Explore fresh, expert perspectives on customer engagement and innovation

Need to reduce costs, but don’t want to sacrifice customer or employee experience? This is a very real situation that so many contact centre leaders are currently facing.  

Following the pandemic, prices are rising, there’s an energy crisis, a cost-of-living crisis, and the great resignation on top. Regardless of industry type, everyone has been affected in some way.  

In this webinar, MaxContact’s Product Owner, Sean McIver and CEO Ben Booth, combine more than 30 years of experience working in or alongside contact centres to provide actionable tips and strategies for making cost-saving changes.  

They answer the most pressing questions from contact centre leaders across all industries, provide practical ways to make cost-saving changes, suggest how to utilise technology to streamline operations and more.  

Keep reading for the top takeaways from our discussion or tune in to the full video.

Doing more with less  

The global business landscape has witnessed a steady increase in costs. This upward trend is particularly prominent in the technology and development industry, and as a software company, MaxContact has experienced this first-hand.  

In addition to rising costs, businesses are being asked to do more with fewer resources. The pandemic further compounded this by altering work dynamics across contact centres, resulting in a surge in customer interactions and a decline in available staff.  

During the pandemic, many organisations saw a drop in staffing numbers, while at the same time experienced an increase in customer interactions. The work-from-home model enabled people to address issues and seek assistance without waiting until their workday concluded or setting aside an admin day.  

As a result, the influx of customer enquiries rose, presenting contact centres with the challenge of meeting a far higher demand with a far smaller number of employees. And this hasn’t gone away, says Ben, and it won’t go away. That’s why it’s important to find the best solution going forward.  

Sean emphasises that within the contact centre industry, there are certain demographics that have been affected more than others. For example, those in the BPO (business process outsourcing) space have had to deliver on their own metrics as well as deliver the client requirements, which can be massively varied.  

Ways to reduce costs

Reducing costs is one thing, but how can you do it without impacting the employee and the customer experience?

To explain this, let’s break it down into three pillars: people, technology and data.  

People

Pre-pandemic, Ben explains, agents were often treated as commodities, resulting in high attrition rates. However, the staffing crisis prompted a shift towards recognising the importance of employee engagement and motivation within contact centres.  

It became clear that factors beyond monetary compensation – such as understanding your value to the business, aligning with company goals, and career progression – were instrumental in retaining talent.  

By recognising and addressing these factors, contact centres can foster a motivated and committed workforce.  

However, in order to address the challenges associated with rising staff costs, contact centres need to prioritise sustainable growth.  

It’s important to involve the entire organisation in setting the goals for this, from staff on the ground to those at the top. Engaging with frontline staff and seeking insights on process improvement and pain points can lead to valuable innovations. And while some won’t work, says Ben, some will and could have a lasting positive impact on the company.  

There’s still much to do in this space, says Sean, but the migration of staff from commodity to asset is critically important.

Technology

Ben doesn’t know an industry that has embraced modern technology as much as the contact centre space. But most systems offer more capabilities than many realise. To maximise value, lean on your vendors and get their advice on ways to get more value from the contact centre software you’re using, and embrace cutting-edge technologies, such as real-time agent assistance.  

Agent-assist is AI-powered software that provides suggestions to agents while they are in conversation with a customer. These transcriptions add enormous value as they help people deal with more complex calls faster and can improve training time. However, Ben is wary of scripted responses, as he feels this can demotivate agents.  

Sean emphasises how important it is to leverage the tools at your disposal to keep costs down. For example, ask yourself: how effective is your IVR? Make sure it is as slick as possible and that scripting tools provide agents with the right information at the right time to reduce callbacks.  

Data

Always keep an eye on the data.  

• Why are people contacting you?
• What for?
• What training is required?  

Also, try to engage more with your long-standing staff. Sean explains how those who have been with you for a while will have a range of shortcuts, cheats, and quick wins that you might not know about, or that haven’t been formalised. Centralise that knowledge to help other staff members streamline processes.  

This will also make your long-standing staff feel valued.  

Also, lean on your providers. If you have a challenge, take that challenge to them and ask what you should do, says Sean. The data that comes from these types of exchanges provide valuable information that can speak to a bigger issue in the industry that needs to be addressed.

To learn more about ways to reduce costs without negatively impacting the employee or customer experience, tune in to the full webinar.

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Industry expert Natalie Calvert helps ambitious leaders powerfully engage customers and employees in a way that impacts the bottom line. Her clients have included organisations of all sizes, including some of the world’s largest brands: O2, Royal Mail, Audi, LEGO, M&S and BT. She is also a board advisor and judge for the Lloyds Bank British Business Excellence Awards.

In this guest post, she plots a smarter route to better customer experiences and explains how contact centres can develop a winning CX…

The contact centre is at the heart of the digital revolution because it is responsible for managing customer interactions through various channels. That means your contact centre has to be at the forefront of a modern human, streamlined and technology-driven customer experience.

In fact, a new role is rapidly developing for contact centre advisors, which involves managing more complex customer needs, dealing with more emotive conversations, and doing so in faster and smarter ways than ever before.

In the omnichannel contact centre – one that combines human and digital contact channels – bringing together customer experience (CX) and employee experience (EX) is crucial to business success.

What makes a successful contact centre experience?

Most leaders concur with the adage that “happy staff and happy customers go hand in hand”. Yet, in reality, many companies run two tracks and don’t reap the rewards of a holistic strategy. CX and EX are, increasingly, highly dependent on one another and have become totally interconnected.

Despite substantial investments in customer experience initiatives and employee engagement programmes, contact centres still face significant issues related to customer satisfaction, retention, recruitment, absenteeism, and employee turnover. Something must be wrong.

Turning this around and creating sustainable success is contingent on aligning customer and employee experiences.

To do this you need to focus on the three key areas to win with CX:

1. (Re)Define your customer contact centre strategy

The best contact centres are those that have a truly holistic approach to customer service. The first step in developing your customer contact centre strategy is (re)-defining it.

Contact centres were transformed overnight by the pandemic, and many employees now work from home in a variety of hybrid models. It’s time to redefine strategy considering new working methods, using redesigned processes, technologies, team dynamics and advanced skilling requirements.

A customer contact centre strategy which includes a customer contact business plan, target operating model (TOM), and customer experience model (CEM) alongside your CX employee experience (CXEE) plan will guarantee your success, streamline your strategy and produce better results.

Ensuring that each component cleverly integrates customer experience and employee experience alongside the company’s strategy will drive the best possible outcomes for customers and employees.

2. Be your customers’ hero

Customers want to experience the ‘hero effect’ when buying your products or services. Be their hero by delivering an outstanding experience!

Employees that do the right thing, genuinely care, go the extra mile and champion the customer are Customer Heroes. They also have the mindset and skills to turn detractors into promoters, and complainers into advocates. As a result, they build loyalty, increase customer satisfaction and grow business value.

Customer heroes are highly engaged and happy, and so are their customers.

Having employees who are engaged provides companies with 89% greater customer satisfaction and 50% higher customer loyalty than companies with disengaged employees (source: Korn Ferry/Hay Group).

Ask yourself how you and your fellow leaders can develop your employees into Customer Heroes.

• • Do you have a customer-focused mission and vision that guides your entire organisation?
• • Is your customer-focused mission being fulfilled by giving employees a voice and allowing them to make decisions?
• • Do you have customer service champions and brand ambassadors in each department who drive the customer mission?
• • Do you understand what your customers want from you to be their hero, and how you can deliver it?
• • Do you understand the mindset and skills that are required from your CX frontline and their leaders?
• • Always remember that customer centric organisations are 20%+ more profitable (source Forbes).
• • Overall, know that developing your employees into Customer Heroes will result in more satisfied customers and employees.

3. CX employee community

Build a strong CX employee community by fostering collaboration, communication, and customer centricity among employees. This will drive customer-focused outcomes and make your organisation more effective – and your staff happier.

Nearly three quarters of employees say that better communication would increase their productivity at work. Team huddles are one of the most effective ways to build winning CX teams by allowing groups to collaborate on ideas, disseminate information, and focus on customer centricity. The key here is ensuring leaders have the skills and tools in place for inspiring and effective hybrid team huddles.

Creating a CX employee community with the customer at its heart will not only improve customer experience but also transform employee experience.

In summary, the experience economy and the digital era are changing our lives in ways never seen. Contact centres are facing significant challenges to deliver exceptional experiences, tailored to meet the expectations of the digital age. It is time to meet those expectations head on. Become your customers’ hero, redefine your customer contact centre strategy and grow your CX employee community. CX+EX connects everything. Don’t forget that when you align the stars, the magic begins…

Transform your CX and EX with MaxContact’s customer engagement software, giving customers and employees an unrivalled digital, in-person and omnichannel contact experience. Contact us to find out more.

A recent survey of nearly 20,000 employers around the world found that almost 70% of businesses are having trouble hiring new employees, which is the highest level in 15 years.

In the face of such a challenging recruitment climate, the contact centre industry is in a particularly tough position. Attrition in the UK industry – the rate at which people leave their jobs every year – has been above 20% on average for almost two decades.

That is one person in five leaving their contact centre job every year. And that 20 year average may even understate the current situation, with one US study suggesting 40% of agents plan on leaving roles within the next 12 months.

Such high rates of attrition translate into substantial costs for employers.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development outlines where the costs come from.

The most obvious ones are:

• Administration of the resignation
• Recruitment and selection costs
• Induction training for the new employee

Hidden costs are more difficult to calculate but more serious in the long term and include the drop in productivity of new employees relative to experienced staff who have left.

Faced with these challenges, how should contact centre operators go about getting new staff and keeping existing ones?

Why is contact centre recruitment and retention getting even harder?

There is a widespread perception that contact centres can be a demanding environment to work in, particularly for agents. This has a knock-on effect on recruitment, with recent UK research confirming that “Entry level roles such as customer service agents and claims handlers are the most difficult roles to fill”

If entry level roles are difficult to recruit for, operators are then hit with the double-whammy of a high turnover of staff. Many of the reasons are longstanding and well-known, including a perceived lack of career progression.

The shift to remote working in response to the pandemic has added another complication when trying to understand and reduce staff turnover, because younger workers, who are among the most likely to apply for entry level jobs, can be the ones with most to gain from being in an office environment.

The youngest workers, so-called Generation Z (born after 1997), which includes recent school and university leavers, are the cohort who most want to spend time with colleagues and whose mental health is most likely to be affected by the potential isolation of home working, according to IPSOS research.

Isolation from colleagues due to remote working can also have a negative effect on training and staff development.

A high turnover rate of staff can quickly become a never ending cycle. Research has highlighted that:

• 70% of employees say a friend at work is crucial to job satisfaction.
• 50% said it gives them a stronger connection to their workplace. When an employee leaves, the chances are that their closest workmates will follow them.

Recruiting great contact centre staff

It’s not enough to post vacancies on a few jobs sites and wait for the CVs to roll in. Recruitment strategies have to be proactive, and mix and match different approaches.

How will you stand out from other local employers and reach people who might not yet be considering a job as an agent?

A fresh pair of eyes

There are specialist contact centre recruitment agencies. Why not invite one or two of them in for a meeting, or, more likely these days, invite them to an online meeting, and hear how they interpret the challenge?

Highlight progression opportunities

One of the main reasons contact centre agents give for quitting is the lack of progression opportunities. However, the contact centre industry does promote from within, and managers who started as agents are not uncommon. Why not tell those stories? Not only are team leader and manager roles often filled by former agents, but there are other parts of the business that agents can move into.

Turn a perceived weakness into a strength

Contact centres are often seen as stopgap jobs, but if progression opportunities are properly highlighted, then that can become a strength. Not everyone knows what they want to do after school or university, and a job as an agent is a way to step straight into the world of work, with on-the-job training from the start and a chance to weigh up other roles in the same organisation.

Flexible working, for those who want it

Working from home has become a fact of life during the pandemic, with two-thirds of operators supporting a combination of remote and on-site working in summer 2021. While flexible working will help you attract and retain staff overall, be aware that it is less of an incentive for younger workers.

Values matter for younger workers

In 2025, the youngest workers, Generation Z, will make up 27% of the workforce. Business magazine Forbes reports that these new workers are more value driven than their predecessors when considering which companies they want to work for.

[Listen] Aligning Culture and Organisational Strategy to Nurture Employee Engagement with Danny Wareham >

Tactics for reducing staff turnover

Once you have found and recruited great people, you want them to stay. Here are some of the ways you can reduce staff turnover.

Ask people why?

The best way to keep people is to find out why they leave. Conduct exit interviews,

and make it as easy as possible for people to be honest, even if you might not like what you hear. That means the exit interview shouldn’t be conducted by the agent’s line manager, and you should make it clear that the answers won’t affect future references.

Make sure people know how they can progress and learn

Is it clear to agents how they can progress within the organisation? Do they know what is expected of them in order to be considered for new roles? Do they have opportunities to upskill? Make this clear to staff members in order to give them a clear path and something to work towards.

Giving agents opportunities to increase their knowledge and learn new things is vital. A programme of regular training achieves two goals. It helps staff to be more successful, and it shows them that you take their career progression seriously. In an uncertain world, skills are an employee’s insurance against obsolescence. Help agents attain new levels of competence and they won’t feel the need to find them elsewhere.

[Watch] How to improve staff wellbeing and engagement in your contact centre >

Team building

Employees feeling part of a team is one of the signs of a company with high retention rates. Team building can begin on day one for new employees with a well thought through onboarding process. As new agents settle into their careers, team building should continue. This means making people feel valued and enhancing the social aspects of work.

Time is often tight in busy contact centres, but giving agents opportunities to meet and communicate with their colleagues is essential for morale. With remote working, social breaks in the kitchen and quick conversations across the desk are no longer possible, so it’s vital to put regular time aside for colleagues to get to know each other. If having a friend at work is critical to job satisfaction, then opportunities for staff to make social connections can be a driver for better retention rates.

Show younger workers that values matter to you as a business

You could support local charities and community groups, and why not let agents nominate where the money goes? This needn’t break the bank. A donation of new gardening tools for a community orchard, for example, could make a huge difference while creating positive word-of-mouth marketing for your business. And that will help with hiring the right people in the future.

In addition, show that your values also include protecting the wellbeing of your workforce. That might mean appointing a mental health champion, or arranging mental health awareness training. Team leaders should use regular one-to-ones to ask agents about stress and workload, and look out for signs they might be struggling. Show you care about the wellbeing of employees and you’ll be rewarded with greater loyalty.

Give agents the tools to do the job well

It can be frustrating to have the right training and motivation to do a great job, then feel let down by the software you have to use. In one survey 80% of agents said having up-to-date software was critical to their engagement with the job, but only 30% said it was available in their current job. That gap speaks for itself.

The key ingredients in your recruitment and retention strategy

The fact is, recruiting and retaining good agents isn’t easy at the best of times, and it may be particularly difficult during a time that some have dubbed the “Great Resignation”.

But contact centre businesses can help themselves in this regard, creating the conditions that make them more appealing to a broader range of potential employees. Highlighting opportunities for progression, offering flexible working for those who want it and creating a caring and values-led environment are clearly key ingredients in any recruitment and retention strategy.

In other words, contact centre work may have an image problem, but confound expectations and you can attract and retain the professional workforce your business needs.

How does your contact centre support potentially vulnerable customers?  

As agents speak with countless people daily, while trying to meet targets and other responsibilities, sometimes it can be tough to give each customer the time and sensitivity they deserve.  

However, there has been an increasing number of vulnerable adults, in part due to the cost-of-living crisis and the pandemic. MaxContact commissioned research on 1,000 customers who identified as vulnerable across the country to find out more about their needs and how contact centre staff could better support them.  

In this webinar session, MaxContact’s Sean McIver speaks with Sandra Thompson, Goleman Emotional Intelligence coach in the UK and Founder of Ei Evolution, and Helen Lord, CEO and Founder of the Vulnerability Registration Service (VRS), to explore how contact centres can support vulnerable customers.  

Keep reading for the top takeaways from our discussion or tune in to the full video.

Identifying vulnerable customers

How do we define a vulnerable person?  

Unfortunately, there is no one single answer to this. Vulnerability comes in all different shapes and sizes. It could relate to financial vulnerability, recent job loss, age or disability-related issues, mental illness, or bereavement. Any of these things can affect how people make decisions and how much support they need.

When handling sensitive topics in calls, it’s so important that first line staff have some training in how to best respond to and support customers going through tough times.  

As Helen explains, there’s greater recognition of the different aspects of vulnerability these days – especially following the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis we currently face. People are generally more open about things like financial hardship and mental health, which is a positive step.  

However, there’s still a long way to go in Helen’s opinion. There is currently a lot of talk and not enough action.

How businesses have responded to an increase in vulnerable customers

Sandra says that when leaders and staff have a better understanding of compassion and empathy, they can help to keep customers calm and resolve their problems more effectively. Part of that includes being proactive in giving out information so that customers feel like they have more control over their own situation.  

Many organisations are realising this and are doing what they can to train their staff in this way. However, there are still plenty of organisations that don’t do this. As a result, contact centre staff often suffer from burnout, and customers are left feeling like the agents don’t understand them.  

This leads to greater tension between the organisation and the customer, which means that issues take longer to resolve.  

There are two stages of handling customer vulnerability. The first is to identify it, and the second is to think about how we can accommodate it in customer interactions.  

As Helen says, dealing with vulnerability comes down to good customer service first and foremost.  

Beyond that, organisations need to rethink how they map customer journeys because not all customers will experience things the same way.  

For example, those experiencing mental health issues or people who are victims of economic abuse will have an entirely different experience. That’s why it’s important to consider all the different types of customer journeys.  

While you may not be able to map out each individual one, understanding that everyone experiences things differently and taking things on a case-by-case basis will help agents support each customer individually.  

The key to this is emotional intelligence. When agents have greater emotional intelligence, it makes them more empathetic and understanding of each customer’s journey. It also helps to keep agents themselves calm when dealing with emotionally difficult calls with customers.

Three things organisations can do to provide a better service

1 . Create content to support customers

Sandra says that if you have a good understanding of your customers and their needs, you should create content such as videos that help to build that emotional connection.  

Videos with useful advice can help customers feel empowered to tackle their own challenges. This can also reduce the number of customer calls.  

2 . Ensure you have the right statistics  

This means, for example, having a way to see if a customer has called multiple times and keeps getting cut off. If people are discussing emotional issues on a call and they get cut off, it can increase mental stress.  

Having that data keeps agents informed and ready to help customers right away.  

3 . Try something counterintuitive

While many call centres have targets on call handling times, Sandra has a method that might seem a little counterintuitive.  

Instead of trying to speed up the call, simply say “take your time.” When customers are stressed and are scrambling to remember a password, for example, saying “take your time” helps to keep them calm.  

Once they’re calm, they’re more likely to remember a password, and you can resolve the issues much faster. While it might seem like this phrase would increase call time, you might find it does the opposite.  

Protect contact centre staff

Dealing with difficult situations and emotions can take its toll on your agents as well. That’s why it’s so important to think about their wellbeing and mental health as well.

Helen suggests doing what you can to avoid a blame culture. By focusing so much on call times and targets, you just add more stress to the situation. Agents might feel rushed when dealing with sensitive issues, and this can affect customer service.  

Another way you can protect contact centre staff is to ensure they have adequate training to deal with difficult calls. If agents don’t feel prepared, this can increase stress, and that affects the customer’s experience as well. Good training is a win-win for all.  

Sandra shares some more ideas about how you can improve the training side of things.

1 . Don’t forget to check in on your remote staff

It’s important in today’s world to make sure you’re checking in on your remote staff. You can try out tools such as TeamMood, which staff can use to share feedback and let you know if they’re feeling low or stressed.  

Remember, people won’t usually come to tell you this themselves, but a tool can prompt them.

2 . Check-in on team meetings

Before diving into your meeting agenda, have a quick check-in with everyone. Ask how they are and if they give vague answers, dig in further and ask more specific questions.  

Sandra suggests, “what’s the top thing you feel amazing about?” Specific questions can help you understand your staff more easily and spot when something is wrong.  

3 . Invite people to develop their understanding of emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence is essential when handling difficult calls and emotional situations. Sandra suggests encouraging your agents to learn more about what it is and how you can improve it via online articles and videos.  

Improve outgoing communication

Incoming communication from customer calls is one thing to think about, but we can also improve any outbound communications as well.

Sandra has three ideas you can try out:

1 . Prepare your customer for calls they’re due to receive

A quick email to let them know to expect a call over the next few days or a check-in can help to prepare customers. That way, they’re not suddenly dealing with a call and trying to figure out their account details. This can just increase stress, so a simple heads-up can go a long way.

2 . Make sure you’re tuned in to responses

Hearing and listening are two different things. When you make those outbound calls, are you really hearing the response the customer is giving? What words are they using? What behaviours are they showing when they receive calls?  

3 . Empower agents

What degree of risk is there for agents who go above and beyond to help individual customers? Are agents empowered to resolve customer issues without passing them on to another member of staff?  

By empowering agents to really help customers, they can feel good about their work and your customers will also get the care they need quickly.  

By increasing openness and understanding – while improving staff training, contact centres can better support their customers.  

To learn more about customer vulnerability and what call centres can do to improve their approach to it, tune in to the full webinar.  

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This blog features a recap from the MaxContact podcast Talk Time which hosts key thought leaders to discuss emerging trends, industry insights, and innovative technologies that help contact centres optimise their customer experience.

Employee engagement is more than just keeping staff members happy. According to Danny Wareham, the founder of Firgun and a seasoned veteran in the corporate world, aligning culture with organisational strategy is crucial for fostering a productive and purpose-driven work environment.

On our recent episode of Talk Time with MaxContact, he also dives into the importance of finding an organisation’s WHY, the nudge theory, and cognitive diversity in the workplace.

The Essence of Culture and Strategy

“Culture is almost like the wind on your sails or the current in the water that helps blow your organisation toward its strategic goals. So culture and strategy are intrinsically linked.”

Danny’s perspective illustrates the integral relationship between organisational culture and its long-term goals.

Strategy dictates direction, but culture propels an organisation toward those objectives. It’s not just about how you do things around here but about how you achieve your aims.

Beyond Fun Activities: The Strategic Side of Employee Engagement

It’s a common misconception that employee engagement translates to simply organising enjoyable activities.

However, Danny cautions against this superficial interpretation.

“My view of employee engagement is that the purpose is not to create a great place to work. It’s to create a place of work where great work is done.”

Starting with WHY

The bedrock of any successful strategy is understanding the WHY behind it.

“Nobody goes to work wanting to do a bad job,” says Danny. Without a clear organisational purpose, employees can drift aimlessly, resulting in misaligned priorities and objectives.

Clear communication of the WHY ensures that everyone understands and works towards the same vision, from leadership to entry-level.

Leading by Example: The Nudge Theory

Have you ever heard of the nudge theory? Well, Danny introduces us to it, suggesting that small, subtle changes in the environment can encourage positive behaviours.

Leadership is where this begins. As leaders establish and model these behaviours, they create nudges that guide the entire organisation in the desired direction.

It’s about creating an environment where the preferred behaviour is the path of least resistance.

Diversity and Inclusivity: The True Essence of Organisational Culture

A powerful takeaway from Danny is the importance of cognitive diversity in the workplace.

He states, “I feel that organisations, even if they don’t feel that they need change, benefit from having different people and different cognition in their organisation and the environment that allows people to contribute those different cognitions. And that’s the essence of inclusivity. So inclusivity results in diversity.”

The corporate world is constantly changing. So adaptability and innovation are as vital as ever, as well as the balance between organisational culture and strategy.

As Danny puts it, “Culture is a tool that helps you achieve your strategic aims. So in that sense, the tool either works, and it matches what you’re trying to do, or it doesn’t, it mismatches what you’re trying to do.”

True employee engagement is not about providing superficial bonuses or having a laid-back office culture. It’s about ensuring every individual understands the company’s WHY, feels included in the vision, and is empowered to drive towards those strategic goals.

Listen to this episode of Talk Time with MaxContact to learn more from Danny on how to align culture and organisational strategy to enhance employee engagement.

Customer satisfaction is intrinsically linked to strong business performance. In today’s world, customers have more power than ever and are able to share their experience with your business in a variety of ways – from online reviews to social media and beyond. This is great, if they’re talking about your organisation in a positive light, but what if you fail to provide a positive customer experience? Your customers will complain.

According to a recent survey by the Institute of Customer Service, customer complaints are at their highest level in 12 years. While Google search trends show searches for ‘how to complain’ have been rising steadily since 2010, reaching its peak in March 2021

Jo Causon, chief executive at The Institute of Customer Service, said: “We are at a critical juncture for the UK economy. As we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic, customers have become ever more discerning with where they spend their money and it is essential that organisations pay close attention to their full service offering.”

Worryingly, 61% of consumers revealed that they believe UK businesses think their service is better than it is, in a new survey carried out by MaxContact.

So how do you know if the service you’re offering customers really meets their expectations? And how do you prevent complaints from happening, in order to protect your business?

Complaints aren’t all bad

The truth is, prevention isn’t always the cure. Customer complaints are actually essential for your business. Why? To learn from and continually improve.

No matter how much criticism hurts, it’s vital for growth. In fact, a study by Harvard Business Review found that customers who have a complaint handled in less than 5 minutes go on to spend more on future purchases

How to learn from complaints

Analyse

Are you seeing similar complaints cropping up over and over again? Identifying patterns and repetitions of particular complaints can help you to recognise key issues and work on areas of improvement. Customer complaints can help highlight areas where your product needs work, or where staff members may need extra training. By observing where complaints are focussed you’re able to prioritise and address issues clearly.

Create a feedback loop

Complaints open up opportunities for your team to have honest discussions with your customers. Create opportunities for a feedback loop and welcome suggested improvements into your business rather than waiting for customers to come to you. See it as an opportunity to improve rather than an attack on your organisation. Having open conversations with customers can help customers feel like the key components to your success that they are.

Create guidelines to support staff

Dealing with angry customers is tough at the best of times, but it’s made even more difficult if you don’t have the right support tools in place to help. Creating clear guidelines and policies for your staff is vital to turn the dissatisfied into satisfied customers, and align your team’s responses so complaints are dealt with consistently. In most cases, customers are looking for clarity, so having clear processes in place will provide a quality customer experience.

Multichannel approach

Be clear on how customers can complain to remove any further pain points. If your customer wants to complain but can’t find the right channel to do so, it’ll only cause more frustrations and potentially lead to a worse complaint. With more customers expecting organisations to interact through digital channels, having a multichannel approach to serve a variety of customer needs is vital.

Jo Causon, chief executive at The Institute of Customer Service, said: “Those brands that have performed best in the UKCSI are those that have maintained a key focus on the whole customer experience journey – providing honest, genuine communication across different channels.”

So instead of trying to mask over complaints or avoid them – embrace and learn from them to continually improve your customers’ experience.

MaxContact is a cloud contact centre solution provider, offering predictive outbound dialling and PCI-compliant omnichannel solutions built around your needs. Find out more about us.

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