The Agent Experience and the Impact on Customer Satisfaction

News surrounding the call center industry tends to focus on the latest technology, key performance metrics, moving operations to the cloud and the benefits associated with the virtual workforce. At the top of the list of important topics, however, is the customer experience. To maintain a competitive advantage, the company operating the call center must ensure optimal service delivered on each interaction to produce the greatest possible percentage of satisfied customers.

Logic suggests that the customer who receives immediate satisfaction when interacting with the agent will in turn create a positive outcome for that agent. By providing agents with the tools and motivation to create that satisfaction, positive outcomes ensue. If the agent isn’t supported in the process and is instead under pressure to complete a certain number of calls in an hour, regardless of customer outcomes, the opposite is more likely to be true.

While delivering excellent customer care is important as a strategy toward market dominance, it’s not enough to simply make quality customer service the first priority. Those charged with carrying out the customer service initiatives will find it difficult to do so if they don’t have the training, tools or motivation to serve. Any intelligent agent can complete the necessary tasks for the day without putting extra effort into creating a great experience for the customer.

This type of interaction may not chase the customer away, but it also won’t inspire loyalty. Call center agents who have great experiences in the call center are more likely to create great experiences for the customer. This concept isn’t just a suggestion on what the call center can do to shore up interactions and work toward better performance metrics. Instead, this is a trend that is taking hold in call centers throughout the industry.

The upcoming, “Maximize the Agent Experience to Deliver Exceptional Customer Experience,” webinar happening Thursday Feb. 28 at 11AM EST will explore the impact a positive work environment can have on the call center agent and subsequently, the customer. Register today.