Digital Signage For A Better Call Center Experience

Managing call centers is a challenging endeavor. High-stress, a loud environment, lots of employee turnover, and customer complaints added together can seem like one never-ending obstacle on the path to success. The good news is that digital signage software can be an exciting, helpful tool for both call center team members and managers. Being able to proactively manage the experience the customers are having and tailoring it to the company's specifications quickly and efficiently is the main goal in investing in digital signage. And it's worth it. Here's how.

There are several benefits that digital signage offers call center employees to help them stay engaged and self-manage their performance. Here are a few of the top ones.

Display (and Explain) KPIs

Call centers are big operations that operate on a ton of metrics. Digital signage can display these, also called key performance indicators (KPIs), and help team members relate them to their daily jobs. Important ones to watch are:

• Average time in queue. Nobody likes waiting on the line for their issue to be addressed. The lower the time they stay in the "queue" the better the experience will be. By displaying this metric on digital signage displays, employees can see if their team is getting better or worse at moving customers through the queue quickly. It's also a sign that the company is growing and may need more team members.
• Rate of call abandonment. Typically, the longer a customer stays in the queue, the more likely they are to hang up, or abandon the call. This is another KPI team members need to be aware of. If it's going up, there may need to be extra efforts to move through customers quicker, or to hire new people to handle the volume. Addressing issues with call abandonment quickly helps the call center maintain high levels of customer service.
• Average call per agent. This KPI is more granular than the others, drilling into each individual employee's performance. Being able to see these metrics helps employees see where they compare with the best performers and engages them to give an extra effort to land in the top tier.

Provide Real-Time Product/Service Information

The big advantage of digital signage is that it can display up-to-the-minute information instead of outdated content that is on traditional flyers and printed sales content. Having the newest, most informative data on the products and services available equips each team member with the tools to give the customers the best, most accurate service possible.

Promote Contests

Healthy competition is fun and engaging. Weekly or monthly contests can keep the team spirit alive and promote things like upsells and new product additions. Visually appealing graphs with each person's name and frequent updates encourages ad motivates employees to stay focused and give 100%. Cash prize announcements further inspire engagement and interest. All of this can be accomplished with digital signage content.

Share Customer Comments

Testimonials are key in helping call center employees feel appreciated and seen. By using customer testimonials and building graphics around them, digital signage can periodically share a "shout out" to specific team members or a compliment to the overall experience. See your name showcased increases morale and offers a sense of accomplishment, which doesn't cost the company a dime.

While call center team members reap benefits from digital signage, managers also benefit from vital information the software shares too. There are many of them, but these three are essential in managing the call center workplace successfully.

Progress in Lines of Business

Data can be added and graphically formatted, so it can be quickly and easily digested by management. Being able to see each employee's performance, and then have it broken out by team and division, allows management to make quick decisions that keeps them agile and responsive. Products that are not selling well can be added to a promotions list, or the marketing can be changed, for example.

Fast, Intuitive Reporting

Being able to access data, break down exactly what it means, and compare it with the past performance is essential in giving managers the information they need to do their jobs. Are the KPIs decreasing, and why? Are employees slacking off, or are they covered up and in need of more team members? Are certain products the cause of most of the customer issues? Maybe they need to be removed from the product line. Is the call abandonment rate higher than average? Management can quickly dig into the root of the underlying issue so the customer experience doesn't suffer long-term. Digital signage, with its rich graphics and charts, helps management read and digest a large amount of complex metrics and make decisions that would take much longer with in-depth, boring printed reports.

Opportunities for Employee Improvement

Setting alerts to big changes in performance is smart for all managers, and call center management especially. If allowed to decrease too long, there can be big problems with your customer service levels. Digital signage can frequently display important KPIs, as mentioned above, that can help managers act quickly to resolve burgeoning problems. Perhaps one team member is having personal problems and needs time off. Maybe a few of the newer hires didn't properly understand the training and needs additional coaching. It could also signify the entire team is disengaged and need a morale boost. Or it could be a sign the business is growing and you need to hire some more people. Employee improvement should be a constant goal for managers, and digital signage offers up several metrics that can be used to quickly fix and improve situations that aren't ideal.

It's no secret that call centers are unique companies with their own set of benefits and challenges. By implementing digital signage software, both employees and managers can keep the company focus on track, the customer service levels high, and the revenue growing.