Call Center: An Essential Piece to an Exceptional Company Culture

After some of the lowest unemployment rates the United States has seen in decades, our industry is focused both on retaining good employees and incentivizing new talent in creative ways to grow our business. With more competitive compensation packages and incentives becoming the norm, organizations around the country are asking how they can differentiate to keep the great talent they have, and continue attracting the best.

Our solution is to: 1. give people purpose; 2. create a supportive environment; and 3. find new ways to make each workday more fun. Bundled together, it’s called created an exceptional company culture. And finding it for your own business is a matter of asking yourself the question: How can I give my team the best experience? Here are a few helpful tips.

1. Fun and Freedom

Walk into your call center, or whichever area of your business handles sales scheduling. You’ll hear the staff transferring calls to accounting, speaking to salespeople, canvassers, retail employees, and trouble-shooting amongst each other. Staff in this room can typically answer any question ranging from what time Shannon from sales ends her day, up through when and where the company meeting is next month.

The call center/sales scheduling area is connected to each department in a way no other department is, and so attitudes and culture in this nexus of workflow tend to spill over into other departments quickly—which can be great if you foster positivity, and terrible if you neglect it.

Something a lot of remodeling companies with a successful culture do is have open-door policies with leadership, and advancement programs to keep staff motivated. Some of the best cultures in our industry do this while also engaging staff with fun office games and events, and provide opportunities to leave their workspace at their leisure, or even work from home.

2. Embrace Tech to Keep Things Running Smoothly

The big question for most businesses here is: how do I make things fun and still get staff to meet targets?

Technology is key. Start thinking about what technology you already have access to, or what technology exists which can decrease work time in-between calls, and help you obtain a higher connect rate. Software like Five9’s next-generation dialer can help with this, and can be integrated into your CRM—though, double check compatibility. If you don’t already use a CRM, or are considering a switch, look for something with a quick load/processing time. Also, communication tools like Slack work great in a call center environment, because it allows your team to interact in real-time without needing to leave their workspaces. When actually on calls, use step-by-step inbound and outbound scripts (with room for personalization) to keep calls consistent and efficient.

3. Know the Routines

The final touch is fine tuning scheduling, to make sure your staff is never over-burdened. Review call volumes and make sure you’re staffed during high connect rate and high call volume times. Remember high-volume times may differ between hours, days, and times of year, and between inbound and outbound calls. The latter is especially important if you have a large team with a separation of inbound and outbound call agents.

Take what you find and make adjustments to your scheduling, staffing up during high connect rate and inbound times, and staffing down when both are low.

Blending smart scheduling with fun, freedom, and technology should help you obtain a happy and productive call center. Done right, it will serve as a foundation for your organization’s culture.