Customer Service Agents:
The Key to CRM Success
Technology alone cannot improve customer relationships. People drive the
success – or the failure – of a CRM strategy and implementation.
by Matt McConnell and Kathleen Lendvay Knowlagent
W
hile organizations have spent billions on CRM to provide
better service and build stronger connections with customers, achievement of CRM objectives remains an elusive goal. A 2001 Bain & Company survey of more than 400 executives
found that 20 percent thought their CRM initiatives actually damaged
customer relationships.
continuously improve and develop, will build the CRM philosophies
of quality, service, and consistent performance into each employee’s
day-to-day routine. A CRM strategy cannot succeed unless it is supported by a customer-centric organization, driven by timely, frequent communications and change management efforts.
Since it is the customer-facing employees who play a central role
in building and managing customer relationships, they must be proactively
involved in a company’s development of
CRM
Client
Stakeholder
Employee
this new customer-centric culture and
Vendor
(Buyer)
strategy. In particular, successful CRM
strategies must develop effective change
management efforts based on the needs of
•
Sell
software
•
Optimize
customer
•
Meet
performance
Objectives
the employees who hold the primary
relationships
goals
• Recognize revenue
responsibility for the customer experi• Realize return on
• Ensure job security
• Sell additional
investment
ence: customer service center agents. Yet,
modules/licenses
in most organizations, customer service
Project Goal
• Speed to Rollout
• Successful Change
• Risk Avoidance
center agents are an undeveloped and
These disparate and even
overlooked asset in CRM initiatives.
conflicting goals can only be
Customer service centers play a critical
accomplished with:
role in the success or failure of CRM initiatives. Recent studies by the Center for
Typical CRM
Customer-Driven Quality at Purdue
Reliable infrastructure and information …
Implementations
University confirm that customer service
center agents are crucial to the CRM forAdditional
… used to support well-designed processes
Elements Critical
mula because they create the all-important
to CRM Success
… executed by prepared and capable employees
link between a company and its customers.
According to the findings, over 90 percent of
those surveyed form their perception of a
Figure 1 CRM Implementations: Putting Strategy Into Practice
company based on their customer service
center experience. In addition, the study indicated that over 60 perAchievement of CRM objectives depends on a customer-centric
cent will terminate their relationship based on a bad experience with
culture and enterprise-wide strategy, with particular emphasis on
customer service centers.
building buy-in and shared objectives among employees. While
A failure to appropriately include customer service agents in
enthusiasm and participation at the top levels of an organization are
change management efforts could be the very reason that customer
necessary, it is far from sufficient. It is when employees understand
the role they play in a company’s CRM
strategy and vision that they can under- Matt McConnell is founder and vice president of marketing for Knowlagent, where he is responsible for
creating and driving the vision of Knowlagent’s Agent Performance Solution.
stand the link between their own performance and corporate objectives. Clear Kathleen Lendvay is Knowlagent’s director of strategic alliances and is responsible for building and
expectations, and the opportunity to managing partner relationships and indirect channels.
212 • crmproject.com
INTERACTION
service centers and agents are not performing to their customers’
expectations. Gartner reports a large gap between an organization’s
perception of how well its customer service center meets the needs
of its customers and the customer’s reality. Although 70 percent of
enterprises believe they have a well-run customer service center
that provides their customers with good service, only 46 percent of
their customers report satisfaction with that service.
After a CRM strategy has been defined, many organizations look
to technology to provide valuable information and functionality to
improve customer relationships. Unfortunately, these initiatives can
present their own set of challenges. A staggering 55 to 65 percent of
CRM projects fail to meet their objectives, according to numerous
industry analysts, including Gartner, Meta Group, AMR Research,
and Yankee Group.
Why are CRM implementations so dysfunctional? At its core, CRM
success is built on a foundation of employee performance, shared
goals and objectives, and customer-centric processes and culture –
not technological innovation. Although inability to achieve expected
benefits from CRM initiatives is an ongoing problem, it is not the
technology that is failing. Forrester Research reports a high satisfaction with application functionality and capability.
New technology is only useful when it is put to good use. Yet the people who can use new CRM applications to better serve customers are
viewed almost as an afterthought in many CRM deployments. The technology and process change required for CRM success must cascade all
the way down into the trenches: to the people who most interact with
customers. Unfortunately, the three primary stakeholder groups for a
CRM implementation often have different – and even conflicting –
goals and motivations. To address the needs of each stakeholder group,
technology, processes, and people must be each considered as necessary and complementary elements of a complete solution.
Agents cannot be overlooked in CRM implementations. When companies embrace CRM, their employees – especially their front-line
employees like customer service agents – must be introduced to new
processes, culture, and technology, while learning how to develop the
skills required for relationship building.
Typically, change management and training efforts are too little,
too late. Customer service center agents tend to only hear about an
upcoming CRM rollout by learning the “what” without the “how” or
the “why.” There’s little wonder, then, that Benchmark Portal studies
find that customer service center agents do not understand the organization’s CRM strategies, and have even less ability to operationalize
that strategy when they are on the phone with the customer.
Getting It Right: The Path to CRM Success
The history of CRM initiatives makes it clear that the missing link is
effectively preparing employees – and especially customer service
center agents – to be customer focused, to understand the importance
of the CRM approach, and to be well-prepared to operate consistently
in a manner that is in sync with the overall CRM vision.
The best-practice approach to change management surrounding
CRM initiatives is not difficult to define. Planning ahead and avoiding
the typical pitfalls in CRM implementations will build a solid foundation for sustainable, long-term success. By including change management efforts directed specifically to agents and development of their
performance starting early in the project lifecycle and continuing
long after deployment, the probability for success is greatly enhanced.
According to Gartner’s 2003 report, CRM Business Transformation:
More Than Just Technology, CRM transformation starts when an
enterprise begins the change management necessary in people and
process areas to transform the enterprise. Just as project management ensures the technology is delivered on time and on budget, a
Supplemental Activities to Drive CRM Success
Assess
People and
Process
Drivers and
Impacts
Define
Business
Objectives
Begin
Communication
and Change
Management
Activities
Document
Business
Requirements
Gather and
Incorporate
User Input
Decide on Buy
vs. Build and
Select IT
Vendor(s)
Create
Functional
Designs
Provide End User
Training on
New Processes
and Skills
Build, Test,
and User
Acceptance
Test
Deliver
Application
Training to
End Users
Measure Results,
Make Adjustments,
and Individualize
Learning
Deploy
Solution
Figure 2 Typical CRM Implementation
Defying the Limits • 213
>>>
Customer Service Agents: The Key to CRM Success
change management plan ensures timely steps are carried out so
that individuals are effectively prepared to use the technology. In its
2002 report, Use Training and Incentives to Make CRM Work in the
Workplace, Gartner recommends that change management efforts
begin three to six months before vendor selection.
Typical CRM implementations not only delay communications, training, and other change management activities until
late in the project lifecycle, they may leave out some of these
activities altogether.
Assess People and Process Drivers and Impact
An important first step is to evaluate the current skills, processes,
and structure of the customer service center so that organizations
can come to an understanding of the impact that the new systems
and processes will have on customer service agents and their
ability to deliver best performance in their daily interactions
with customers. Measures and benchmarks are established to
ensure that all future efforts are carefully aligned with CRM strategies. Based on this evaluation, the organization can understand
the key areas in which processes must change, as well as what performance development areas are required to bring the agents to
perform consistently well.
run a high risk for low end-user adoption if those end users feel
they were excluded from the design phase and the resulting solution does not meet their needs. Alerting users to planned design
features and gathering feedback from each and all agents at their
desktop, without impacting day-to-day productivity, can help
ensure application usability and help the agents become familiar
with future expectations.
This ability to quickly and efficiently test design elements
among end users – the agents – leads to more efficient and
relevant applications. In addition, it includes the very people who
are expected to make the application work effectively in the
process, gaining greater acceptance and buy-in, while introducing
them to the new expectations, strategies, and the critical nature of
their role.
Provide Training to End Users on New Processes,
Skills, and Best Practices for Application Usage
It’s unrealistic to expect a CRM application and new customer-centric
processes to work if the agents don’t know how to effectively use
them. For example, low proficiency in agent use of CRM technology
at best means that agents might not use the software effectively, a low
blow to expected return on investment. At worst, it means agents are
practicing and learning with real customers
– and potentially damaging customer relationships while they work out the kinks, live,
with the very customers that CRM strategies
are supposed to be retaining.
Because of the unique requirements
and challenges facing customer service
center operations, change management
requires a different approach with the customer service agent
than what works in the rest of the organization. With productivity
top of mind in most customer service centers, costs and service
level concerns prohibit pulling agents off the floor and away from
the phone often enough to impact the agent’s mindset, build new
skills and knowledge, and ensure understanding and retention.
Even if this development could occur in the classroom,
organizations would not know which agents mastered the
information, how long the agents would retain their new
knowledge, or how well they would translate classroom content to
live interactions with customers.
What is required is a new approach that specifically addresses
the needs and operational concerns of a customer service center.
Classroom training and passive e-learning solutions have not and
cannot meet the challenge. Customer service center agents need a
proactive performance support solution designed to individualize
learning, set clear direction and expectations, and provide
CRM transformation starts when an enterprise
begins the change management necessary
in people and process areas to transform
the enterprise.
Conduct Communication and
Change Management Activities
Unfortunately, many projects delay communications and training
until right before the pilot rollout, setting the CRM initiative up for
failure. Lack of user adoption, inconsistent or poorly executed business processes, and misuse of new data or functionality are all common results of not addressing change management issues up front.
These communications must go beyond simply a series of
memos dropped on the agent’s desktop or inclusion in the
employee newsletter. Change management communication is too
critical to be left to chance; customer service centers need to be able
to deliver communications, ensure that they are read and, most
importantly, ensure that they are understood. Instead of passive
communications, they should be able to engage agents in a way
they will be able to clearly understand the value of the upcoming
changes and what role they play in transforming the organization.
Create Functional Designs Involving All or Most
Users in Providing Design Input
Typical CRM engagements involve few, if any, end users in
functional design and requirements for CRM. It is the end users –
often customer service center agents – who will use the technology and must make it function in their daily work. Organizations
214 • crmproject.com
WEB LINK
Read why companies should innovate incrementally in
“Fulfilling the Promise: Integrating Sales into CRM” in this
book and on the Web at www.crmproject.com.
INTERACTION
individual feedback on their accomplishments and current level of
performance in order to create habits or change behavior, all while
minimizing disruption to customer service center productivity.
Measure Results and Continue to Refine
Processes, Application Design, and
Individualized Training as Needed
Due to the dynamic nature of company offerings, competitive
pressures, application upgrades, mergers, organizational changes,
shifting corporate priorities, and high employee turnover in the
customer service center, change management activities – communication, development, measurement – must occur daily, on
an ongoing basis. This ensures that even with frequent changes in
the internal and external environment, agents are performing
their best and are consistently aligned with the vision of the CRM
effort. Delivering a large quantity of shifting and changing content
By measuring actual on-the-job results based on business
objectives and the initial CRM goals, organizations can understand
the strengths and weaknesses of each agent and deliver focused
support specific to the needs of each agent. Just as a personal
trainer focuses a trainee on the most relevant exercises for that
person’s abilities and goals, an individualized performance building
strategy will ensure that the time each employee spends in development is productive and relevant to the individual’s skill and
performance improvement goals, thus reducing time to proficiency.
CRM and Agent Performance: A Partnership for Success
For too long, the human element of CRM, especially in the
customer service center, has been ignored. An overwhelming
majority of executives cite technology – not people or processes –
as the most strategic element in their customer service success,
according to Benchmark Portal. Yet all this focus on technology has
While few in management would believe that initial classroom training
translates into instant proficiency, most executives would be shocked to
realize that up to 80 percent of their training investment is lost within 48
hours of training without proper reinforcement.
to each agent, and measuring the results of the investments made
to accomplish this goal, are overwhelming challenges in most
customer service operations.
Even with extensive classroom training – whether for a newly
released application or process or for a newly hired agent – when
agents leave the classroom, there’s no telling what or how much
they retain, how this will vary by team or role, or how well the
training will be applied. While few in management would
believe that initial classroom training translates into instant proficiency, most executives would be shocked to realize that up to
80 percent of their training investment is lost within 48 hours of
training without proper reinforcement. This means that it’s natural for agents to develop knowledge and skill gaps once they go
live with customers on the phone, leading to less than satisfactory customer experiences.
not led to success. It is the people who are using the technology
that can make or break the implementation. The bottom line for
CRM – building and managing customer relationships – is that it is
people who build relationships, not technology.
The customer service center agent represents an untapped
resource for realizing an organization’s customer-centric vision.
Enhancing agent performance can quickly deliver significant
returns – in the form of customer loyalty and revenue growth, and
therefore, great profits – to an organization’s bottom line.
One contact at a time. That’s how customers are kept – and
how they are lost. As more organizations begin to realize that
customer service centers are a strategic player in critical CRM
initiatives, optimizing agent performance to deliver consistent,
quality service and support has become a strategic factor in
meeting corporate financial goals. ■
Defying the Limits • 215
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