Vacations. That anticipated annual time frame where we disconnect from the routine, recharge our batteries, and typically enjoy in two periods: summer and the end of the year. Dates as necessary for any worker as they are complicated for nearly any company, even more so if they manage large amounts of personnel and workloads.
In the Contact Center, activity behavior varies significantly among sectors. While it might be one of the busiest periods for some, such as travel or passenger transport companies, for many others, it’s a time of lower activity. This enormous variability in activity is compounded by the labor force’s right to enjoy a few days of rest during these dates. In summary, vacations in a Contact Center are the most challenging period to navigate in a way that doesn’t negatively impact the service and, above all, the customer’s perception of our company or brand.
The key to overcoming this tough challenge is clearly in proper planning.
Predictive planning will save your Contact Center.
Do you know and master the multitude of variables that can influence the volume of activity your customer relations center will receive? Wouldn’t it be incredible to foresee the future and know in advance what will happen in your service? There are dozens of circumstances, both cyclical and specific, to consider in order to correctly plan the volume of interactions a Contact Center should handle in a specific period of time, a vital piece of data for subsequently calculating the required personnel. With historical data, an understanding of key variables and their impact on the service, and the application of mathematical models for predictions, it’s possible to anticipate the disasters that would almost certainly occur otherwise. If you want to predict the future of what will happen in your Contact Center, you will need to trust what team leaders and coordinators can propose. And, undoubtedly, this predictive planning is essential to successfully navigate any holiday period in a Call Center.
Overcoming the return from vacation in Contact Centers.
If vacations are a special period that involves specific difficulties for any Customer Relations area, the same goes for the return from vacations. With the return from vacations, the tables turn, and the problems reverse. But there’s more. Upon returning from vacations, we need to operate like a well-oiled machine, with Human Resources, Training, Coordination, and Technology perfectly synchronized, following the pace set by the Coordination/Planning department.
What are the main challenges of the post-vacation period in the Contact Center?
Primarily, there are two major categories of challenges that arise after summer in Customer Service departments. On one hand, we have those related to what was previously mentioned: a substantial increase in interactions due to the psychological aspect of personal intentions after summer, many of which prompt the need to make decisions or take initiatives with the companies that provide us services. During this time, new sign-ups, cancellations, and modifications multiply, while the number of inquiries related to obtaining information for these decisions rises. All of this, coupled with customers’ reduced patience after returning from a relaxing period like vacations, leads to tensions and even anxiety when making decisions.
Planning as a Strategic Focus
The Planning and Coordination areas are the linchpins of our strategy to ensure the proper functioning of the service in the coming months. They must be able to predict the turnover rate we’ll experience, the expected increase in interactions, the number of new hires required to meet that traffic surge, and how to organize the shifts of new personnel so that their learning curve doesn’t significantly impact the overall service.
Coordinator Team, Our Best Ally
It falls to them to welcome the new hires and ensure their learning curve is as smooth as possible. Additionally, they must motivate their teams to prevent turnover and a decline in performance during a period of increased workload. This is where all available Employee Engagement strategies can be applied, along with proactive measures to use any available time for knowledge refreshment and correcting performance errors. It’s the time to bring out the best in experienced agents, guiding them toward a service that prioritizes quick interaction resolution, always with an eye on maintaining quality standards. During this period, emphasizing service quality is crucial: many customers will call with intentions of cancelling to switch to another company, and a great experience with the Customer Relations Center can sway them to change their minds. Conversely, a customer seeking to sign up with a new company and having a poor experience in their initial contact is unlikely to choose that new service.
In conclusion, as we’ve seen, different areas must be perfectly coordinated to successfully address the challenge of the post-vacation period. Only with the help of the best professionals will we be capable of holding the key to predicting the various scenarios that will arise and how to tackle them. With proper anticipation and the teamwork of the finest professionals, successfully navigating this challenging period in a Contact Center is indeed possible.