The Brief
We were approached by the learning and development department of one of our clients. They were experiencing low success rates in their outbound call centre, and needed to boost productivity and response rates.
They were looking for a solution that would empower their call centre staff, enhance their job satisfaction and allow them to be enthusiastic about the calls they were making.
One of the challenges they were encountering was that staff had difficulty in using and reciting the verbatim scripts they were provided with for the different projects.
They needed an approach that would work with the strengths of the team, and enhance their productivity without complicating their day to day work.
Our Solution
The approach of non-verbatim scripting for the call centre was implemented. Instead of the agents sitting in front of scripts on their computer screen, they were given a bulleted presentation of the emotions and key themes they should impart to the client at different stages in the conversation.
While they weren’t given a word for word script of what they should say, they were given clear guidelines of what they shouldn’t say – this meant that the space for free conversation was widened.
They were also allowed to speak in plain language, that they were comfortable with, rather than using words on a script that they don’t regularly use to describe financial concepts.
Because our toolkits aren’t just a once off solution and are instead geared toward sustainability, we didn’t only provide training material for the agents – but also their trainers.
We presented to the trainers, and provided them with a support manual to ensure that they could train new staff in using the non-verbatim guides.
The Outcome
While the actual call centre metrics showed visible increase, and the project was a success in meeting the business objectives, the greatest success could be seen on the call centre floor.
We were forwarded actual feedback from the call centre agents who were finding their jobs simpler and more fulfilling with the new system in place.
The eventual and most impressive outcome was that we succeeded in humanising their call centre environment, and helping them serve their customers better.