISTAKES TO AVOID 1. Avoid formatting the script in long paragraphs that promote mechanical reading. 2. Omit irrelevant information. 3. Avoid accepting any limitation or fault on your side immediately. 4. Avoid “blaming” or criticizing the customer from the outset. 5. Don’t talk to the point; you need to proactively build relationships with customers to generate more business. 6. Don’t forget to include a proper follow-up plan. 7. Don’t require a full agent script, because it can diminish the customer rapport. 8. Avoid a long greeting or closing. 9. Don’t require inflated cheerfulness or an overly polite tone. 10. Don’t repeat the same questions.. Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 24. Call Center Scriptsa script is just a guideline Focus on three essential components: writing, formatting and content. Make sure your script has the appropriate tone for the situation, and doesn't sound like the agent is reading a textbook. “ Your script should also be snappy and to-the-point to maintain customer interest. “Most scripts are formatted in a way that doesn't provide for easy delivery — in fact, it promotes reading. Write the script in short paragraphs that can be read quickly.. Script content must also be carefully revised and constantly updated. “The biggest mistake in script content is the lack of interactivity.. Audio reviews of actual interactions can also help you perfect script delivery. “Script delivery is about communication skills ... , the perfect script allows for appropriate response to any given customer interaction and prompts the call agent to stay consistent with the company message Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 25. Call center Research- DEAN Dean, A.M. (2002), “ Service quality in call centres: implications for customer loyalty ” , Managing Service Quality , Vol. 12, No 6, pp. 414-423 Research in two call centers: N = 284, consumers in an insurance company. N = 325, business consumers of a bank. Hypotheses: H1: Perceived service quality of the call centre is positively related to customer loyalty to the organization H2: Customer Orientation of the call centre is positively related to customer loyalty to the organization, H3; Perceived service quality of the call centre mediates the link between Customer Orientation of the call centre and customer loyalty to the organization Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 26. Call center Research- DEAN Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009 Perceived Service Quality Customer Loyalty Customer Needs Customer Feedback + + + Customer Orientation Dean – Service quality in call centres: implications for customer loyalty (2002) n/s for consumer sample, + for buisness sample +
- 27. Call center Research- DEAN H1 supported: Perceived service quality of the call centre is positively related to customer loyalty to the organization H2 supported. H3 supported. Perceived Customer Orientation (Needs and feedback dimensions) of the call center is positively related to customer’s loyalty (significant) The needs dimension with customer loyalty (B 0.29, t = 3.34, p = 0.0001 - consumer sample) (B 0.23, t = 3.47, p = 0.001 - business sample) The feedback dimension with customer loyalty ( (B 0.21, t = 3.48, p = 0.001 - business sample) The feedback dimension is not significantly related to loyalty for the consumer sample (B 0.14, t = 1.78, p = 0.076) Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 28. Call center Research- Malhotra, Mukherjee Malhotra, N. Mukherjee, A. (2004) “ The relative influence of organizational commitment and job satisfaction of customer contact employees in banking call centers ”, Journal of Services Marketing 342 employees in four call centers of a major UK retail bank H1: Job satisfaction has a significant positive effect on the service quality of customer contact employees H2: Organisational Commitment: Affective commitment has a significant positive effect on the service quality H3: Organisational Commitment: Normative commitment has a significant positive effect on the service quality Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 29. Call center Research- Malhotra, Mukherjee Job satisfaction (B= 0.11, t 1.76, p < 0.10) and organizational commitment (affective commitment: B = 0.313, t = 4.68, p < 0.01) of employees have a significant impact on service quality delivered. The affective component of commitment was found to be more important than job satisfaction in determining service quality of customer contact employees. H1, H2 accepted, H3 marginally supported (r = 0.203, p < 0.01), Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 30. Call Center Research- Jaiswal Jaiswal, A.K., (2008), “ Customer satisfaction and service quality measureent in Indian call centres ”, Managing Service Quality , Vol. 18, No. 4, 405-416 Qualitative methodology involving in-depth interviews with senior managers belonging to quality or operation divisions in four large call centres in India. A semi-structured questionnaire. 12 in-depth interviews with senior managers from four large call centres. (45-60 minutes). Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 31. Call Center Research- Jaiswal Service quality management in call centers not done with the customer in mind. The criteria used by customer for quality assessment are different from the ones used by managers. There is a gap between perceptions of managers about service quality offered and perceptions of customer about service quality received. Call centres managers overly depend on metrics comprising operational measures for service quality evaluation. Operational variables cannot provide a true picture of how customers perceive service quality. Operational measures are indicators of efficiency. Efficiency-driven approach can cause undesirable consequences such as customer defection and loss of market share. Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 32. Call Center Research– Patwardhan, Noble and Nishihara Patwardhan, A. Noble, S.M., Nishihara, C.M. (2009), “ The use of strategic deception in relationships ”, Journal of Services Marketing , Vol. 23, Issue 5, 318 – 325 Qualitative interviews over the telephone and in person with call center employees located in India 4 types of strategic deception (lying/deceiving customers) occurs in call centers: name location of call center pronunciation cultural norms Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 33. Case study DisneylandParis Call Center Mission Disneyland Paris = Generating Lifetime memories Vision Call Center = Call center is preferred channel for consumer by offering superior value and product knowledge to guests when planning/booking their vacations Surprise and delight our guest in order to maximize conversion and revenue Create an environment that encourages leadership, risk taking, ownership to achieve results Invest in training, coaching Invest in effective technology Collect knowledge/information of guests to better adapt sales dialogue Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 34. Case study DisneylandParis Call Center Team: 30 different nationalities, 10 key markets served, 6 languages More than 2 millions calls a year Two teams: Sales Force team Initial telephone contact to guest when booking/planning their vacation Guest Care Management of bookings already made Resolve guest issues Web/online consumer assistance Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 35. Case study DisneylandParis Call Center KPIs Calls offered Calls handled Call handle percent Conversion percent # of bookings Average handle time Call Center costs Costs per call offered Costs per call answered Average revenue per booking Average per cast member Average per work unit Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 36. Case study DisneylandParis Call Center Training objectives Ensure cast member feels enough autonomous and responsible to be able to carry out his mission & role with confidence Training on 4 subjects: Mission, role and responsibility within Call Center Brand product knowledge Systems & process acquisition/autonomy Sales philosophy & dialogue Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 37. Case study DisneylandParis Call Center Coaching and rating of the Sales philosophy/approach Relating (during the whole call) Discovering guest needs (beginning of the call) Advocating (second part of call) Supporting (last part of call) Attitude and behavior Coaching Call identification Call Assessment Quality Monitoring Side by side Example coaching If transport is offered (identify if client might be interested, propose, mention benefits) Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 38. Case study DisneylandParis Call Center Coaching and rating of the Sales philosophy/approach Relating (during the whole call) Discovering guest needs (beginning of the call) Advocating (second part of call) Supporting (last part of call) Attitude and behavior Discovering guest needs Taking information regarding needs of guest Understand guest’s motivation and intentions Create confidence and trust (listen and take care of the interest of the guests Show understanding and comprehension of the guest’s needs You are coming to Disneyland Paris for the first time? The children will love the parade! Are they looking forward to seeing the Disney Characters? (propose “eat n’ greet with the Disney characters”) Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
- 39. Role Play Groupsof two persons Prepare call center dialogue for Disneyland Paris Opening of the call Relating Discover guest needs Advocating Supporting Closing of the call Annette Ammeraal Call Center Management and Performance - 11 December 2009
Editor's Notes
- #2 Paris Ouest- Annette AMMERAAL - December 2009
- #3 Paris Ouest- Annette AMMERAAL - December 2009
- #4 Paris Ouest- Annette AMMERAAL - December 2009
- #5 Paris Ouest- Annette AMMERAAL - December 2009
- #6 Paris Ouest- Annette AMMERAAL - December 2009
- #7 (Ford re-call of defective automobiles) Technological developments in communications and integrative information technologies Toll free numbers PC, Networking capabilties, software innovations, linking communications and IT Paris Ouest- Annette AMMERAAL - December 2009
- #8 Paris Ouest- Annette AMMERAAL - December 2009
- #9 It requires front-line staff to simultaneously: Manage customer-interaction on telephone without reference to the visual cues present in face to face interation Manipulate computer based packages Rapidly process and retrieve knowledge of products, services and IT systems Monitor and regulate their performance and emotions Paris Ouest- Annette AMMERAAL - December 2009
- #10 Paris Ouest- Annette AMMERAAL - December 2009
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- #18 Paris Ouest- Annette AMMERAAL - December 2009
- #19 Level of job control Is generally lower than found in administrative, manufacturing, service and human service jobs. More repetitive tasks, computer uses is high 19% of call center agents had jobs with moderate variety and low control, 9% of call center agents have jobs with high variety and high levels of control Paris Ouest- Annette AMMERAAL - December 2009
- #20 Paris Ouest- Annette AMMERAAL - December 2009
- #21 The distinction between only two types is too simple, more variety exists. Paris Ouest- Annette AMMERAAL - December 2009
- #22 Paris Ouest- Annette AMMERAAL - December 2009
- #23 Paris Ouest- Annette AMMERAAL - December 2009
- #24 1. Avoid formatting the script in long paragraphs that promote mechanical reading. 2. Omit irrelevant information. 3. Avoid accepting any limitation or fault on your side immediately. 4. Avoid “blaming” or criticizing the customer from the outset. 5. Don’t talk to the point; you need to proactively build relationships with customers to generate more business. 6. Don’t forget to include a proper follow-up plan. Without follow-through, your customers’ frustrations will quickly escalate to permanent anger. 7. Don’t require a full agent script, because it can diminish the customer rapport. 8. Avoid a long greeting or closing. Customers hear enough about who they're calling in the IVR (interactive voice response), so make greetings short and simple – identify the brand, yourself and get down to business. 9. Don’t require inflated cheerfulness or an overly polite tone. Saying please and thank you is customary, but requiring it after every request annoys many customers. 10. Don’t repeat the same questions. If a question was asked on a previous contact or in the IVR, don't ask it again. That applies to verification, phone numbers or anything that should have been captured in the first contact. Leverage your CRM application, automatic-number ID pop-ups, softphone capabilities and any previous data stored. Paris Ouest- Annette AMMERAAL - December 2009
- #25 Most people who write scripts are good writers and write them in ‘good written English’ as opposed to ‘good spoken English.’ And when delivered they will almost always sound ‘read,’ and we know what a disaster that is,” said Flyn Penoyer, telesales guru at Penoyer Communications. Get to the heart of the matter quickly and be sure that your agents aren't making speeches. “The client does not care to know why something happened — although triage and root-cause analysis is important ... what are you going to do to fix their problem now?” said Koenig. Include bullet points so that the call agent can hit all the important facts without reading a word-for-word response to the customer They tend to be speeches that leave little room for — or interest in — customer response,” said Penoyer . Remember, you're dealing with people on both ends of the call, and sales and customer retention never happen by accident. Paris Ouest- Annette AMMERAAL - December 2009
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- #34 Experience with family, unique, not that often Explain how the right services makes this experience very special, and lifetime lasting, CONSEILLER = consultant, Advice Paris Ouest- Annette AMMERAAL - December 2009
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- #39 Discovering guest motivation: Ask why they come to Disney, what to celebrate, who is to be the birthday boy/girl, Reconfirm: Excellent, it’s a superb reason for coming to see us., you will be delighted. Paris Ouest- Annette AMMERAAL - December 2009
- #40 Paris Ouest- Annette AMMERAAL - December 2009