At some point, every business faces the reality of needing to modernize, and now is the time many call centers find themselves trying to do just that. Determining exactly how to bring your call center up to date is where many fall short.
Entering the world of ‘what to do next’ can be overwhelming. Start with the first step – identify the challenge areas that keep you from making the big leap.
Here are 3 common challenge areas in modernizing your call center and how to overcome them:
1. Compliance
Staying in between the lines of what’s compliant and what’s not is a never-ending battle. Many call centers choose to forgo modernization completely in order to avoid any compliance mishaps. In reality, the agencies who choose not to modernize are usually the ones that run into mishaps.
Staying up to date on emerging technologies in your industry is part of being a successful agency. Those who know the ins-and-outs and the rules and regulations are able to intelligently choose from the modern technologies that give them the green light from those that don’t. Eventually, everyone needs to modernize, and running from the word ‘compliance’ will only put you behind the eight ball.
2. Agent Integration
Agents are the motor that keeps a call center running. In order to successfully modernize your call center, your agents need to be on board. As is with any change in operations, there should be some sort of formal training. Whether you’re introducing physical technology or new software, the biggest mistake businesses make when modernizing is not properly training their team to use it.
Before making the leap into modernization, be sure that your team can handle the changes. Failed modernization is usually not because of a lack of willingness from your team, but rather an inability to provide a structured plan and poor training. Once you have your team on board and you’ve developed a clear implementation plan, you’re ready to tackle the modernization head-on.
3. Consumer Preferences
Today’s consumers are the driving factors of change. As a call center, your biggest challenge is getting a consumer to pick up the phone or call back. It’s easy to play it safe and use the traditional method of contacting consumers; make the call, get sent to voicemail, and hope they call back. Even though this may be your agency’s long-term standard operational procedure, it’s no longer at the best interest of the consumer.
We’ve already seen a huge shift in the way that consumers prefer to communicate with call centers and collection agencies. Within the next couple of years, self-service and automation are predicted to take over a majority of operational procedures in various industries. This isn’t to say that thehuman aspect will be omitted, but rather the two will work hand-in-hand. Convenience is now a priority for consumers, and it should be for your agency, too.
Squaring up to these challenges can be frightening, but choosing not to welcome modernization with open arms can put your business at risk. We want to help you overcome each of these challenges with our safe, consumer-friendly, and easy-to-use DirectDrop Voicemail technology.
If you’re ready to get started or want to learn more about how DirectDrop Voicemail can take your agency to the next level, reach out to us here.