BUILDING A POSITIVE REPUTATION | Learning, Training and Development in Contact Centres

One of the biggest challenges facing call centres is that of building a positive image to replace the negative one that is o en perceived by the general public. Hathway editor of Call Centre Focus said, ‘The British public hate call centres. That’s a fact. And it means it’s difficult to overcome caller prejudice and leave them with a good impression.’

Even before many customers make a call they anticipate problems and become defensive or aggressive, creating a hurdle too high for the adviser to overcome. There have been a number of causes for this negative perception, some of which have to do with employee skills and training; most are caused by other factors, eg technology, systems, work scheduling, operational constraints, etc.

Contact centres are o en considered to be a classic example of Taylorism, which involves detailed work structuring and close monitoring of performance. As a result they have attracted negative comments and have been called, ‘assembly lines in the head’ ; ‘electronic sweatshops’; and ‘twentieth-century panopticans’.

Another reason for the negative public perception is that outbound sales calls, which sometimes use aggressive tactics, have alienated a great many people and thus made it much more difficult for ethical and well structured organizations. Fortunately, increased legislation and industry self-regulation have significantly reduced these types of calls.

A third reason for the poor image is a result of technology. ‘Silent calls’ describe the phenomenon in which a person answers a ringing telephone only to discover that there is no one there. This situation is caused by multiple-dialling technology where a number of calls are made simultaneously and the call centre agent responds to the first one that is answered, leaving the other people who answer with a dead line. This has decreased significantly in many countries with the introduction of legislation banning this practice.

The use of automated call distribution (ACD) technology gives callers a range of numbered options from which they are required to choose. Sometimes, there are numerous sub-levels, increasing the potential for the caller to become frustrated with the delay before speaking to an agent. This can then be compounded when the agent asks for some of the detail again. Yet ACD enables calls to be answered by customer representatives who are knowledgeable about a particular area and who can then be more effective and helpful to the caller.

From the perspective of the call centre many of the frustrations described above can be easily explained. Automated call distribution allows the routing of calls to people who are more knowledgeable; waiting times allow for fewer to be employed thus reducing costs to the customer, etc. However, many customers are only concerned about their experience and o en forget or overlook the huge benefits in convenience, time saved and reduced costs that call centres have provided.

Fortunately, the call centre industry is rapidly maturing with greater regulation and higher standards of customer care. Unfortunately, overturning the legacy of the circumstances described above will take a considerable period of time. Therefore, it is the responsibility of all call centres and their strategies to determine whether or not the vast majority of its customers are satisfied.