Best Practices for Managing Agents
in Multi-Channel Contact Centers
November 2013
Sponsored by:
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© DMG Consulting LLC
Table of Contents
Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1
What is a multi-channel contact center? .............................................................. 1
Deciding which channels to support .................................................................... 2
The dos and don’ts of multi-channel contact centers........................................... 2
What makes a good multi-channel contact center agent? ................................... 4
Millennials in contact centers ............................................................................... 5
Hiring practices for multi-channel contact centers ............................................... 5
Final Thoughts ..................................................................................................... 7
About Intradiem ................................................................................................... 8
About DMG Consulting ........................................................................................ 8
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Introduction
The important concept of multi-channel contact centers has been discussed in the
industry since 1997. While most companies agree that this is the best way to
support their customers, few are doing it right. To the majority of companies, a
multi-channel contact center is an operating environment that uses different teams
to support different channels. They may have a phone group, email team, SMS
support, and even a few people (typically in marketing) handling social media.
These organizations are trying to do the right thing; however, in their attempt to
keep their costs low and retain time-honored practices, they are adding
tremendous complexity and cost to their operating environment. But all is not lost.
Most of the existing infrastructure and best practices can be used and
incorporated into a true multi-channel servicing environment. This white paper
defines the multi-channel contact center and addresses the people-related
challenges in staffing and managing these environments.
What is a multi-channel contact center?
A multi-channel contact center is a servicing organization that can receive,
address and respond to inquiries and transactions in a variety of communications
channels. In this environment, it is standard practice to centrally queue, route,
handle and record all interactions, regardless of the channel in which they arrive.
See Figure 1.
Figure 1: Multi-Channel Contact Center
Source: DMG Consulting LLC, November 2013
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© DMG Consulting LLC
Deciding which channels to support
The primary servicing channels today are: phone, email, chat, SMS, social media
(Facebook and Twitter) and fax. This list will evolve over time, and managers
should re-evaluate their roster of channels continuously. Customers expect to
interact with organizations in their channel of choice. The complication is that their
preferences vary based on who they are, what they are doing, and where they are.
Someone driving a car is, hopefully, speaking to you on a hands-free device and
not typing a text message. On the other hand, when someone is standing on the
side of the road with a flat tire, a text message seems to be an ideal form of
communication. In the era of smart phones, the reasons for selecting among
various communication media vary, including availability, convenience, preference,
safety, privacy and, of course, habit. Therefore, organizations that want to be
considered preferred providers in their niche need to proactively identify their
customers’ and prospects’ preferences. Failure to support customers’ or
prospects’ channels of choice does not mean that they are going to abandon a
company immediately, but they will be less loyal, and if when something more
convenient comes along, they will be open to a new offer.
The dos and don’ts of multi-channel contact centers
The number-one mistake that many companies make when adding channels is
setting up a different group or team to handle each new interaction channel. Even
worse, they may use a different pay scale, even though agents are basically doing
exactly the same job in each channel. For example, in some companies the email
agents are paid more than phone agents, while in others they are paid less. A
further complication is that too many organizations use different, non-integrated
servicing applications to support each communications channel, so agents lack a
holistic view of customers and what is being done to help them. This is a mistake
that negatively impacts customers and is very costly for enterprises, as it results in
miscommunications, additional work, and often hurts the customer experience.
Figure 2 reviews the top 11 do’s and don’ts for multi-channel contact centers.
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© DMG Consulting LLC
Figure 2: Management Tips for Multi-Channel Contact Centers
Practices
Hiring
Staffing
Don’t
Do
Require additional education for email,
SMS or social media agents
Assume that all agents can handle all
channels
Compensation
Have different pay scales for each
channel and underpay phone agents
Performance goals
Apply phone KPIs to other channels
Quality assurance
evaluations
Use the same quality evaluation criteria
for all channels
Training
Update the training program just by
referring to additional channels
Coaching
Use traditional coaching and training
approaches that delay feedback
Give priority to social media interactions
simply because the communication
arrives in a public medium
Policies and procedures
Organization structure
Set up channel silos where the teams
are separate, not cross-trained, and do
not interact
Servicing/CRM
application
Knowledge base
Use different servicing/CRM systems to
support each channel
Create different knowledge base articles
for different channels
Use the same educational standards for
all channels
Hire employees who can handle multiple
channels, and try to retrain agents who
were previously dedicated solely to the
phone
Use one pay scale; pay all agents fairly
and competitively based on their
knowledge, experience and competency
Create a new set of metrics and KPIs for
each channel; start with easily
attainable goals and make them
progressively more challenging as the
staff becomes more experienced
Create customized quality evaluation
forms for each channel; however, the
criteria for product knowledge should be
the same in each evaluation form
Rethink and revamp the training
program based on the unique
requirements of each channel
Provide feedback on a timely or realtime basis
Have standard resolution policies that
are used by agents in all channels; take
into consideration the immediacy of
each channel, to ensure that customers
receive the service they expect on a
timely basis
Create a single organization that
supports multiple channels, even if
different agents handle the various
channels
Have one servicing/CRM application that
supports all channels
Ensure that all servicing staff has
immediate access to all content and
knowledge
Source: DMG Consulting LLC, November 2013
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© DMG Consulting LLC
The ideal approach is to use multi-skilled agents who can handle any type of
inquiry or interaction. The interactions should be delivered on a first come/first
served basis, or whatever criteria are established by your organization. The
characteristics of each channel should be taken into consideration when setting up
routing rules. Agents should record their actions in a central servicing or customer
relationship management solution that supports all channels.
What makes a good multi-channel contact center agent?
The characteristics of a good contact center agent are really pretty simple. A good
contact center agent is someone who likes people, enjoys helping
customers/prospects, communicates effectively (verbally and in writing), is a good
troubleshooter and problem-solver, is flexible, patient, unflappable, can multi-task
(use servicing system while speaking), and enjoys the job.
Outstanding phone agents have traditionally been effective at writing notes in their
servicing application, so extending this skill to emails or SMS should not be
particularly daunting. Of course, training is essential, and this is often the missing
link. Here are steps to convert phone agents to multi-skilled phone/email/chat/SMS
agents. (Social media requires a different set of skills, although being in marketing
should not be one of them.)
1. Create a job description for multi-channel agents that specify all job
responsibilities.
2. Ask current phone agents if they are willing to be trained to handle
additional channels.
3. Have HR administer a test to determine if current phone agents have the
right skills to handle alternative channels.
4. Create a training program to teach the staff (agents and new hires) how to
handle the alternative channels.
5. Create new performance goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) to
use in evaluating multi-channel agent performance.
6. Review and update the compensation plan to encourage phone agents to
take on additional responsibilities and channels.
7. Update the quality assurance process and evaluation forms to include the
new channels, and retrain agents and supervisors.
8. Work with HR to update the semi-annual and annual evaluation forms to
address the new responsibilities.
9. Update all departmental policies and procedures to incorporate the handling
of the new channels.
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© DMG Consulting LLC
Millennials in contact centers
The Millennial generation, people born between 1980 and 2000, is now entering
the workforce. A great deal has been written about this generation’s work ethic.
(See blog post on Millennials.) The top complaints about Millennials are that they
have an inflated view of their worth and that they are not willing to work hard.
While there are challenges that come with all employees, and whether or not these
generalizations are accurate, this workforce is in place, and managers have to
learn how to deal with them. Millennials bring many skills that contact centers
need. This is a generation that grew up with technology, and multi-tasking is
second nature to them. While they may not be willing to put in extra time for the
good of the company, they are typically willing to work hard during the hours they
are on the clock, as long as they are interested in the work. Multi-channel contact
centers are an environment where this generation can thrive, provided that they
are managed fairly and properly. This means that contact centers that want to
rapidly absorb Millennials into their workforce should:
1. Assign appropriate managers – people who understand the mindset of this
generation.
2. Revamp training programs – this is not a generation that has to be taught to
use computers, and they quickly pick up the use of new applications.
3. Use pay-for-performance – Millennials are wired for this type of motivation.
A few extra dollars can make a major difference.
4. Invite suggestions – just because they are young doesn’t mean that they
are worthless; the world has changed, and they bring a new perspective to
the job.
5. Provide flexible jobs – modify responsibilities to take advantage of the multitasking skills of this generation; train them to handle multiple channels so
that they don’t get bored.
Hiring practices for multi-channel contact centers
Hiring remains the most important and often the most challenging task for contact
centers. Everything works better with the right people. While it’s fine to intensively
train new employees, it’s a lot easier if they come in with the right attitude and
aptitude. Contact center managers should work with human resources to create
detailed job descriptions (JDs) that specify daily responsibilities, educational
background and prior experience. They should also develop a two-step interview
process. The first phase is to interview people using the channels in which they
are going to be working. If you’re hiring people who are going to be asked to
handle phone, email, chat and SMS, create a process that tests their skills
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© DMG Consulting LLC
interacting in each of these channels. If they pass the initial screening, invite them
in for an interview. If they are virtual agents, conduct the “in-person” portion using
Skype, WebEx or another video-type product. It is important for the candidate to
be personable, professional and clearly interested in the job.
For recruitment effort to be successful, contact center managers and HR should
create an interview process that incorporates an initial test, a “channel” interview
and an “in-person” follow-up. If designed properly, one person can handle all
aspects of the interview instead of involving many managers, which is less
effective and more time-intensive. The hiring criteria vary depending on the nature
of the job, but should address the following:
1. Capability – seeing if the person has the aptitude to succeed in a particular
operating environment
2. Communication skills – ensuring that candidates can communicate clearly
and concisely in each channel (speaking and/or writing)
3. Typing/keyboard – ensuring that they can get the job done in a timely and
accurate manner
4. Math – making sure that people can look at numbers and make sense of
them; agents can use calculators, but they should know the basics
5. Multi-tasking abilities – seeing how easily the person moves from one
activity to another
6. Decision-making and troubleshooting – assessing each candidate’s ability
to evaluate information, draw appropriate conclusions, and handle tough
situations
The hardest criterion to evaluate is whether candidates are service-oriented and
wired for helping people. We suggest that enterprises use behavior-based
questions to assess whether or not candidates are likely to go out of their way to
help customers. A list of questions should be created to ask candidates about how
they would handle a variety of tough customer or interpersonal challenges.
Interviewers should be able to choose questions from the list, as necessary,
depending upon the candidate and the job for which they are interviewing.
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Final Thoughts
Companies are still discussing the need for multi-channel contact centers, a
debate that has been answered by their customers. Now the question is how to
successfully transition from an existing operating environment, which is likely a
collection of non-integrated channels, to a more cost-effective, fully integrated
servicing environment that delivers a better customer experience. The first step is
to rethink the routing of calls, emails, chats, SMS and social media interactions.
Most contact center solutions already offer a universal queue that allows
businesses to seamlessly integrate the handling of interactions, regardless of the
channel in which they arrive. The technology is available; the primary challenges
are staffing, management and the willingness to give it a try. The entrance of
Millennials into contact centers is starting to force the issue of evolving to a multichannel environment. Companies that are not providing support in multiple
channels are missing a great opportunity to improve the customer journey,
enhance loyalty and reduce their operating costs.
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© DMG Consulting LLC
About Intradiem
Intradiem, formerly Knowlagent, is the leader in intraday workforce management solutions for
multi-channel contact centers. Intradiem helps customers both improve productivity and the
customer experience while lowering costs. Intradiem’s solutions automate manual processes
such as intraday task management, intraday staffing, reskilling, channel balancing, and real-time
alerts to enable companies to create an agile workforce and improve business performance by
over 20 percent. More than 450,000 contact center, field service, retail, bank branch, and back
office employees around the world use Intradiem’s solution every day. For more information,
call 888-566-9457 or visit www.intradiem.com.
About DMG Consulting
DMG Consulting LLC is an independent research, advisory and consulting firm that provides
strategic and tactical advice to enterprise and contact center managers, vendors and the financial
community. Our mission is to help clients build world-class contact center and back-office
environments by leveraging technology, processes and people. We provide insight and guidance
to assist management in optimizing performance by increasing operational efficiency, providing
an outstanding customer experience, enhancing loyalty, and increasing sales and profits. DMG
devotes more than 10,000 hours annually to researching various segments of the contact center,
analytics and back-office markets, including vendors, technologies, best practices, solutions and
their benefits and ROI. More information about DMG Consulting can be found at
www.dmgconsult.com.
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