COACH’ S CORNER
PART 2
BY MARK PEREIRA
ILLUSTRATION PROVIDED BY ADOBE STOCK
AVERAGE HANDLE TIME VS. HUMAN TIME FINDING THE RIGHT BALANCE IN THE CX AGE.
In today ' s call and contact centers, agents are caught in the middle of a quiet- but constant- tug-of-war. Leadership wants faster calls, tighter metrics, and improved efficiency. Customers want patience, empathy, and solutions.
Agents are expected to deliver both: all while navigating complex systems, expanding queues, and performance metrics that rarely reflect the realities of the work.
But the issue isn ' t that agents are spending too much time with customers. The real problem is where that time is being spent.
In many centers, a straightforward
14 CONTACT CENTER PIPELINE customer request stretches into a lengthy interaction. Not because of the conversation itself but because the agent is navigating various sites, policies, and processes that were never designed to work together.
And then, if the information can ' t be found, the agent reaches out to someone for help.
In this three-part article, I explore how contact centers can reduce average handle time( AHT) without rushing either the customer or the agent.
Part 1 covered removing customer friction before the call. Part 2( here) focuses on agent performance strategies and methods. Finally, Part 3 will discuss having the right people in the right place and the tools to help them; it will also present the conclusion.
TOO MANY TRAINING PROGRAMS RUSH THROUGH TOOLS, ASSUMING AGENTS WILL FIGURE IT OUT...