There are different ways of saving on labor expense for call centers. One way is to cross skill an agent. There are three ways of doing it.
Different Line of Business
Some agents are trained initially for the customer care department. After they become proficient or at least if performance has indicated they can move on to the next level, they are then trained on a few other processes like collections or even sales.
Different Accounts or Clients
For outsourcers, the agents are cross skilled to be able to handle different companies. This might be confusing and the agents have to be alert at all times. I’ve seen agents (and have experienced first hand) make a mistake when they do their opening spiel, saying the wrong company.
Different Function
Some are trained to handle inbound and outbound calls. Others are also trained to handle voice calls and email, including chat at times. Their productivity is then divided and scheduled based on the expected call volume or possible spikes.
A word of caution though…make sure you plan it and consider the possible consequences (e.g. CSAT or quality) tied to this strategy.
Cross-, or multi-skilling is a fairly good idea, but there are a few things that have to be considered. Firstly, I think gradual training and up-skilling is best, rather than having the whole she-bang dumped on an agent at once. This happened to me with my last employer.
Secondly, there is the issue of pay. I've been in the situation where multi-skilled agents are being absolutely hammered with calls, while those handling one type of call (and on the same pay rate) are sitting twiddling their thumbs because their particular department is quiet. (This is indeed one reason for multi-skilling!)
Increasing an agent's salary as their skill-base increases is essential!
Posted by: Gus | April 1, 2008 8:49 AM | Permalink to Comment