I am in the process of implementing first call resolution in our benefit
center. Do you have any ideas on how to get the customer service representatives to respond to the
change?
I have some advice that I am going to pass along, such as:
I have some advice that I am going to pass along, such as:
- Take ownership of the call
- Use resources to answer questions
- Don't "shoot from the hip"
- Ask questions to clarify the issue
- Summarize the question
- Summarize the solution
- Ask for additional assistance
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It sounds like you've got some good “helpful hints” for the process of handling a call.
Sometimes when CSRs have a new metric, their difficulty "responding to the change" is more about
understanding why the metric is put in place and what it means for them than how to execute it. I
would focus some time on making sure they understand why it is a new metric, why it's important to
your operation, and why meeting it will help the center contribute to the overall goals of the
center and the corporation (and if you can't answer any of those questions, you need to take a step
back). And of course, you need to answer the "What's in it for me?" question. Perhaps having a team
of respected CSRs that helps to make the adjustment and "coach" their colleagues would be good. For
a change to succeed, people need to have Awareness of why they need to change, Desire to do it,
Knowledge of how to do it, Ability to do it, and Reinforcement in doing it. This model of change is
called "ADKAR" (trademark, Prosci) and is very helpful for people making changes. You can learn
more about it at Prosci's change management learning
center. You may want to take advantage of some of the tools there to help your team adjust.
Regardless, to succeed, I think you need to make sure the team understands why the metric is
important and give them an incentive to help meet the goal.
This was first published in May 2004
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