Tips for call center crisis management amid coronavirus pandemic

Focus on external customers

A number of industries are greatly affected by the coronavirus -- including airlines, hospitality, healthcare and emergency services -- but any industry or business can be affected by a crisis, and all call centers need to have plans in place to address customer inquiries. Some key practices include:

• Provide liberal credit/change policies. Callers may request changes to travel plans as a result of cancellation of conferences, change in vacation plans, etc. Allow customers to cancel or change tickets with no financial loss or change fee.
• Empower agents. Callers may request other types of items -- such as expedited shipment, etc. -- that may be outside of established practices. Give agents the ability to satisfy customer demands if they are calling as a result of being affected by a crisis.
• Use automated callbacks. Callers may experience long call queues in times of crisis. If available, organizations should use automated callback technology to dial customers back when an agent becomes available while keeping their place in queue.
• Use upfront messaging. Callers may have similar or repetitive questions. Implement upfront messaging to answer recurring questions without the caller having to speak with an agent.
• Improve self-service. Callers may have questions that businesses can resolve via self-service options such as FAQs and interactive voice response. Communicate current self-service capabilities to customers and continue to expand those options. Even if it does not address the current situation, it will be beneficial in the future.

Focus on employees

Any industry or business can be affected by a crisis, and all call centers need to have plans in place to address customer inquiries.

When a health crisis is afoot, businesses need to ensure that employees are working in the safest environment possible, and that when agents don't feel well, they stay home. Some key practices include:

• Don't share headsets. Call center employees often share headsets when agents escalate calls to supervisors. Call centers should stop this practice and provide each employee with their own device.
• Provide sanitizers and wipes. Germs are prevalent in call centers, whether they are at workstations, common areas, etc. Sanitizers and wipes should be available so employees can maintain clean work areas and minimize the risk of passing germs.
• Suspend perfect attendance programs. Perfect attendance programs reward agents for coming to work, regardless of how they feel. Call centers should eliminate this type of program, and employees who are not feeling well should stay home. Moreover, businesses must adjust attendance policies to account for any mandatory absenteeism.
• Use remote workers. Remote workers provide tremendous flexibility in enabling employees to perform their work function without going to the office. If the capability exists, use remote workers, allowing agents to work from home. If this is not available, implement technology that can support remote workers in the event of a future crisis.
• Provide incentives for employees to avoid mass transit if they use it. Some geographic areas may encourage people to not use public transportation. Organizations affected by this situation should provide incentives -- such as gas coupons -- to encourage individuals to avoid public transportation.