Author: Andrew

What Benefits Motivate Call Center Agents the Most?

Posted on

November 29th, 2022

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There is often a great divide between what call center managers believe motivates their employees and what the employees actually want. As a result, many incentives fall flat because managers don’t know the benefits that appeal the most to their employees. To illustrate this point, researchers asked call center managers and employees to rank benefits and incentives. Managers rated the following as their top motivational techniques:

  1. Rewards and recognition from supervisors or company leadership
  2. Gift cards, bonuses, extra days off, and other similar incentives
  3. Team social events and activities
  4. Remote work options

Employees had an almost exact reverse, listing the following as the greatest motivators:

  1. Remote work options
  2. Gift cards, bonuses, extra days off, and other similar incentives
  3. Rewards and recognition from supervisors or company leadership

Team social events and activities dropped to the sixth slot for call center agents, signaling a disconnect between call center managers and employees. Remote work remains a hugely popular benefit, and more than half of call center agents are extremely likely to look for new employment if they don’t have flexible work options.

Understanding what motivates call center employees is critical to providing superior customer service. However, aligning benefits with employees’ preferences is only part of cultivating a high-quality customer experience. Employees need to be able to empathize with customers’ problems, which requires cultural familiarity and language mastery. Contact Actec to learn more about the benefits of a nearshore call center.

7 Reasons Why Businesses Need to Text Their Customers

Posted on

November 15th, 2022

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fnol textingYounger Millennials and Zoomers loathe speaking on the phone. The stark shift in communication style from Gen X to Millennials to Gen Z even earned the latter the nickname “Generation Mute.” When polled about this, most millennials replied that speaking on the phone is too slow, too outdated, and unlikely to resolve their problem satisfactorily.

Millennials and Gen Z aren’t the only generations eschewing phone calls. Research shows that eight out of every ten adult Americans don’t answer calls from unknown numbers. Surprisingly, although younger generations dislike phone calls more than preceding ones, they’re more likely to pick up calls from unknown numbers than older generations. Fortunately, two-thirds of American adults will check voicemails left by unidentified callers. However, insurance providers placing these calls are wasting time and failing to reach customers on their preferred communication platform.

The following are several statistics that highlight why business text messaging is a worthwhile investment:

  1. Texting is the top-ranked communication channel for Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z.
  2. Text messages have a 98% open rate and up to a 45% response rate, whereas emails average around a 20% open rate and 10% response rate.
  3. Most people take 90 minutes to reply to an email, whereas it only takes them around 90 seconds to answer a text.
  4. 85% of people prefer messaging platforms, including texting, messaging apps, and social media messaging, over emails or phone calls.
  5. 74% of customers report that texting improves their opinion of businesses that engage them this way.
  6. 68% of customers prefer to message businesses than to use any other form of communication.
  7. Customer support tickets submitted via text increased by 28% between 2020 and 2021

First notice of loss (FNOL) sets the stage for the customer’s overall satisfaction with the claims process. Reporting a loss is often a distressing and stressful experience, and customers have an exceedingly low threshold for frustration during this period. Offering text and chat services allows customers to initiate FNOL quickly on their preferred communication channel. Contact Actec to learn more about implementing text and chat FNOL.

6 Crucial Call Center Statistics Businesses Need to Know

Posted on

November 8th, 2022

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Contact centers are critical for many businesses to ensure their customers receive a satisfactory experience. However, customers often dread calling customer service numbers due to poor outcomes previously. Companies that find ways to reduce pain points and bottlenecks enjoy greater customer loyalty. The following are several call center statistics businesses need to know to remain competitive:

  1. Customers will spend more after a positive experience. Frustrated customers aren’t likely to whip out their wallets for upsells or supplementary services. However, they’ll spend up to 140% more following a positive experience.
  2. Service matters more than the cost or product. Customers obviously want quality products at competitive prices. However, they’re 4X more likely to make purchases from competing providers if they dislike the customer service they receive.
  3. Customers don’t hesitate to sever ties. Customer loyalty is harder to maintain than many companies realize. A whopping 40% of customers will stop conducting business with a company after a single negative interaction with customer service agents.
  4. The cost of poor customer service is exorbitant. Poor customer service costs companies around $75 billion each year.
  5. Customers expect rapid resolutions. Over one-third of customers expect agents to solve their problems during their first interaction. It erodes customer loyalty if they have to call back for updates or repeat their information.
  6. Customers want empathetic exchanges. Canned responses come across as robotic and cold. Customers can tell when agents are reading from a script. It has an immediate and damaging effect on their overall satisfaction.

Customers want rapid resolutions, high quality services, and empathetic exchanges. How well a company’s call center can meet these expectations directly effects the customer experience and their loyalty. Contact the experts at Actec to learn how a nearshore call center can improve your customer service capabilities.

How Does Omni-Channel Communication Win Customers’ Trust?

Posted on

November 1st, 2022

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FNOL SolutionsThe modern consumer has much different wants and expectations than those of a decade ago. Technological leaps, shifting economic situations, and a reassessment of values are just a few of the primary factors driving these changes. Many service providers fall short and erode their customers’ trust. What’s worse is that many don’t realize it. Almost 80% of business executives believe their customers trust them, whereas barely more than half (52%) of consumers report the same.

Building trust is a multifaceted process that relies on the following:

  • Compassion. Customers want to interact with a real person when they have a problem. Many customers use self-service tools before reaching out to customer support. They have likely already exhausted the limits of a knowledge base or AI chatbot. When they have a problem, they want the company to show it cares about finding the solution. They want to interact with an empathetic human, whether by text, messaging, or phone.
  • Effectiveness and quality. Customers reasonably expect the products and services they purchase to perform as advertised. If they receive inefficient service or a substandard product, their trust fades. Similarly, they want the best value for their money. They’re more likely to look for a new provider if they feel their current one has unfair pricing for the quality of the product or service they receive.
  • Consistency. Customers depend on their service providers to deliver a consistent experience with each interaction and purchase. Customers rapidly lose trust in businesses that fail to live up to their promises and guarantees.
  • Transparency. Customers are leery of providing their personal contact information, such as their email or phone number. While some businesses use that information for legitimate business interactions, others spam customers with unwanted emails and texts. Companies should always outline why they’re collecting the customer’s data, how they’ll use it, and the customer’s options for opting in or out of these communications.

Omni-channel communication can drive customer trust in several ways. Traditional phone calls are more conducive to displaying compassion as tone does not convey over text. Communicating through text messages allows companies to provide customers with rapid updates about their inquiries, open support tickets, or claims. Chat services empower customers to find solutions to common questions without delay. Customers also frequently use social media channels, email, and website forms to engage with their service provider. Meeting their needs on the most conducive platform establishes a foundation of trust that is essential for long-term loyalty. Contact Actec to learn more about the benefits of implementing new communication channels.

How to Create a Sense of Loyalty to Retain Employees

Posted on

October 25th, 2022

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Acquiring highly qualified candidates is an ongoing challenge for businesses across all industries. The competition between employers to entice talented applicants is fierce, as the job market leans much more in employees’ favor. Retaining those employees is an equally significant concern. Cultivating a strong sense of culture is crucial for developing a loyal workforce. Understanding employee motivations is also essential to retaining them. The following statistics provide several insights to achieve this goal:

  1. More than three-quarters of employees believe a strong company culture fosters their best work.
  2. Nearly three-quarters of millennials and 65% of Gen Z believe their job is integral to their identity.
  3. 70% of employees stay with their employer for the long term because they received excellent onboarding.
  4. Nearly 70% of employees indicate they would work harder at their job if their employer showed greater appreciation for their work.
  5. Businesses that cultivate a culture of learning enjoy a retention rate that’s 30-50% higher than those that don’t.
  6. Around 44% of employees will look for a new job if their employer doesn’t act on their feedback
  7. The odds of employees quitting rise 16% if they feel uneasy about providing feedback to their supervisors.
  8. Employees who rate their manager’s performance as poor are 4X more likely to quit
  9. Employees are 20% more likely to stay if they are advancing in their careers or believe they have career growth opportunities.
  10. Millennials are more loyal than many employers realize, as most intend to work for their organization for at least a decade.

Employee loyalty is critical for productivity and long-term success as a business. It typically costs around one-third of an employee’s salary to replace them, and it’s impossible to regain the time and productivity lost during their vacancy. Securing employee loyalty is a complex process, but employers can implement several simple changes to work toward that goal. Encouraging feedback, acting on it quickly and meaningfully, and recognizing their work often are good places to start.

However, it’s not always clear to company leadership why their turnover rate is so high. Tracking attendance data can help provide insights, such as identifying once-punctual employees that are now habitually late or a rising absenteeism trend within a specific team or department. A scheduling conflict or an under-performing manager may be the root of the problem. Collecting this data is crucial to untangling the salient details and implementing effective changes. Contact Actec to learn how our absence tracking mobile app can help your efforts to improve employee loyalty and absence reporting.

Top 4 Call Center Skills Representative Need to Master

Posted on

October 18th, 2022

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Call center agents often have the first interaction with customers. They set the stage for the customer experience, and many customers form opinions about a company based on these interactions. Agents need the right skills to provide high-quality customer service. These include:

  1. Solid communication. Good communication skills may seem obvious. Agents spend the majority of their job interacting with customers over the phone, texts, messages, and many other channels. Empathy is essential for customer satisfaction. Agents that work with detached efficiency may resolve calls quickly, but they can come across as cold and unfeeling.
  2. Avoiding repetition. Customers hate repeating themselves. Take notes about their problem and read any documentation from previous calls. Customers feel like the agent is wasting their time, does not care about solving their problem, or lacks knowledge when they have to explain their issue more than once.
  3. Finding creative solutions. Not every problem is easy to solve or has a clear path to resolution. Call center agents that use their resources to find unexpected solutions for the customers’ issues provide a superior quality of service.
  4. Maintaining organization. Some calls require follow-up, such as an insurance claim. These cases can remain open for days or weeks. It’s easy to lose track of them without proper organization. For example, sticky notes or sporadic handwritten notes can go missing. Electronic records can become jumbled if they’re all stored in one place. Customer service software can often remove these administrative hurdles, but organization skills are still essential for call center agents fielding several dozen calls a day.

Customers are often upset or have a problem when they connect with a call center agent. Agents that provide empathetic service and remain flexible when finding solutions deliver a superior customer experience. Contact Actec to learn how our nearshore call center solutions can improve customer service and customer loyalty.

Warning Signs That an Employee Is About to Quit

Posted on

October 11th, 2022

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Replacing an employee is a costly venture, as businesses can spend up to two times that employee’s salary to fill their vacancy. It takes time, recruiting efforts, and training to find and bring the new hire up to speed. Lost productivity and work errors also contribute to the high cost.

The reasons why employees look for new jobs are multitudinous. Some problems employers can address, such as a caustic department manager. Others are harder to resolve, such as major life changes the company can’t easily accommodate. For example, an employee may need a position that pays significantly more money or allows them to work 100% remotely to care for children or sick family members.

The following are several signs that an employee is about to quit:

  1. Loss of focus or interest in long-term projects and goals. Employees who are about to quit may become reluctant to sign on to a long-term project. They may worry that they can’t complete a project before they leave and don’t want to leave their colleagues in a bind. They’re also much less likely to care about meeting annual goals, as they will likely be gone before they can reap the benefits of their hard work.
  2. Poor quality of work. It may be a sign of an imminent departure if a formerly productive employee suddenly shifts to performing at a substandard level. For example, punctual employees may begin to miss several deadlines. They may also turn in work that is well below their usual standard.
  3. A sudden interest in professional development. Employees that regularly attend conferences and workshops aren’t a cause for concern as they’ve established a pattern of interest. However, it can be a red flag if an employee has a sudden and prolific interest in attending these professional development seminars. They may be trying to bolster or expand their skill set for a more appealing resume. They might also be using these opportunities to network.
  4. Sudden attendance changes. Changes in attendance can signal numerous problems. For example, an employee who consistently arrives late and takes long lunches may be struggling with burnout or difficulties with their manager. However, an employee that leaves early from work more often can indicate they’re interviewing for a new position. Abrupt absenteeism is always a red flag. Employees that suddenly start using up their sick leave and vacation days may feel overworked and underappreciated. They may also want to use their paid leave in lieu of working at a job they’re no longer invested in and intend to leave soon.

Employees have many tells that they’re thinking about quitting their job. Companies that identify the warning signs can take proactive steps to mitigate any problems that are within their control. For example, if employee absences are rising within a specific department, employers can investigate the leadership environment. Contact Actec to learn how our absence reporting app can help you implement data-driven changes that retain employees.

4 Hallmarks of an Effective Attendance Policy

Posted on

October 4th, 2022

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Employers have several expectations of their employees, but they aren’t always as clear as they could be. For example, employers expect their employees to show up to work on time, but does this mean they need to be in the building, clocked in, or actively working by a designated time? Developing a clear attendance policy isn’t as straight forward of a process as employers may believe, which can create confusion and anxiety for employees.

If HR notices troubling attendance trends across all departments, it may be time to update the organization’s attendance policy. The following insights can help businesses create effective attendance policies:

  1. Reporting for work. How employers track attendance matters. For example, traditional card punching systems are easy to trick as employees can clock in for each other whether they are there or not (AKA buddy punching). Online attendance systems may pose issues, too. For example, employees may clock in when they’re running late to sidestep the rules.
  2. Tardiness Grace Period. Some businesses allow a small window for late arrivals. This is typically around five minutes to account for unexpected traffic, public transportation delays, or unexpected childcare emergencies. However, there is a difference between an employee who is late on occasion and one who arrives late more often than not. Businesses that allow grace periods need to include how many times an employee can arrive late before receiving a warning. Organizations will need to look at their employee demographics to decide if a grace period aligns with their employees’ needs and how often to allow it.
  3. Flexible work hours. Flextime is a popular benefit because not everybody’s lifestyle fits into a traditional 9-5 job. Some employees may prefer to start work early if they’re more productive in the morning, while others may need to begin later in the day to coordinate with their children’s school schedules. Businesses that allow flexible schedules need to set clear expectations for start times and work hours to prevent scheduling conflicts. For example, if one employee works from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., it may be difficult for them to collaborate with a team member who works from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
  4. Acceptable Work Breaks. Businesses can’t treat their employees like emotionless worker bees. People need breaks to refresh their brains and refuel. However, companies need to set clear limits for breaks to prevent time theft and productivity loss. While a five-minute break in the coffee room to grab a drink or snack isn’t likely a cause for concern, it can become an issue if employees stretch it to fifteen minutes or make hourly trips. As for allotted lunch breaks, businesses need to make it clear this break includes travel time if employees decide to go out for lunch. Employers also need to make it clear employees need to keep personal calls, social media, and non-work-related conversations to a minimum while on the clock.

Having a clear attendance policy is essential in the workplace, but businesses need a way to track attendance and absences. Actec’s absence tracking mobile app allows you to capture all attendance data to identify trends, comply with labor laws, and streamline absence management. Contact us to learn how we can help curtail absenteeism and time theft in your organization.

How Does First Response Time Affect Customer Claim Satisfaction?

Posted on

September 27th, 2022

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fnol textingFirst response time (FRT) measures how much time passes between a customer initiating first notice of loss (FNOL) and an agent responding to it. Customers want to be able to reach their insurance provider whenever they need them. Losses rarely give customers the courtesy of occurring during regular business hours, and how quickly an insurance agent responds significantly affects the customer’s claim satisfaction.

FNOL, FRT, and Customer Loyalty

FNOL and FRT go hand-in-hand to keep customers happy. FNOL represents 25% of a customer’s overall satisfaction with their insurance provider. In addition, industry research shows that the claims experience influences 87% of customers’ loyalty, while almost 80% will switch providers if their insurers’ responsiveness falls short of their expectations. A short FRT is essential following FNOL to retain existing customers.

Text and Chat for Better FNOL and FRT

The FNOL experience affirms customers’ expectations for better or worse. If they have a positive experience, they feel secure in their choice of insurance provider. If the experience is poor, it may reinforce the customer’s belief that they need a new insurer. Customer’s top complaints regarding the claims process include:

  • Too slow (25%)
  • Too difficult (22%)
  • Too much paperwork (22%)

Text and chat services can address many of these pain points. Text messaging rapidly decreases FRT, as agents can respond within minutes of receiving a claim notification. Agents can also pull existing data from the customer’s file to partially complete the data-gathering process. Filling in known information can also reduce friction during the interaction. For example, the make and model of the customer’s car are already in the system. Customers are often already agitated when initiating FNOL and asking them for information they provided well before the loss will only increase their frustration.

Agents that communicate with customers through text messaging can also close their claims faster. Customers always appreciate an expedited claims process, but it can also net cost savings for the insurer. For example, customers need rental cars while waiting for repairs on their vehicles. Insurance carriers often cover the rentals costs, and closing the claim several days faster curtails that expense. Contact the experts at Actec to learn how text and chat services can improve your customers’ claims experience.

What’s the Connection Between Quiet Quitting and Company Culture?

Posted on

September 20th, 2022

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The term quiet quitting dates back to 2009, but it didn’t take off as an actionable concept until 2022. Quiet quitting has become ubiquitous in the workplace, as Gallup reports at least half of the U.S. workforce are quiet quitters. The term is a misnomer, however, as these employees have no intention of leaving their job. Instead, quiet quitting means performing the job as written and maintaining that firm boundary. As a result, employees are doing what their job description stipulates—no more, no less, and certainly no overtime.

Why Are Employees Quietly Quitting?

The pandemic forced many companies to switch to remote work models. Many employees began rethinking their relationship with work, especially when management tried to shift back to working in the office. Employees embracing this approach to work aren’t doing it because they’re lazy. Many are struggling with burnout and an insufficient work-life balance. They’re also keenly aware that the amount of work expected of them doesn’t match their wages or keep pace with the rising cost of living.

A Culture of Thankless Overwork

The reaction to quiet quitting often says more about managers than employees. Some managers are outraged and have threatened repercussions ranging from demotions to withholding raises to outright firing quiet quitters. However, quiet quitting doesn’t mean doing a job poorly or disengaging. Instead, quiet quitters are giving the amount of effort reflected by their wages. They’re no longer willing to perform the work of two employees while receiving the income of one. The quiet quitting movement and subsequent indignation have revealed that many companies have always expected their employees to overwork without a corresponding bonus or salary increase to reflect the added responsibilities.

Changing company culture takes time and consistent effort. However, businesses can identify and red flag trends that indicate workplace discontent, such as shifts in attendance. For example, a business may notice productivity dropping for a specific department. Attendance data may reveal those employees also consistently take long lunch breaks or call out frequently. While those employees may be quietly quitting, an ineffective manager might be the driving cause. Contact Actec to learn more about using attendance data to implement positive, effective changes within your organization.