It's a matter of Clicks

When we speak to agents about their performance and how we can help them be more productive it all comes down to the number of clicks. Short processes look smart and easy. They do not add unnecessary tasks to the call handling which may lead to mistakes and unjustified stops.

Agents are looking forward to their next call, they want to complete their actual call as soon as possible, not dwell on the fact that it may have been unsuccessful and now they may need to justify the "Why". They can track this by clicking just one button, and move to their next call, that will most likely be a whole different story.

What have we learned about speaking to end-users or agents?

Make it Quick: a button can indicate all you will need to know later about the completed call. A disposition or outcome can be described with one word. Assigning a step to indicate this description and complete the next call is what helps to happily move to the next call and forget any demotivating aspects of the previous interaction.

Make it Simple: uncompleted outcomes can easily be assigned for redialing in an automatic dialing process. When agents reach a customer that may not be in the best mood at the moment, that call can be perfectly rescheduled. Another agent can receive the contact a couple of days after the initial call. When an agent dispositions an uncompleted call it allows another opportunity for conversion, at another moment or with another voice to interact with the customer. This is why we don't need too many details from a first call. Reporting can be perfectly reviewed taking these types of assignments into consideration.

Make it Direct: five to six outcomes should be enough, even for the most complex operations. Creating a sorting process that is precise does not need to be narrow. What you will need is based on performance and compliance. These two initial considerations will be your starting point. Anything that may not add value to the process you do not need to include in the catalog or list. Ask yourself these questions when creating outcomes or dispositions in your dialer:

Is this call completed? If yes, identify as Sale or Unqualified. Can this call be called back? If yes, identify it as Incomplete, if No identify it with the reason why such as "requested to not be called back" (DNC).

Incomplete calls can be queued for an automatic callback and may result in a completed call.

The rest can be established automatically without the agents having to interfere, a number of times a lead is called or attempts for example. And also the resting period of time assigned for the callback.

Our very own CenterMaster has been created taking all of this into consideration. It has also been assessed by the most experienced outbound calling agents. Their feedback has allowed us to create a general understanding of what is needed on the floor. Listening to this feedback allows our technology to be concise at the same time that it is user-friendly.

What else will you consider when it comes to creating the right outcomes for your operations? Would love to read your comments.