Using state-of-the-art agent supervision technologies to improve contact centre results

We know that agents are important, skilled people who can provide customer satisfaction even in challenging situations with empathy and soft skills. Agent experience (AX) has recently been elevated to the same level as customer experience (CX), a key metric for brand performance. How can the supervisor ensure the contact centre is on the right track for both? 

Supervisors need to act as an intermediary between agents and the C-suite, they are tasked with carrying out a brand’s customer service strategy while at the same time coaching and leading agents as they develop their skills and become brand ambassadors. Due to the new reality of work, agent supervision must also take place remotely, at least in part. As every contact centre is different, each supervisor has different needs. A flexible, intuitive and adaptable approach is needed to respond to changing metrics and manage contact centres more effectively. The good news is that the latest technology can help supervisors make quick decisions, develop agents and improve contact centre performance while avoiding some of the more common mistakes that supervisors make in day-to-day operations.

Know the right level of agent supervision

Whether in the contact centre or working remotely, it is important for every agent on the team to know not only what the targets are and how they measure up but also how to improve. Call centre helper magazine talks about 6 key steps to a measurable improvement in performance. Included on the list is having a balanced set of KPIs, setting the right targets and introducing an element of fun. This all needs to be coordinated and delivered by busy supervisors. It can be all too easy for underachievers to miss out on positive training interactions with the pressure to meet targets amidst high call volumes, while the achievements of high-performers can fall by the wayside.

This all ties back into the idea of effective agent supervision. The scope of supervision that your Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) solution provides should allow supervisors to stay in touch with what agent performances are communicating. For instance, if the dashboard shows agents who have high availability times on one project, it allows supervisors to redeploy them to another project where they are more needed.

Find the right metrics

Each supervisor, contact centre and brand has its own unique needs, and therefore specific metrics to track. Just as it’s important to not chase metrics for their own sake, badly organised displays of data can lead to hasty readings of that data and making the wrong decisions with regard to agent deployment. In crucial moments like these, agent supervision suffers and can lead to poor performance as well as the perpetuation of poor contact centre practices. 

High-performing dashboards allow supervisors to visualise their strategies for agent supervision. They not only keep track of every metric relevant to the project at hand but also create a custom workspace that provides an accurate graphical representation of the data, such as traffic overview or KPIs. Every relevant metric can be assigned to its own widget, which can then be arranged as supervisors see fit. Alongside this enhanced visibility, dashboards have a range of features that redefine decision making.

New supervision technology is proactive, which helps make the most of data

For effective agent supervision what’s needed in a modern CCaaS solution is a user experience that enables supervisors to organise information in the way that’s most convenient for them. Metrics such as agent activity, as well as distribution charts and timelines provide full visibility of contact centre operations at any point in time. Most significantly, agent supervision technology comes with a variety of proactive decision support features, such as alerts and suggestions, which facilitate decision making in real-time. For instance, if a supervisor sets up an alert for a specific metric, then they will get notifications if the metric is close to reaching a predefined threshold, allowing them to respond rapidly. Additionally, smart automation will take care of certain processes which the supervisor would otherwise have to engage in. 

The contact centre agents that work under supervisors also stand to benefit. Because information is presented visually and is quick to grasp, supervisors can use it to help illustrate to agent areas for targeted improvement and counsel or motivate them accordingly. Remote work brings its own challenges. Luckily, new agent supervision technology functions as a workforce management tool that assists with adjusting CX strategy and agent workloads as necessary no matter where agents are working.

Odigo solutions support agent supervision for contemporary contact centres

Odigo’s CCaaS solution comes with improved supervision features that make the supervisor experience more customisable and provide a better understanding of data at a glance. Real-time decision making is possible thanks to automatic suggestions and tracking that warns about upcoming problems and monitors how much progress is made in resolving issues. To learn more, get in touch with one of our experts.