Command and Control in Governmental Contact Centers
Posted: 05/20/2010 12:00:00 AM EDT | 4
|
|
In an attempt to keep in touch with the world I ran across an article in the Wall Street Journal. The article was of interest as it was about customer service and the IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system frustrations one experiences. As I read through the comments this post from “Call Center Cindy” caught my eye:
“I work for a branch of the government which is extremely popular on April 15. They give us scripts to read which don’t answer the caller’s questions, yet we are penalized for not reading the script verbatim and also penalized for adding anything that could be helpful. Even if we know the answer to the question, we can be terminated for giving any info not specifically written down for us. I hate sounding stupid when a caller asks a simple question and I have to read paragraphs of convoluted legalese when a simple yes or no would do. Our calls are monitored and recorded, just in case we’re tempted to be helpful. This is the only place I’ve ever worked where going the extra mile to be helpful can cost me my job.”
You couldn’t make this stuff up, even if you tried.
The IRS (if it is the IRS—wink wink) is not alone in this problem. Too many contact centers have designed work so poorly that workers are destined to mediocrity (at best). Seriously, would you want to work in this system?
Contact center agents are over-scripted, entrapped with technology, monitored, recorded and standardized to the point that they can’t help anyone. Consultants are hired to fix the culture, provide empathy training, conflict resolution and the list goes on and on. What these contact centers are missing is very simple . . . well-designed work that is focused on the customer.
I can’t imagine the amount of failure demand (in the form of customer call backs) that this government entity gets, but I am sure that it tops 60 percent. A customer seeking an answer will either give up or call back. More calls lead to more costs and the cycle continues as 1040s and other forms are submitted with wrong or missing information.
When agents have no say in the decision-making in contact centers, can they really be held accountable for their performance? I say no, management bases decisions from the best practices and reports they receive in the form of data. This is no replacement for knowledge and context that an agent can provide.
If service is to get better (and less expensive) in government or other service organizations, management needs to rethink the design and management of work. Until that time agents and customers will suffer the consequences . . . but let us not forget the added waste in costs.
First published on Customer Management IQ
|
Contributor:
Tripp Babbitt |
-
The Customer Experience IS Your Brand -
First Call Resolution Guarantees Excellent Customer Experience, Or Does It? -
Data-Driven Social CRM -
The Most Costly Incentive Mistakes -
Corporate Wellness: It's Not a Program It's a Culture -
The 'Flaws' with Women In Leadership -
Getting Your Team in the Zone -
What You Don't Know About Call Volume Forecasting Strategy -
7 Steps to a Value-Driven Call Center Culture -
Does A Slow Growth Economy Affect Service Levels?
* = required.
|
I once did temp work for a branch of the US government and we did have scripted replies to customer questions (and, no, I didn't last long in that job because the idea was not to serve the customer but to keep processing costs to a minimum). Goals were based strictly on the needs of the agency, not the needs of the customer (e.g., percent of calls picked up on first ring). I'm willing to bet that nearly all government branches/departments avoid meaningful metrics like customer satisfaction (and why should they, when there is no alternative).
So, yeah -- I feel Call Center Cindy's pain.
|
Replies (0)|
|
I am a consultant for a government contact center that does a great job empoering their agents with knowledge to answer thier callers questions. Scripting helps with some processes but not all. That is key. Every customer call doesn't need to be handles the same way. Script the ones that can be but don't script everything just because you have the technology to do it.
|
|
|
I manage a local government contact centre in Australia. We do not use rigid scripts
As council provides more than 100 services, agents are well trained, know where to find the information and have the objective as that of solving the problem. As each problem has a variation, rigid and robotic scripting would not be appropriate -as we also have a very multicultural community, some calls are via the interpreter service -again scripting would be a nonsense
|
|
|
The Australian Tax Office is a great example of how better service brough in more revenue. Proven ROI.
|
-
Call Center Excellence Strategies
Corporate Offices of Manheim/Cox Enterprises
July 12- 12, 2013 -
Contact Centre Week China
Venue to be Confirmed, Shanghai, China
October 22- 23, 2013 -
Call Center Performance Productivity & Metrics
Dallas/Addison Marriott Quorum by the Galleria, Dallas, TX
September 30- 3, 2013 -
Oman Customer Service Week 2013
Muscat, Oman
September 29- 1, 2013
|
Reach Customer Management professionals through cost-effective marketing opportunities to deliver your message, position yourself as a thought leader, and introduce new products, techniques and strategies to the market.
Learn More >> Join today and interact with a vibrant network of customer management professionals, keeping up to date with the customer management industry by accessing our wealth of Customer Management articles, videos, online seminars, live conferences and more. Sign Up Today! |
|
Not a member? Sign Up
Reasons for Joining
Address your challenges through knowledge sharing with peers from our global network of specialists.
Benchmark your business initiatives with the who's who in the field.
Hear from industry pioneers how to maximize ROI in today's challenging economy.
And best of all It's FREE!