Everybody has had experience with call centers in one way or another—be it through working in one, working for a business that uses one, or being called by one. Call centers and their purposes are relatively common knowledge, but just what does make a good one tick?
Expert management, the use of data analytics, and a strong back-of-house team are all key components of a call center; and as anybody who has watched a call center-based documentary knows, so are cleaners and caterers.
Purpose of a Call Center
Before one can appreciate the key components of a call center, it is worth being reminded of just what the purpose of one is. Call centers are essential to customer experience and, simply put by HubSpot, customer experience is essential to the sustained growth of a business.
No matter how excellent your business, customers will always have a reason to contact you with a query, an issue, or a complaint. This is completely normal, and many businesses use a call center as the primary method of dealing with this contact.
Call Center Manager
In charge of these call centers are the call center managers. They run the services, ensuring that they adhere to company policy; and they are in constant communication with their employers, ensuring that standards are upheld.
They are generally in charge of monitoring analytics (although they will sometimes hire specialists for this position or use software that aids them) and training staff. A good call center manager needs all the professional qualities that the leader of any growing office does—the ability to take advice, fantastic time management, and a knack for motivation.
Analysts
As previously mentioned, analytics play an important role in call centers. Data is used to track customer journeys through contact processes in order to improve future interactions.
To help achieve this, many call center analysts will enlist the help of software solutions. With Aceyus, call centers can have contextual data, historical and real-time metrics, and conversation details displayed in easy-to-use, centralized dashboards. This permits them to collate data far quicker, using it to gain insights into client interactions and needs.
Cleaners and Caterers
No office can operate effectively without the solid work of cleaners and caterers. Talking for a living is thirsty work for call center phone handlers and, while the traditional work of a “tea lady” might be dying out, the accessibility of a well-stocked and clean kitchen area is still a must in many call centers.
Back of House
Finally, behind the scenes, there are the roles that are less “front facing.” These can be HR roles, communications positions, IT technicians, or surveillance officers. Without these vital positions being filled by talented and hardworking individuals, the phone operators in a call center would not be able to do their job effectively.
With the complex and intertwined structure that a call center operates in, it is a deceptively complicated environment. While all you may recognize is the voice on the telephone, there are a whole host of other positions and software that bring it to life.
