KOVA is honored to praise the bravery and sacrifice of our nation's firefighters.
I am a firefighter.
I have seen burning death and devastation.
I have seen walls crumble, roofs fall, peoples possessions perish.
I have watched forests burn for days and nights.
I know that fire is a living thing that eats and breathes, runs and rages.
I have walked in infernos, felt searing heat wound my flesh, smoke score my lungs.
I have had my life rest on my back, on the burden of an air tank and suit.
I have carried men, women and children living from the flames.
I have born the dead from smoking ruin.
I have risked my life to save property, people’s way of life.
I have seen the blazes, I have endured the suffocating dark. I have been blind and alone.
I am a husband. I am a wife. I am a parent. No matter what happens, how hard it gets, life goes on.
I am a firefighter.
I have made my life a service to my community. When the call comes, I must answer, no matter how tired, how sick; when I am needed lives are at stake. I can never give up.
Every time, at every scene, I leave part of myself behind. Fire demands its price.
I have found true friends through fire, have stood shoulder to shoulder with them. They’ve saved me; I’ve saved them.
I have known complete and utter exhaustion, but forced myself to take that next step, haul that hose a little closer. I can never give up.
I have endured the nightmares fashioned from the terror and loss I have felt, from the horrors I have seen. I have been changed by fire. I can never forget. I will always remember.
When that call comes, I know deep down that I might not come back. Someday I might have to give my life so that another can live. I can never give up.
I have known the chill fear inside that the fire might win. That I might not make the difference. That I won’t make it in time. I can never give up.
You’ll never know my name. In a world filled with communication, I often go unthanked, unremembered. I hope you’ll never need me, but if the moment ever comes, I’ll be there. Always.
I am a warrior. I battle flames.
I am a hero. I am a savior.
I am strong.
I am a firefighter.
Giving guest service that will generate conversation for your company doesn’t stop at assisting friendly customers. Truly impressive employees and managers are able to help all customers, even those who call with angry complaints. The ability to calm down irate customers, no matter what kind of tough customer they are, and fix their problem will generate positive conversation for your company between that customer and their friends. However, being unable to assist an unhappy customer can end in not only losing that particular customer, but also can lead to losing business among that customer’s social networks. The best way to provide exemplary guest service is to give your employees the tools they need to be empowered to help that guest. Training your employee thoroughly is the first step to turning an angry customer into a happy one.
1. Say “I’m Sorry”
Even though most employees won’t want to apologize to guests, particularly if the customer’s problem isn’t their fault, taking personal responsibility for an issue will make the customer feel as though their problem is more likely to be solved. A simple, “I’m sorry for x,” can help an irate customer calm down, particularly when that apology is followed by action. Train your employees to apologize, and be genuinely apologetic for whatever problem the customer has come up against. Your customers will know if they are being given falsely genuine service, so make sure your employees know that actually wanting to help a customer is crucial to deflating an angry situation.
2. Empower your employees to make decisions
Most of the time, an angry customer does not want to wait on the line while an employee goes to find a manager. Train your employees to know the best way to react to any common complaints your company sees, and give them the power to make that problem right. When your employees are able to promptly correct a customer’s problem, and know that they are allowed to do so, the employee will feel less stressed, and the customer will be appreciative of the quick response to their needs.
3. Recognize great guest service
Don’t let good work go unnoticed. When training, if appropriate, tell your new employees about great guest services that past or current employees have given. Not only can these be good practical examples, they show your new employees that their hard work will be recognized. When employees feel that the work they put into their jobs is actually noticed by management, they are more likely to continue to put forth effort. Helping an angry customer is difficult work, and you should always recognize your employees who do their jobs well. It makes for a positive work environment, and encourages other employees to strive for the same standard of excellence.
Of course, there are many other ways to train your employees to give great guest service to angry customers. Tailor your training to problems you often see in your call center, and don’t neglect any complaints that may appear on guest surveys. The best guest service starts with the best training, so rather than relying on your employees to figure out how to keep guests happy, give them the tools they need to keep themselves relatively stress-free, and the customers returning to your business.
Being a contact center manager is not for the faint of heart. Stepping in as a brand new manager for a call center can be even more stressful and nerve-racking. That being said, here are a few tips to help make the transition process a little easier.
Showing compassion can help you build an engaged workforce
Although is it usually advised that you keep a professional distance from your employees’ personal lives, showing compassion during times of need can be the distinguishing factor between being seen as an “okay” manager versus being a great one.
From hiring someone with a stutter to offering support to an agent that wants to change career paths, it is important to embrace your employees and give them the help they need when necessary. Having a compassionate approach towards your employees will ensure that the call center atmosphere produces a happy and engaged workforce.
Give your employees the opportunity to voice their opinions
Giving your employees regular chances to pitch ideas to the management team is a fantastic way to ensure that things stay current within the call center. Furthermore, by putting these ideas into action, you can help to increase employee buy-in and additional engagement.
Familiarize yourself with any regulatory frameworks
It is important to familiarize yourself with the frameworks that your call center is legally bound to operate within. This is especially significant if you work in a department such as consumer finance. You should be fully aware of your responsibilities to remove clients from your calling list who have signed the National Do Not Call Registry. Failure to ensure compliance in these areas could result in your call center receiving a large fine.
Apply an effective recruitment and training program
In a contact center, staff turnover is notoriously high. You can save money by making sure that you are hiring the right people and training them correctly. If your in-house training team is not effective, consider hiring a specialist training consultant to assist you in addressing any HR problems.
Get on the phone yourself
If you have never worked as a call center agent before, pick up a headset and start talking. By doing so, you will gain a better perspective on the challenges your employees face on a day-to-day basis. This can help you tweak your calling strategy; being willing and able to get your hands dirty will also help you gain respect from your staff.
Another vital aspect of managing a contact center is ensuring that the software you use is doing its job and providing you with a real ROI. Solutions like our Verint Media Recorder Workforce Management software can make your job as manager significantly easier, while at the same time improving your contact center’s bottom line. By streamlining everyday processes such as scheduling, quality control, and training, you can be sure that everything is being done in the most efficient way possible. For further information about the products and services KOVA can provide to you and your call center, contact us today.
Call center supervisors are expected to excel at a variety of roles and responsibilities, epitomizing the title of “multi-tasker.” Not only must they manage agents, but also handle challenging customers, organize shifts, report call center metrics to call center management and ensure that quality objectives are being achieved. They must fill the role of expert service provider, trainer, mentor, motivator, problem-solver and manager, with or without the help of call center management software. With such a seemingly overwhelming task list, it is important that call center supervisors possess a few key traits to help them achieve success in the position.
Excellent People Skills
Excellent people skills are a trait all call center employees should have, but its importance is magnified in the case of supervisors. People skills are imperative for call center supervisors as they not only have to manage agents, but also deal with dissatisfied customers on a daily basis. When working with agents, supervisors are essentially attempting to have a large group of varying personalities follow a single strategic vision. In order to bring this goal to fruition, the supervisor needs to get to know their agents, their daily activities and be able to identify with them.
Typically, supervisors start out their career as agents, so making this jump to understanding their role in the company isn’t as overwhelming as it may sound. Supervisors play the role of mentor for agents by communicating with them, reinforcing company policies and being their go-to figure in the company.
Problem Solving Skills
When dealing with customers, not only does a supervisor need to possess excellent people skills, but also above par problem solving skills. If a supervisor is speaking with a customer, reality is, that the customer is unhappy or angry in some way. Rarely does a customer ask to speak with a supervisor to praise service they’ve received or a product they have purchased. For this reason, supervisors need to know how to diffuse a situation, gain the trust of the customer, and suggest a solution that is favorable for both sides.
Objective Thinker
A supervisor is responsible for understanding each aspect of the business including the technology, processes and systems, call center metrics and how everything comes together. They are the avenue through which top call center management communicates about goal setting and performance. Keeping these objectives in mind, the supervisor must motivate their agents to follow policies, provide good service and work efficiently in an effort to meet their goals and increase their call center metrics.
Providing supervisors with the tools they need to succeed is an integral part of their success - and the success of the company. The incorporation of call center management software such as a workforce management software program can be extremely helpful. The software helps to balance a variety of tasks, outputs centralized forecasts, schedules based on skills on an intra-day or long-term basis and aids compliance with government regulations, among other things.
For more information on how you can work towards a culture of excellence in your call center, contact us today.
Companies invest a considerable amount of time and money into gathering feedback from its valued customers. Despite their best efforts, most companies end up gathering inaccurate data from their customers. Verint Media Recorder Customer Feedback enables companies, especially call centers, to acquire the truth about what their customers truly think about them.
Here is a closer look at the Verint Media Recorder Customer Feedback solution and how it can help your business rise above every challenge.
Most customer feedback is usually in a single form. It may be in the form of survey, an online poll or a quick question after a call. Each method provides a certain degree of information to companies. To gain more, companies employ multiple methods. However, not only is this time-consuming, it’s financially taxing.
Whether it is on a call, through an email, as a browser-based solution, on a social media platform and more, Verint Media Recorder Customer Feedback is a cost-effective way to acquire feedback through multiple channels.
When it comes to acquiring information from customers, it’s vital that you ensure that information acquisition is simple. Not only should providing feedback be easy for customers but easy for companies to acquire.
The Verint Media Recorder Customer Feedback solution gives companies the power to effortlessly create forms to gather data that is right for them. Moreover, it allows customers to fill data and you to acquire it, in no time at all.
Companies acquire feedback from their customers throughout the year. While encouraging, the data gathered is rarely contextual and may not provide an accurate depiction of a customer’s perception about your company.
Verint Media Recorder Customer Feedback allows you to acquire data almost instantly from customers. It can be at the end of a call, upon exiting a website, or when they first land on it. Acquiring data immediately enables acquisition of contextual customer feedback.
Compatible with a range of other solutions such as the Verint Media Recorder Text Analytics, you can not only acquire customer feedback after or before an event, but during it as well. By analyzing calls, texts, videos, polls, report cards and detailed feedback using the multiple tools provided, you can gain more information from every feedback and/or call than ever before.
More than just acquiring a greater amount of data than ever before, cross-solution compatibility allows you to build a unified platform for your business needs. Analyzing calls and customer feedback will allow you to assess whether your employees are doing well, causing good feedback, or whether their reduced performance is the cause of negative feedback.
Simple to use, cost-effective to maintain, and easy to implement, Verint Media Recorder Customer Feedback helps you find out what people really think about your company. KovaCorp’s Verint Media Recorder solutions, including Verint Media Recorder Customer Feedback, help companies, businesses and organizations learn about themselves through the eyes of their customers. Verint Media Recorder Customer Feedback allows for it to be done in a cost-effective, timely and effortless manner.
While it is vitally important to every call center to offer quality service to customers, that cannot happen unless your employees arrive at work promptly, and when they are scheduled. Even if you use scheduling software, many small adjustments need to be made on an almost daily basis as employee needs change. Many times these small changes can be forgotten, leaving employees feeling as though their managers do not care about their schedules, which can lead to employees coming in late to work or not at all. To keep up your employee satisfaction, and therefore customer satisfaction, you may want to consider a few small tips to help create the most effective schedule.
Make Notes
Depending on how well you know your employees, you may find that many schedule requests are casual in nature. Many times your employees will come up to you and ask personally for time off, or to exchange shifts with another employee, or to change scheduled times. Of course, these casual requests can be easily forgotten, particularly if you are working on other projects during the day. However, employees will often feel as though their requests have not been heard if you don’t remember to change their schedules slightly. It’s handy to keep a notepad on your person, or immediately write down their requests to look into later. This will help you to remember, and give your employees confidence that you will help them with their scheduling requests.
Reminders
Most schedules go through large variations, whether in accordance with holidays, seasons like summer and winter breaks, or semesters if your company employs students. Remind your employees repeatedly both in person and through bulletins to change their schedules if they need to at least a month in advance. Assume that your employees will forget about your reminders over the course of the month, and make sure to keep up the notifications even if it seems irritating. This will cut down on awkward overlap weeks in between schedule changes where some employees suddenly aren’t able to make scheduled days, or need to adjust to new activities.
Exchange Numbers
Your employees might assume that you will find people to cover shifts they cannot take. This will put a lot of extra work on your shoulders, and is usually unnecessary. Encourage your employees to exchange phone numbers or become Facebook friends so they can find someone to cover their shifts on their own, rather than relying on you for the changes. Occasionally you may need to call employees to cover sudden shift absences, but talking up employees’ swapping shifts on their own will cut down on how much you need to do so, and create friendly interactions between employees.
When making or adjusting schedules, always remember if you wouldn’t want to work it, don’t schedule it. Obviously there are going to be some shifts that just seem unpleasant, like ten hours shifts several days a week, but bear in mind that some scheduling can really be a bit much. You want to do as much as you can to keep your employees in a relatively stress free environment. Don’t schedule someone to close the office and then come in for an opening shift the next day. Creating schedules that make sense is the best way to be sure that your employees will be willing to come into work.
To make your scheduling even easier, check out our Verint Media Recorder Workforce Optimization and Management Software. This software will allow you to create the perfect schedule from the beginning, so you have to do less adjusting on a day to day level.
As the school year begins, it is useful to recall that the safety of our children is a common responsibility. Because KOVA cares, we’ve gathered together some tips for public safety officials to share with their communities.
As the holidays end, children who are used to the lazy days of summer suddenly have a new routine: one that often includes a mad rush to catch the school bus. Letting your child ride the bus to and from school each day is a wonderful convenience, but it comes with certain risks. Make sure you and your children understand bus safety to make riding the bus as safe an experience as possible.
Drivers Need to Stop
When you are driving and see the stop arm go up on the bus, you need to stop. Thousands of motorists illegally pass school buses every day. Children can be and have been killed by drivers who did not stop as children were entering or exiting the bus. Each state has different laws regarding when it is illegal or legal to pass a stopped school bus. Generally, you must stop when you see red lights flashing and the stop arm up when you are behind the bus or across the street, approaching the bus. In many states, if you are on the other side of a four-lane highway divided by a median, you then would not have to stop. Check your state laws so you know the rules of the road.
Children Need to Look Both Ways
You cannot go over the basic rule for crossing the street enough times with children. Teach them to look both ways before crossing the street when heading to the bus. They must look to the left and then look to the right. They should do this twice before crossing.
Getting on the Bus with Others
It can become crowded at the bus stop, so children need to learn proper crowd behavior. When the bus is arriving, all children should form a line. The line should not start in the street. It should start about 10 feet from the curb. Children need to wait until the bus comes to a complete stop. The driver will then open the door and invite them in. Children should never enter the bus until the driver says it's OK. The bus driver has the best view and can usually spot an oncoming car better than a child can. Children should also wait for the bus driver to put on the flashing lights that signal traffic to stop.
Riding the Bus
In the excitement to find friends already on the bus, some children might push and shove to get to a seat quickly. Remind your child that he or she should never do that. Another child could trip from being pushed. If the bus has seatbelts, your child should buckle up. Tell your child to not to throw things, jump, run or yell while riding the bus. All that activity can make it difficult for the bus driver to concentrate, which increases the risk of a traffic accident.
Exiting the Bus
Children should exit the bus in the same organized manner they entered it, with no pushing or shoving. They should hold the handrail as they walk down the stairs. Children should not walk behind the bus. Once they exit, they should get on the sidewalk. If they must cross the street, they should do so in front of the bus. If a child drops something while crossing in front of the bus, he or she should never just bend down to pick it up; the bus driver could think the coast is clear and proceed. The child should instead walk to the bus driver and explain that he or she dropped something.
By following these public safety tips, children heading back to school all across the country will be safer. We here at KOVA wish everyone a great – and safe – start to the new school year!
The average call center turnover rate is between 26% and 51% annually, which is hardly a surprise considering the daily challenges each call center employee faces as a necessary part of the job. While handling a call with a customer might be unavoidably stressful, the employee experience outside of calls does not have to be. Maintaining a positive, interactive work environment plays a large part in convincing employees that it is worth it to keep their jobs, and in keeping up morale, which in turn helps employees maintain a positive attitude when assisting customers. While there are obvious ways to make the workplace cheerful, like coffee in the break room and doughnut Thursdays, there are other, more interactive ways a manager can promote positivity among his or her employees.
Employee Appreciation -
While this is not the most innovative idea, making sure that employees know they are appreciated at least once a month can keep them from feeling as though they come to work and leave without the managers noticing their good work. Although it is an option to have an Employee of the Month, a single award can occasionally lead to animosity among workers striving for the only spot. Recognizing multiple employees for specific things they do well can make your employee feel valued for his or her personal contribution to the call center, and encourage others to also strive for excellence.
Casual Days and Company Shirts -
Bulk screen printing shirts with the company logo on them can not only give your employee something to wear on casual workdays, but also promotes the company when worn outside of the workplace. Many companies have casual workdays that allow employees to wear jeans or perhaps t-shirts of a certain kind. Take it a bit further by giving your employees a shirt specifically for the company and implementing an optional work t-shirt day. This not only allows for another casual day at the work, but also works as relatively free advertising when your employees wear their free shirts outside of the office.
Incentives for Going Above and Beyond the Call of Duty -
Much like having t-shirts bearing your company’s logo, there are options for printed pens, tumblers, and hats, among other things, that can be used for advertising and as incentives for particularly hard work. Create a point system for positive reviews from callers, giving extra effort to make a customer happy, etc., and allow your employees to turn in their points for products bearing the company logo and name. Of course, not every employee is going to want a company pen, so you could also add in other prizes such as gift cards, and other small trophies. Not every employee may want to participate, but those that choose to take part will work harder and more consistently with a physical prize in sight.
As a manager, it is always difficult to balance taking care of your employees and taking care of your customers, but a happy employee is a hard working employee who will, in turn, make the customers happy. By focusing efforts on maintaining a positive, interactive work environment, you can excite your employees for work and make it something to look forward to.
Managing a workforce, whether it be a room of 20 people or a room of 200, is never an easy task. It is hard work that requires excellent people skills, the ability to multi-task, as well as the composure to remain calm under pressure. Being manager, you are given the job of not only handling a team but also keeping an eye on operational costs. Your managerial skills can mean the difference between a successful call center and a disastrous one. The trainee is only as good as the trainer. That being said, here are 5 tips for training your call center staff.
Use free online tools
With technology constantly changing and the internet ubiquitous, some training tools are right at your fingertips for free. One prime example would be using YouTube, which is not only cost-effective but also bound to make the training sessions more interactive and fun. Videos can range from humorous to more serious, while at the same time also encouraging staff members to share their stories, thus turning training sessions into group discussions.
Keep a trainee observation log
An observation log can come in very handy when training new hires. When a new employee has trouble with a particular concept, the notes kept by a manager can assist in helping clarify the challenge. If the issue is about understanding how to handle an upset customer, for example, a manager can easily step in and offer more examples or further instruction on the concept, which is usually very helpful.
Conduct passport tours
One of the more pressing issues for new staff is understanding how a call center functions and operates on a day-to-day basis. It can be very beneficial to conduct tours of various parts within the center so new staff can comprehend how everything comes together. Along the way, new staff can obtain a signature on their “passport” at every stop made.
For live calls, group new staff
Making the transition from training to taking a live call can be pretty intimidating, to say the least. New staff may know how to do the job, but may also have a lack of confidence - or not have the speed or accuracy to take a multitude of calls without having numerous questions throughout. An easy way to make the transition smoother would be to group new staff together and have them take calls under the watchful eye of a seasoned worker, whether it be you or a trusted employee. This allows each individual new hire to be productive through answering clients’ calls in a normal manner, while still having access to advice, if needed.
Have new staff score their own calls
Numerous call centers use their quality assurance form as a rubric of sorts for training. This idea makes sense because you want to train new staff to be up to par with the same standards used to evaluate a good call. You can further this approach by having new agents score their own calls. These calls can either be role-played recordings or live calls. This technique enables new agents to view their performance in an objective manner and helps them analyze their performance for future improvement.
And there you have it. 5 tips to help you train your next set of contact center staff. For more details on the workforce training software KOVA offers, check out our Enterprise Workforce Optimization Solutions.
Selecting the right headset is an integral part of running a successful and profitable call center. Call center managers closely monitor the average time that an attendant spends with a customer, and are constantly working to increase efficiency and reduce that number.
The type of headset that a call center attendant uses can be directly related to the revenue of the company. A poor headset allows the attendant’s words to be blurred by background noise from other people in the room. These individuals deal with a high volume of calls on a daily basis; so combating these extraneous noises with each call greatly decreases their productivity as well as the overall revenue for the company.
Additionally, dealing with noise interruptions leads to a decrease in customer satisfaction. Not only does the client become frustrated by the peripheral noises interrupting the call, but also becomes less willing to provide personal information, such as a credit card number, over the phone when it seems that the call can be heard by others in the room.
Issues like the ones mentioned above, can easily be avoided by upgrading the headsets that the call center attendants use on a daily basis. In order to maximize profits and productivity and minimize customer dissatisfaction, there are a few important features to consider.
Noise Cancelling Microphones
Noise cancelling microphones will tune out background sounds from the other calls being simultaneously conducted in the call center. Specifically, audio processors that use Digital Signal Processing (DSP) can also contribute to the reduction of background noise to support clarity in a conversation.
Compression
This feature works primarily to combat the volume “spikes” which can be disruptive to both parties in the conversation. The amplifier will work to counteract shifts in decibel levels and compress the sound to maintain a constant level and clarity.
Binaural vs. Monaural
A binaural headset includes a full pair of headphones with a microphone while a monaural headset consists of a single earpiece and a microphone. The decision to purchase binaural or monaural headsets is primarily based on the environment in which they’ll be used. If the nature of the call center requires the individuals to consult each other during calls, the monaural headset will facilitate this better. In contrast, if individuals will be in a strict one-on-one call with the client, a binaural can help eliminate distractions from the call center floor.
Quick Disconnect
A quick disconnect feature allows a call center attendant to maintain the connection with the caller while disconnecting from their workstation. This is especially useful if the attendant needs to consult a reference item across the room. Traditionally, the attendant would need to disconnect from the call, consult the reference and reinitiate the call at a later time. The quick disconnect will save time and money for the center by eliminating the need for multiple phone calls for one client.
Comfort
This feature is easy to overlook, but extremely important to consider when purchasing call center headsets. Comfortable headsets, designed for all-day wear, should include large, leather ear cushions, easy to clean, self-adjustable mountings and lightweight frames. When the call center attendants are comfortable, they are in a position to work more efficiently with a greater level of output.
In order to maximize productivity in your call center, attendants must be equipped to work efficiently, being able to understand what is said during each phone call without the need for repetition. Purchasing commercial-quality headsets is worth the investment because, in the long run, they’ll increase your profits more than they’ll subtract from your bottom line.
