Silverpop has more than 400 employees globally, and they maintain a 95% client retention rate. What’s one of their secrets for success? Investing in their support team – contact center employees.
Gregory Harmon, Manager of Client Support Tier I, explains that Silverpop has a number of strategies to maintain a high level of customer support, and the NICE platform help him along the way. “As a contact center manager, I have all the information that I need every single day to make intelligent business decisions about staffing,” Harmon says.
One of his decisions was to make investments in his support team, which includes the following:
Support Training Camps – New hires or team members who need to improve their performance are paired with a veteran team member for 5 – 10 business days. During that time, they get one-on-one coaching that includes the sharing of best practices. Since implementing the support training camps, Harmon has seen performance improvements between 5 – 10%, which are sustained.
Adopt NICE Tools – Giving contact center employees the right tools have enabled the team to see a 360-degree view of the customer. With SalesForce as part of the NICE platform, Silverpop can ID clients by phone number, and they are routed to the appropriate agent. Skills-based routing is also done by product, language, and location. Clients can also enter a case number that routes them back to a specific agent. This empowers employees while providing callers with a cohesive, personalized experience.
Route Calls to Employee’s Homes – The ability to route calls to the home of an employee allows team members to periodically work from home. It also ensures that employees don’t have to come into work during periods of extreme weather. The contact center can remain open, and contact center agents can work safely from the comfort of their own home.
Review Calls with Peers – Silverpop offers contact center employees several opportunities to work with peers so they feel prepared to handle difficult cases. For example, a veteran team member will sit with a newer employee and review difficult cases. One of the tricks is the team member is taught how to identify answers themselves, rather than being given the answer.
Also, five times per-day team members have an opportunity to spend 15 minutes in a training room and discuss difficult cases with each other. “Instead of having one team member find a resolution, we’re actually sharing a resolution, and again we’re able to talk best practices with the group,” Harmon says.
Learn more:
- Increase agent productivity with Personal Connection.
- Learn about our Workforce Optimization Software.
- Read “Unchain Your Agents, Elevate the Customer Experience.”
Note: This information is from the NICE webinar “Improve Customer Experience: Tips From Your Contact Center Peers and Experts.” Additional insights from the Webinar were shared in this entry last week.
