HAPPY AGENTS DELIVER GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE –HERE’S HOW TO DO IT

It’s no brainier that happy agents tend to offer great customer service .In general also this rule applies .Happiness begets great performances .We have always heard Do what you love or love what you do. This is easier said than done.
Though it’s not as daunting a task as it may seem. Customer service as we know is all about dealing with people at most basic level .Catering to their whims fancies and demands .It involves interacting with customers at different levels.
Understanding their views and listening to their grievances.

For all this and more in customer service what is required is empathy ,sympathy, cordiality, smiling solutions and overall a pleasant amicable interaction .This is only possible when the agents are happy taking calls and serving customers .The prerequisite of all great interactions is a happy agent .Here are few tips on how to keep our agents and subsequently our customers happy :

Ensure that agents are trained and provided guidance

To start with agents need to be hands on with the customer care process, needs to be updated with the product being offered At every step of the way agents act as guiding factor to the customer and who acts as the guiding factor of the agents /
Their knowledge of the product ,the in depth analysis of the commodities and services on offer .Knowledge is the toll here which acts as the factor contributing most to the confidence of the agent. This in itself is a big booster to the agents overall state of mind while being on the job .until and unless the agent is totally confident he can’t deliver a valuable pleasant customer interaction.
Hence more and more customer care call centres, BPO ‘s in India are investing more and more on training and quality of the agents .This definitely helps in reaping great results as far as great customer service is concerned.

Keep the agents positive

Positivity breeds positivity .It’s a trait highly valued in today’s stressful environment .A positive agent will ensure that the customer interaction is dealt with positivity and optimism .The working environment needs to be made conducive to maintain positivity all round. A stressed out agent will never be able to handle an interaction harmoniously. If agents are positive and charged up then definitely the interaction that they will conduct will reflect the same positivity.

Open communication and support

When a corporation promotes open communication then employees get the sense of belonging and ease in the organisation. Which results in agents being happier and more conducive to working with commitment and dedication .When organisations focus on keeping the communication channels open and working environment light and stress free it transcends to the agents and which in turn reflects in the agent – customer interactions. As saying goes happiness begets happiness.

Companies must focus on the Work environment related
issues keep it fuss free and conducive to breeding happy agents .Interaction between leadership and agents is the key to starting a healthy working
relationship .Both feedback and timely praises are critical to agents feeling belonged to the organisation .Agents must be left feeling belonged and cared for
to succeed in creating that much desired cheerful interaction.

Enhanced context

Customers are the be all end all .And every customer interaction is a unique one. Agents are to be readied in such a way so as to handle a plethora of customers efficiently .This helps agents remain active, stress-free and confident .Confidence comes when agents know their stuff. the latest to offer, resolution capability and lot more .While trainings and constant qualitative feedbacks take care of it .Agents should also be moulded in such a way so as to quickly understand the customer behaviour on call and accordingly act .Previous case studies, tough customer issue resolution and incidents should and must be shared with agents so as to help them in such future interactions this not only improves resolution time but also enhances
customer relationship. More and more call centres in India are focusing on this aspect and constantly updating their context.

Fun filled working environment

Fun doesn’t necessarily means having a party on the premises everyday .However some kind of fun filled activities on occasional basis helps alleviate
the stress of the working constantly .It definitely adds to agents happiness quotient. The positivity from stress relieving activities are definitely a plus where agents uplifting of mood is concerned .Rewards and recognition are also an integral part of creating motivational environment in the organisation. It is very important that agents job well done is appreciated and appropriately rewarded .It acts as a great motivator to an agents overall happiness .Focusing on agents is very crucial for overall health of the organisation after all they are the building blocks of any organisation .
It’s not a new concept and has been recognised as imperative to the organisational health and flourishing .Focus on making the agents happy and they end up making our customers happy .This is widely recognised concept and has been on the priority list of all top BPO companies in India. More and more BPO’s and call centre companies are focusing and working on making their agents happy to get that extraordinary interaction.

Meaningful employee development 

Plenty of surveys and statistics have backed up the “Happy agents deliver great customer service “. We cannot rule out the role of a happy agent in a great customer interaction .As also in life happiness transcends to people around us .When an agent is constantly interacting with the customer .The state of mind matters and it matters a lot .Now question arises what can keep an agent happy to deliver top notch performances?
The bottom of all happiness starts with agents feeling belonged to the organisation. When their development is focused on, worked upon, they are offered enough support and guidance to handle an interaction, backed up with proper remuneration and incentives, adequately trained then invariably the agents are happier and thus deliver that great customer service which is the point of all interactions.

Happiness quotient

In order to serve happiness we must feel happy first .Definitely holds true here .When agents are in constant touch with customers taking in calls day in, day out
then it becomes highly imperative that agents state of mind remains stress-free and happy .You can’t fake happiness always if you feel happy from inside it radiates to all interactions. So all necessary steps to be taken to ensure that agents do not stress out unnecessarily and are equipped to deal with any situation.
Have enough know how and expertise to handle calls and interactions .Keep the workplace pleasant and positive .All this go on to make the agents happy and the interaction a great one .Top BPO’s in India vouch for this and ensure that agents overall happiness quotient is worked upon.

Authority and flexibility

some amount of authority is required to be given to the agents in their capacity of being the go to person in agent –
customer relationship .When duties are carried out without some iota of authority it lacks the authenticity of a genuine relationship. Agents must be educated and trained and also given authority to resolve much of the issues.
This enhances agent’s general morale while handling the interaction with the customer’s. Hence more and more BPO’s / call centre companies in India are focusing on this.

All in all happy agents do deliver a great customer service interaction .There is not an iota of doubt on that. Most of the call centre in India have given it due importance and are working constantly on this .Endless surveys and feedback have backed up the theory of happiness making an interaction great .Many a training programmes and workshops are being conducted by BPO’s and call centres around the country for this purpose. A happy agent spreads happiness on call and it catches on .So we can safely say that happy agents are safe and surer bet. And if we look objectively it doesn’t take that much to keep an agent happy .All one needs is keeping things jovial and stress free around them with right amount of trainings and personal development plans .