Performance in call center - written by Hani Masgidi

Encouragement is the key to performance. Reward is even greater source of encouragement when it's beyond just words. Call Centers have over the years developed a performance appraisal system that's including all the components of good communication. Nowhere else does appraisals matter so much as much in call centre business, as its all about customer experience which sells and is at CSR discretion, he can make it most memorable or the worst at the same time. Technology has turned the way in the favor of Call centers and has reduced the hassle of managers and supervisors who had to listen to live calls to evaluate the performance of CSR, now with advanced software recording option; the calls can be replayed for evaluation of the quality and customer satisfaction.

A contact center should first offer quality training to the staff and then expect high performance appraisal, otherwise all the activity is useless. Whether you listen to live calls or recorded streaming, you should have well-defined standards for evaluation of scores and it should be pre-agreed with CSR, this way you can be in better position to motivate and advocate the CSR to improve his performance. Avoid such digital recording vendors who consider the length of call as a parameter of quality call, set your own professional parameters to evaluate the quality of call.

One of the best possible made evaluations models includes all the ingredients of good communication. The appraisals is made on the basis of one of the basic elements of good communication and it is expected from CSR to demonstrate these good practices to get good results towards the end for themselves and for the company. The honesty level of the CSR can make real difference and in case the CSR is lagging short of words to depict his honest support, customer experience won't me very appreciable. Next to honesty, performance is evaluated on the basis of the attention that CSR invest in his overall attendance. His reply will reflect his presence and if he is giving hundred percent, favorable comments will be added out of the overall experience. Interest level is also among the factors that are considered during performance evaluation. Furthermore, duplication should be avoided and CSR should not ask anything twice, this creates really unpleasant impression on the caller. Refraining from making experienced based assumptions is really very important; otherwise the call will not be converted into prospect.

Sense of responsibility, control of CSR on the call, friendliness and professionalism are some other determinants of a quality customer service call on the part of CSR. Many other factors need to be considered seriously when making call evaluation, other than just call handling and call quality. No one learns communication skills by birth and for the stuff that has not been able to enter main-stream careers, it's even further a less realistic expectation. Training and skill development of s can yield considerable results towards the end.

Copyright (c) 2008 Hani Masgidi