Blog article
Much is made of CSAT when it comes to measuring the success of a contact center, but top-performing organizations know that ASAT is just as important. There’s an old adage, “Happy agents make for happy customers” and this has never been truer. As the world becomes more digitalized and businesses embrace omnichannel support, customer enquiry volumes continue to rise (a 2022 Censuswide survey shows contact volumes increasing for 68% of contact center operators), placing greater demands on agents (the same survey reports agent attrition rates are rising for two-thirds of contact centers). Technology plays a greater role in sales and support than ever, but it needs to be an enabler, not an inhibitor. When you get it right, it can transform the performance of your contact center.
Agents share the natural human desire to help those in need and gain great satisfaction doing so. From studying multiple high-performing enterprise contact centers, we found a strong correlation between agent satisfaction (ASAT) and customer satisfaction (CSAT), supporting the claim that agents are happiest when solving real customer problems effectively.
If agent satisfaction and customer satisfaction are a virtuous circle, what can be done to ensure agent satisfaction?
The impact of poor agent satisfaction can be felt across the entire organization – high absenteeism, lack of innovation, poor customer service and high agent attrition rates. If a company fails to address agent dissatisfaction it can impact revenue retention, result in missed growth targets and even tarnish the brand’s reputation. An organization is built on the productivity and efficiency of its teams, so ASAT is an important metric to measure. When there’s a lack of ASAT, agents are less likely to be as motivated to solve real customer problems effectively.
An agent with access to the right tools will be more efficient and able to answer customer queries at the first time of asking. With empowerment comes increased confidence and a better customer experience. Happy agents respond faster to customers, resolve problems and deliver a more positive service.
According to Gallup research in 2022, when employees feel their contribution is recognized, they are 56% less likely to be looking for new job opportunities and 5x more likely to see a path to growth at their company. In a contact center environment, where agents may be exposed to a barrage of negativity from frustrated customers, it is even more important their good work is recognized internally.
In a contact center, high volumes of calls come with the territory. Excessive call volumes can cause burnout and impact agent morale. The right tools can help agents solve queries the first time and eliminate the need for follow-ups. A call prevented is better than a call resolved.
Cobrowse - one powerful technology that increases customer loyalty and agent success at the same time.
When you create an environment where agents can thrive, they’ll be able to provide better customer service and contribute more to the success of the business. So, what are the benefits of agent satisfaction?
Academic research by Oxford University points to a 13% increase in productivity among happy employees. Improvements in productivity help contact centers deliver against a wide range of KPIs and positively impact the customer experience. A well-trained and motivated agent can mean the difference between a loyal customer and a detractor.
Contact centers are at the frontline of a customer’s experience and a company’s success, so having productive and motivated agents is critical. Multiple strategies can be utilized to help improve ASAT, from training and development to reward and recognition. However, one of the most impactful ways is to empower agents with the right tools and technology to do their job and deliver customer service excellence, because it’s also true that happy customers make for happy agents.
Co-browsing technology represents an evolutionary step in remote sales and support. The ability to provide personalized, real-time support to customers and prospects when they need it most can transformatively impact complex customer engagements. Rather than descending into a negative spiral, customers can be visually guided through websites, apps and third-party content to achieve the desired outcome.
Co-browsing is proven to impact customer satisfaction, enhance call prevention, improve first-call resolution and transform remote support calls into truly collaborative engagements.
[Cobrowse] provides greater agent satisfaction as they know they have access to a tool that helps them share in the customer experience and delivers value to every engagement. Agent approval of Cobrowse is at 92%
Ian Roberts
Director of Care Operations and Technology, Quicken Inc
Harness the power of Cobrowse to enable both agents and customers to succeed.
