Explore fresh, expert perspectives on customer engagement and innovation

In the era of The Great Resignation, staff wellbeing and engagement is certainly a hot topic right now.

Many employees are leaving due to feeling burnt out, unsupported, or undervalued in their roles. In fact, our research shows that 72% of workers said they were burnt out, and 52% said there had been an increase in workload since the beginning of the pandemic.

In the contact centre world, 64% of people reported that they were losing between three to four hours of work each month due to poor work-related mental wellbeing.

And this could have a huge effect on the wider business!

To talk about how leaders can improve wellbeing and company culture, we invited Natalie Calvert, CX+EX Coach & Expert, and Sean McIver, Product Owner at MaxContact, to a recent webinar.

You can watch the webinar in full below or keep reading for the key takeaways.

Why leaders should prioritise employee wellness

On a human level, prioritising wellness and checking in with employees is always a sign of good leadership. But the benefits go beyond that.

Research shows that good company culture increases customer experience by upwards of 75%. So it’s no wonder that 70% of executives say it’s their number one priority.

There’s a clear key link between company culture and employee wellbeing, customer satisfaction, and business performance.

But improving culture and wellbeing is not a quick and easy fix.

The customer contact industry has always had a high staff turnover, but this has increased significantly during the pandemic and The Great Resignation.

Studies show that employees are feeling burnt out and stressed which is causing them to leave en-mass.

Increased employee turnover can hurt businesses in many ways, including the bottom line. On average, it costs between £3,000 to £5,000 to recruit new staff and around 20,000 hours of training to get them up to speed.

It’s no surprise that leaders want to avoid a revolving door of staff, so they can spend that time and money on growing the business. But for this to happen, the company needs to prioritise employee wellbeing and culture.

How to reduce stress for contact centre workers

Any job surrounding customer care, queries, or complaints can come with some stress attached.

Angry customers are feeling the strain of a cost-of-living crisis, life post-pandemic, and the challenges of an increasingly remote world thrown into the mix.

But what can leaders do to protect their contact centre workers? As Natalie explained, we’re creating some of our own stress in a way.

A few years back, workers needed an entirely different skill set than they need today. The world has changed so much, so fast, and contact centre workers have to deal with increasingly complex issues, more demanding customers, and a whole range of other issues that many workplaces aren’t prepared for.

She believes that we really need to reskill our people, leaders especially, to match the needs and expectations of the modern world. If we don’t ensure our frontline staff have the right skills, we can expect high burnout and low staff retention rates.

Another thing that Sean suggested was having a system where customer complaints are recognised and analysed for trends. If frontline staff know there’s a common issue that’s being addressed at a higher level, this provides a bit more backup and support for team members dealing with angry customers.

Ultimately, leaders need to really understand the value of their people and do whatever they can to manage, coach, and support them through stressful times.

Balancing business growth with staff needs

Of course, all businesses want to grow, and growth can sometimes be uncomfortable.

But rather than focusing entirely on hitting quotas, business objectives, and handling increased pressure from customers, leaders should try to address company culture across the board.

This is not just something that affects frontline staff either. There needs to be a culture across all areas and roles, such as QA managers, finance, suppliers, and leadership.

Every subsection of the business should feel valued and supported. And sometimes, all it takes is a quick check-in with staff and some open and honest conversations.

As a business prepares to grow, so with it must the plan to support staff. Increasing or decreasing team sizes, revamping company structure, and training must all be done with employee wellbeing in mind.

How to manage staff wellbeing in a remote setting

Natalie has two tips for this:

• > Keep cameras on
• > Run team huddles

Keeping cameras on during meetings is critical because you can actually check in with people and see how they’re doing. If your team has cameras off, there’s little engagement, and it’s harder to pick up on things that could affect staff wellbeing.

Natalie is also a fan of team huddles, which are short and sweet meetings where everyone can gather for a chat. While they take time to run, Natalie says they are well worth the investment because of the impact on employee engagement and wellbeing.

Why businesses should care about employee engagement

One of the top reasons is that it affects recruitment and retention. Engaged employees are simply less likely to quit.

When you have a group of engaged employees, you’re ensuring that they feel valued and listened to. You are also demonstrating that you are prepared to adapt and adjust as necessary.

On a wider scale, having engaged staff means better performance when it comes to business aims and objectives. Highly engaged employees are much more likely to deliver great customer experience, which impacts customer satisfaction and, ultimately, revenue. So, it’s a win-win.

But Natalie has a word of advice. Good employee engagement won’t happen spontaneously. You have to design it and to do that, you need great leaders who are committed.

Maximising employee engagement in a remote world

Just like with wellbeing, managing engagement can be extra tough when everyone’s working remotely.

But Natalie suggests focusing on a few key areas that impact employee engagement:

1. Customers – Be customer-focused in all areas of the business – not just in customer interactions, but also in internal communications in the team.
2. Purpose – The purpose of the contact centre has to align with the purpose of the overall organisation.
3. Culture and community – Build a great culture focused on your community.
4. Improvement – Make constant improvement a primary goal across each area of the business.
5. Structured development – Focus on staff development and skills.
6. Rewards and recognition – Celebrate successes and reward staff so they know they’re valued.

Five ways to improve employee engagement and wellbeing

Ready to rethink employee engagement and wellbeing but don’t know where to start? Natalie and Sean have you covered. Here are their top five methods for improving wellbeing and engagement:

• Have a strategy and a plan

If you don’t have a plan to improve things, you can’t expect them to improve by themselves. Go in with a plan of action.

• Talk openly and honestly

Sean’s tip is to be proactive, not passive, when it comes to open communication. It’s hard to know if there are any issues with staff wellbeing if no one’s talking about them. Encourage leaders to be proactive about communicating with their teams.

• Make sure leaders have the right skills

It all starts with leadership, as Natalie says. They need the right skills to coach and support the rest of the business. When good leadership is in place, this trickles down to employees and customers as well.

• Culture

Customer service and customer experience teams shouldn’t work in silos. Everyone needs to be on the same page when it comes to company culture, feeling valued, and knowing the core purpose of their roles.

• Employee engagement goes hand in hand with customer experience

These are not two separate things. They are intrinsically linked. If employees feel valued and engaged, this will result in better customer service and happier customers. So, if you want to improve the customer experience, one step is to tackle any employee wellness issues you have in your team. For more insights and actionable advice on how to revamp the employee experience, catch the full webinar here.

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Like many areas of our economy, contact centres are suffering from something of a recruitment crisis.

A recent report from The Open University and Institute of Directors found that 63% of decision makers agree their organisation has found recruiting difficult.

In addition, one study of 20,000 global employers found that nearly 70% of companies were experiencing difficulties in hiring staff, a 15-year high.

Against this background, contact centres need to optimise their recruitment strategies. They also need to be doing everything they can to keep the staff they have.

More and more organisations are realising that a successful retention strategy starts at the point of recruitment. The effectiveness of your onboarding process goes a long way to determining whether staff leave in weeks or stay for years.

Onboarding matters

Onboarding really does matter when it comes to reducing staff churn.

According to studies, effective onboarding programmes can significantly increase the number of recruits who are still with a business several years later, in one case by 82%.

Onboarding is a recruit’s first in-depth introduction to your business. One study found that almost a quarter of staff who resign do so within 45 days of their start date, so first impressions really do count.

Failing to welcome staff effectively and prepare them for their first weeks on the job is hugely costly, even at the best of times.

Pre-pandemic, the average UK employer was spending £3000 – and considerable time and energy – on every new hire. That figure is probably significantly higher today.

Making contact centre onboarding better

Given that onboarding plays such a large part in effective retention strategies, how do you make yours better? Here are eight simple ways to improve your contact centre onboarding experience:

Have a plan

An employee’s first few days should be filled with interesting or fun activities. Make sure you have an onboarding plan that makes full use of their time. Leaving new starters twiddling their thumbs or unsure of what they should be doing next is not a good first impression. It smacks of a lack of organisation.

Give them basic information first

Before you get to the specifics of their role, welcome them to the business with a tour (physical or virtual). Show them where bathrooms are, where to get a cup of coffee, and where to turn for help when they’re locked out of the company intranet. Let them know of any perks the company offers, like free Friday drinks or a discount at the local gym, and how to claim them.

Introduce them to useful contacts

Depending on the size of your organisation you might not be able to introduce new starters to everyone, but you should introduce them to people who will be important to their ability to work and thrive in the first few weeks of their employment. A HR contact would be useful. If appropriate, designate an experienced employee in a similar role as a mentor or ‘work buddy’.

Give them the equipment they need

Stock a new starter’s work space with the things they might need, like pens and a notepad. Don’t make them spend time squirrelling out essentials. Small gifts – like a coffee mug or chocolate – are a nice touch.

Get the team involved

One of the most important parts of onboarding is giving new starters the opportunity to get to know the people they’ll be working with. Do this with an informal introduction session and icebreaker games. If everyone is in the office, think about organising a team lunch.

Plan adequate training time

The core of any onboarding programme is preparing new recruits for the role they are taking on. This preparation must be thorough, with plenty of time for questions and feedback. It’s particularly important for new contact centre staff to feel confident about handling live interactions with customers. Mock calls and role plays covering a number of common scenarios are a good idea. But however you choose to prepare new starters for their first days and weeks on the job, make sure the programme is comprehensive and interactive.

Talk about company culture

Onboarding is a great time to start promoting company culture. Don’t forget to talk about the company’s values and vision. If you’re doing anything notable in the ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) space, make sure you mention it. If you support a charity, tell new starters about the form that charitable support takes and how they can get involved.

Give them the IT they need

The best contact centre software is easy and intuitive to use. Even so, thorough training is a must, and this should continue well beyond the initial onboarding period. Start with basic functions and progress through more advanced features. As new features are introduced, have sessions dedicated to them. MaxContact is your friend here. We offer a comprehensive contact centre solution that is easy to get to grips with. We also offer full training for you and your teams, for free, forever.

Don’t leave onboarding to chance

The key to all this is to put some thought into your onboarding programme, and have a well considered plan.

Onboarding is an important part of your retention strategy. It’s a time for both comprehensive training and a warm welcome. It’s an opportunity to inspire new starters with your values and enthuse them with your vision.

MaxContact can help with your onboarding strategy, by offering a fully equipped software solution and the training to help new recruits make the most of it. For more information on our smarter contact centre software, please get in touch.

Like them or loathe them, voicemails are an important part of outbound contact strategies. Over 97% of all business calls now go to voicemail, so when we’re not leaving one, we’re missing an opportunity. The age-old, ‘don’t leave a voicemail, they won’t answer next time’ has gone. Over 79% of the UK population ignore numbers that they don’t know, or unknown numbers – period.  

In fact, a study found that 85% of Gen Z don’t view phone calls as being an important function of their phone, and 75% of millennials avoid phone calls if they can.

One recent article featured a journalist stating, ‘I have a confession to make: I love voicemails…I hate it when people call me and don’t leave one. How do I know what the caller wants otherwise?! They can text, but this gives no indication of tone. Or they can voice note on WhatsApp, but then they can see when I’ve listened, which – to me – can feel like an invasion of privacy, depending on who it is.’  

What are the benefits of using voicemails when outbound dialling?

• Remove any chance of silent calls

Leaving voicemails when outbound dialling prospects or customers ensures that your organisation is covered and protected from any potential risk of leaving silent calls.  

Many outbound diallers use Answer Machine Detection (AMD) which may not be accurate all of the time, equating to silent calls. A simple fail-safe would be to set up voicemails for every non-answered outbound call, which is crucial to remaining 100% compliant with zero silent calls. This is increasingly important to both provide a great customer experience and to ensure you’re operating within Ofcom guidelines, avoiding any chance of hefty fines of up to £2 million.

• Make better use of your sales teams’ time by leaving voicemails

Cold calls or outbound prospecting remain effective growth tactics, with studies showing that 82% of buyers will still accept meetings with sellers who proactively reach out. So if you are placing sales calls it offers a great way to give prospects an indication of why you’re calling. If they’re keen, you may even get a callback; if they’re willing to hear you out they might well pick up the phone next time.  

It’s the quickest way to get potential prospects that are interested, versus the ones that are never going to buy from you. Saving you time, effort and according to Outreach you can expect around 5% of your prospects to respond to your voicemail.

• Frame the conversation ready for the next interaction

If you’re using an outbound dialler for other purposes, perhaps to follow up on a customer service incident, your calls may go unanswered. Voicemails are great for teeing up the next conversation, providing context and details where appropriate. You can bet the next conversation that you have with your contacts will start warmer and your average handling time (AHT) might also reduce.  

• Ensure you get brand exposure

Putting your brand at the forefront of customers’ minds is important. For example, if you are collecting debt, your customers likely owe multiple businesses, so ensuring that your contact strategy puts your brand front and centre of your customer’s minds means you increase the likelihood of a successful outcome. The same goes for if you’re trying to make a sale. Leaving a message is a simple way to reinforce your messaging and brand name within your contacts’ minds.

What is the best approach to leaving great voicemails?

1. Achieve team efficiencies with voicemail automation

If you’re using an outbound dialler, there’s no doubt you’ll have various options as to how to set up voicemails for your operations. With MaxContact’s outbound dialler you have the option to set up preconfigured voicemails relating to your campaigns or business functions, saving an agent on average two and half hours each week, all whilst ensuring the quality and consistency of your messaging.  

And, when the MaxContact platform detects an answering machine, a voicemail can be automatically placed, whilst your user is moving on to the next call. You can also give your users the ability to leave more personalised messages if you feel a more tailored approach is needed.  

2. Keep it informative and to the point

Leave messages that give your clients the reason for the call and when you’re going to call back, including any contact details they need to reach you. Provide just enough information to encourage them to call you back or set up your conversations ready for them to be recontacted. Ensure the messages are to the point and ideally 20 to 30 seconds long — max.

3. Measure, coach and improve how you use voicemails

It’s one thing not leaving voicemails at all, it’s another simply setting it and leaving it. Voicemails should be tested, reviewed, and improved over time. Measuring metrics like inbound contacts after an outbound call is a great indicator that your voicemails are effective. As are a reduced average handling time of call when people are re-contacted after a voicemail is left.  

4. Personalise voicemails with key information  

Fraud and spam are an increasing concern for many astute consumers, with the average consumer receiving 144 spam calls last year – 58% of which were fraudulent. Including relevant information to personalise your messages will help the customer feel at ease with information shared that only their current provider will have, making them more likely to answer your call, rather than just ignore you.

Setting up the voicemail function in MaxContact is easy. You can record your version by uploading a WAV file or simply use text-to-speech to get started with leaving voicemails and learning what works for you and your customers.

Voicemails are one of many features that you need to make your outbound strategy successful. Learn about more of the must-have features you should be using in your outbound contact centre in this blog. For more information about our outbound dialling solution contact us on 0330 156 6550 or simply send an email to info@maxcontact.com

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If you’re a debt collection agency or a consumer-facing billing, credit, or accounts receivable department, you may be getting a little nervous right now.

The cost-of-living crisis is affecting us all. Debt has increased across the UK, up by a whopping £63 billion in a year. The average unsecured debt per UK adult as of March this year was £3,797.

That’s a significant amount of debt, and it’s likely to increase. Inflation has just hit a 40-year-high, and gas and electricity bills are forecast to rise again in the Autumn.

All of which means consumers will have less money in their pockets, and bigger bills to pay. Debt and payment collectors are having to work harder to meet targets.

How do you ensure your own communications are heard above the din? How can you meet your targets in an environment of such intense competition?

The status quo is not an option

In many cases, the answer is not to simply carry on as before. Even before the pandemic, the average debt collection rate was below 20%, the lowest in 25 years.

In addition, outbound collection strategies are often costly and inefficient, with a success rate that is usually below 5%.

So, if standard outbound practices aren’t working, and competition for customer attention is getting fiercer, what can you do?

To ensure debt collection strategies are ROI positive, you have to adapt your processes, make them more efficient, act proactively and know your customers better than ever.

We’ll discuss what that means in practice.

Smart outbound communications

The key to successful payment collection is creating smart outbound communications. That is a three-step process.

Streamline your processes

It’s not unusual to still find payment collection processes that involve manual outbound dialling with no omnichannel option.

This is hugely costly and inefficient. By contrast, an outbound dialler takes the legwork out of customer communication, deftly handling missed calls and answer machines. It ensures your agents have more time to do what they do best – talk to customers.

Linked to a CRM platform, it also automates the management of customer accounts, and presents agents with the information they need when they need it, so they better understand customer challenges.

Meanwhile, omnichannel communications (text, email, chat, WhatsApp etc) let you contact customers in the way that is most likely to get results.

Match this with a secure automated payment platform. Too often, customers contacted in an outbound campaign will fail to pay because the payment facility isn’t available when they need it, or they have to queue to speak to an agent.

Automated payment means customers can pay whenever they’re ready, and before they use the money for other reasons.

Get to know your customer

When you link communications and CRM platforms you can segment groups and contact them in the most appropriate ways.

For example, you can send a text message to customers in danger of falling into arrears, to remind them to pay before problems arise. You can target indebted customers with messages about the help on offer.

In addition, pre-collection contact strategies can ensure your organisation stays front and centre of a customer’s mind. Being proactive, getting ahead of issues before they become problems. Build profiles for segmentation, based on the financial situation, payment history, vulnerability and more. Then plan campaigns that are relevant to each segment.

You should also capture preferred customer contact methods during onboarding. A customer might be more likely to act on a call, text or email, so segment them further in this way.

Create better experiences

The easier and more pleasant your business is to deal with, the more likely customers are to prioritise you for payment.

Automated payment is part of that, as is using preferred contact methods whenever possible. Another is training staff to be patient, understanding and genuinely helpful.

Continuous performance feedback should be part of your training regime. Implement a system that lets you guide agents during calls – this is especially useful for the most challenging customers – and give instant post-call feedback.

Track performance over time so you can use resources efficiently, allocating the most challenging customers to the most experienced and skilled agents.

Create and edit scripts for every circumstance. Empower agents to use all the tools at their disposal to engage customers and create positive outcomes.

Improve debt collection ROI

If your communications are on point, your payment strategies are likely to be more successful. That will in turn reduce breakage rates and improve the ROI of debt collection.

In the current climate, it’s important that you do everything possible to create better customer interactions and nurture goodwill. Customers are likely to prioritise payments to businesses they trust and respect.

MaxContact’s powerful customer engagement software can help. It includes intelligent outbound dialling, comprehensive omnichannel options, automated payments, on-the-go script editing and a sophisticated agent monitoring and training platform. It also integrates with your CRM systems to create a seamless customer service solution.

Book your free, no-obligation demonstration and we’ll show you what MaxContact can do for you >

One of the simplest and most effective tools in your contact centre armoury is your call centre script. A call centre script is a set of predefined questions, responses and conversation pathways for agents to follow when communicating with customers over the phone.

This helps agents communicate confidently and effectively with customers, no matter how little experience they have. Meanwhile, quick and efficient conversations with positive outcomes for customers lead to more sales and a better brand reputation for your business.

This means it’s crucial to write a call script that demonstrates efficiency, understanding and a real desire to help customers. Not only does this make average handling time (AHT) more efficient and valuable, but also improves customer experience (CX) and makes life considerably easier for stretched employees.

Wondering how to write a call script that gets results? Writing your own call centre script can feel daunting, but in most cases, it’s just about following a few simple rules. Here are six steps to writing an effective call centre script:

1. Keep your call centre script simple

Call centre scripts are all about focus. Only ever try to sell one product or service. Have one goal in mind for the conversation, whether it’s a further call or scheduling a demo.

It’s the same with support and debt collection scripts. Keep the focus on one thing (problem A or payment B). Don’t encourage a wider conversation about customer support or the cost of your product.

Be polite and – if relevant – sympathetic, but get to the core point of the script as quickly as possible. Don’t waste words, and use simple language at all times.

A well-focused script will contain questions and responses directly relevant to the point of the call, with examples of ways to redirect the conversation in case you start to veer off-topic. A cluttered script will include irrelevant offers or unnecessary questions.

For example, with a cold call, you want to cut straight to the chase with a concise opening to introduce yourself and explain your offer.

You could start with something like this: “Good morning, Mr Smith. I’m Dan from ABC. We’ve got an offer on right now that we think you’d be interested in. Is this a good time to talk?”

Be prepared that the likely answer is no and have a response ready that encourages the client to agree to a callback. For example: “No problem at all. When’s a better time to call? It should only take five minutes or so and I’m happy to fit into your schedule.”

2. Introduce yourself

Start every sales call centre script by introducing yourself. It’s important that you build rapport, so use your first name and personalise the conversation by using first-person phrases – “I can”, “I understand”, “I will make sure” and so on.

If you know anything about the customer – do your research beforehand – bring it into the conversation. Be sure to know how to pronounce their name before calling, and use it throughout the conversation in a natural way.

If relevant, mention the company’s latest product, or an earlier conversation a customer had with your company.

If the customer is calling with a problem or complaint, acknowledge their problem, offer an apology and be proactive in taking steps towards a solution, like so: “I’m really sorry that you’ve had this problem. Let me see what I can do to make it right.”

3. Write professionally

That means making sure you don’t make obvious spelling and grammar mistakes. This is important for both phone, webchat and email communications. You should use professional language at all times – “Good morning, Mr Smith” is better than “Hi, Mr Smith” or “Hello, Mr Smith.” On no account say “Yo, Mr Smith”!

If you can’t be bothered getting the details write* in an email, a customer might wonder if you’ll bother to get them right in other areas of your business. A difficult customer may see it as more evidence of a lax attitude to customer service.

Use online tools like Grammarly and Google’s plug-in spell checker to help, but always get someone else to read your scripts for a second opinion.

When you make mistakes in a call centre script, the agent might accidentally say them out loud, or stumble over their words while they self-correct your mistakes.

*You see what we did there, and doesn’t it make the sentence feel unprofessional?

4. Give customers opportunities to talk

A difficult customer may want an opportunity to vent. It’s important that you let them. In general, getting customers talking is good, because it engages them with the conversation. If it’s appropriate, include questions in your call centre script to encourage conversational flow. You can also mark in the script where the agent may want to pause to allow the customer to speak.

If the customer has a problem or complaint, you should direct the agent to repeat the customer’s concern back to them to ensure they understand it correctly, before moving on to a solution. This helps the customer feel heard and validated.

Agents also need to be able to escalate the issue if there’s nothing they can do to calm the customer down or the conversation is becoming confrontational.

In this instance, you should include an escalation prompt such as “I’m sorry that you’re not happy with this conversation. Would you like to speak to my superior?”

5. Ensure your call centre script is compliant

Always write a call centre script with compliance in mind. Check your industry’s compliance rules before you put pen to paper or finger to keyboard. This includes rules on collecting data from customers, recording calls for training and monitoring purposes, or the inclusion of specific legal statements and disclosures.

If your customer is signing a contract or agreeing to a sale, you may need your agents to read out specific rights or terms and conditions, so don’t forget to include these in your call script.

Double-checking everything from a regulatory standpoint paves the way for a watertight call centre script that ensures your agents stay compliant.

6. Consider every call centre script a work in progress

A call centre script isn’t a one-off, it’s a work in progress. Refine it over time using feedback from advisors and evidence from call recordings.

What works, and what doesn’t? Are customers ever confused? Do conversations feel too rushed? Tweak your scripts accordingly. The best way to do this is with a call centre script editor that includes reporting and analytics with simple tools to help you make the tweaks efficiently.

The MaxContact call centre scripting tool lets you add questions, create branching paths, and integrate third-party data, in real-time and in just a couple of clicks. It also lets you present your teams with useful in-the-moment information on one screen, so they don’t have to jump between multiple windows.

This helps your agents stay adaptable to your client’s needs as the conversation progresses.

Why writing call centre scripts can be a challenge

There are lots of reasons why you might struggle to write a call centre script. Some of the common challenges include:

• Sounding natural and not robotic: It can be hard to write pre-defined prompts and responses in a way that feels light and conversational.
• Adapting to different personalities: A traditional call centre script is often too static, making it difficult for agents to adapt to different types of customers and unexpected situations.
• Keeping information concise: Staying on topic can be tough when you can’t control what the customer will say. A clever call centre script is one that includes subtle ways to redirect the conversation as needed.
• Creating scripts that react to emotional responses: There’s no way of knowing exactly how your customers might react in any given situation. This means you need an emotionally sympathetic call centre script paired with effective training to help agents deal with heightened situations.

How to write a script with call centre scripting tools

If you struggle with any of the above challenges when writing your call centre script, you could benefit from the MaxContact call centre scripting tool. It helps you:

• Create easy-to-digest conversations that flow: With top tips for writing call centre scripts, templates, and a drag-and-drop editor, you can make and edit conversations that agents can see at a glance, helping them adapt and respond rapidly in the moment.
• Demonstrate empathy and understanding: Our call centre scripting tool can be edited on the fly, and features a straightforward presentation of multiple pathways to help agents respond to a range of emotional responses.
• Quickly get to the heart of customer challenges: Data validation and customer checks can be built into scripts to streamline conversations and save time and resources.
• Helps you deal with difficult customers: Our latest ebook is filled with scripting templates to help you deal with difficult customers.

Put simply, good scripts work. They lead to higher sales, better service and easier debt collection. They also create trust and build rapport.

MaxContact’s powerful call centre scripting tool helps you write, edit and refine great scripts, as part of our wider customer engagement solution. It means your teams always have the right messaging to hand, can counter objections naturally and have the information they need to double down on your best features and benefits.

Find out more here, or download our free call centre scripting e-book, filled with helpful tips and templates.

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They used to be called call centres, and now they’re called contact centres. There’s a good reason for the change. Today, customers want to contact you in the way that best suits them at any particular time.  

Or to put it another way, they want the option of calling your customer service line to be one among many.

More customers want the option to email your support teams, send a quick text message (SMS), or use online chat. They also want to self-serve where possible. Providing these alternatives is one of the best ways to improve customer satisfaction.  

Customers love a consistent, simple and connected experience on any channel, and so do your teams do too. It helps them improve customer service by giving advisors instant access to all correspondence between a client and your company. A good omnichannel solution should centralise all interactions, giving a complete view of customer engagement.  

Bringing your voice and digital communications together in one place means you can serve customers faster and more satisfactorily. It helps your teams prioritise the most urgent enquiries.

If your current customer engagement software doesn’t offer these options, or does so only as an afterthought, you might be looking for something better.

Similarly, if your current engagement software is coming to the end of its contract, it’s time to explore the market. There may be a more efficient and cost-effective option out there than your current solution.

With that in mind, here are five things you must look out for when considering a new omnichannel contact centre solution.

Security and integration

It goes without saying that your next omnichannel engagement software needs to be super secure, but what does that mean in practice?

It certainly needs to give you the tools to ensure that you’re  GDPR and Ofcom compliant, and you should check that it comes with the latest data security certifications. Think ISO27001 and Cyber Essentials. If it’s a cloud-based system – and that comes with many benefits – make sure the infrastructure and data is housed in secure, compliant data centres.  

If you take payments, you need to be even more picky. Look for a secure payments manager that ensures customer information is always protected, encrypted and anonymised with PCI certifications

Finally, contact centre software works best when it integrates seamlessly with other core applications, like your CRM or data management solutions, and uses the information to make your service better. Make sure that it allows for these integrations.

Flexibility and scalability

Your needs change over time, but you don’t want to be upgrading your omnichannel engagement software every year. So can it scale as you do? Can it add new features and integrations when you need them?  

In addition, the solution you choose needs to fit your requirements exactly. If you’re a debt collection agency, it’s not just about contacting customers, it’s about doing so compliantly. Sales teams need an overall view of performance, plus insight at the individual level. Customer service departments have to be able to expand rapidly as the need arises, while at the same time ensuring quality levels remain high.

Your engagement software can help, if it has the relevant features. Ask any potential provider to demonstrate what it can offer in each area.

Flexibility is also about offering customers the communication channels they want. MaxContact currently offers SMS, email, WhatsApp, Messenger and web chat, alongside voice. Can your solution say the same?

Insights and reporting

Knowledge is the key to effective contact centres, and your omnichannel engagement software needs to provide it.

That means effortless reporting using easy-to-create custom dashboards, giving you the information you need and nothing you don’t. You should be able to define key targets and visualise key data.  

Ideally, you should be able to collect and view information in real time, whether that’s team performance or customer satisfaction, and really stay on top of your SLAs.

AI-driven speech analytics is another powerful tool for delivering customer insight, with automatic analysis of conversations, sentiment and emotion. Ask your provider if they have it, or if it is on their development roadmap.

Ease of use

The easier the software is to operate, the more likely it is that your teams will make full use of all its tools and features and the quicker they’re productive.  

So, is your chosen solution easy to navigate and intuitive to use? Or is it cluttered and confusing? If it’s the latter, it will undermine the efficiency of your teams, and make it far more costly to expand team numbers because of increased training requirements.  

It’s also true that good software makes your users life easier. It allows employees to meet their targets more easily, deal with difficult customers in the best way, and continually improve their knowledge and performance. That’s good for your business, and also helps guard against employee burnout, something we’ve talked about at length.  

Compliance

On top of everything, your contact software should help ensure that you’re always acting compliantly. ICO and Ofcom enforce strict regulations around the frequency and timing of calls and dealing with vulnerable customers, among other things.  

Good omnichannel engagement software provides the tools to help you meet those requirements. That includes scripting solutions that let you create compelling and compliant scripts for every circumstance and edit them in seconds. It should certainly include intelligent outbound dialling that blends dialling types to reduce dropped calls, and that automatically checks and integrates “no call” lists.

Other things to consider when choosing an omnichannel engagement software

Those are five key factors when considering a new engagement software solution, but they’re not the only things to think about…

• Hidden costs: Are you paying a flat fee per user or do you get charged for additional features? For that matter, are you being charged for a demo, trial or proof of concept? At MaxContact, demos are always free (of both cost and obligation).
  
• Support: How easy is it to raise support tickets, and how long do they take to resolve?
  
• Expertise: Get to know your providers before you make a decision. Are they contact centre experts or just resellers? Do they have an inhouse team of developers?
  
• Accreditations: It’s great to be given the tools to operate compliantly, but are your providers acting compliantly themselves? Always check their accreditations.