This is a guest post by Acefone.
With remote work becoming the way of the future, businesses have been forced to adapt by investing in the right mix of people, processes, and flexible cloud-based software to better ensure business continuity. Here are four key details to keep in mind when setting up remote call centers for sales agents.
1. Invest in a cloud communication system
Naturally, the first step to setting up remote call centers is to install the right tools to allow remote connections. And what better way to do that than with cloud communication solutions?
More than just a phone, a unified communication system like Acefone allows you to hold conference calls, video meetings, etc. while offering chat room sessions based on the type of communication you need.
There is a multitude of features like screen sharing, call recording, call transfer, whisper and barging (where managers can join in or advise agents on live calls), and much more. All of these features allow you to function with the same quality as an office environment, if not better.
In fact, you can run an entire contact center operation from your living room. Cloud contact center tools allow round-the-clock and high-quality connections with customers with smart APIs that can integrate with your favorite CRM to gather all customer data and more on a single screen.
The best part is that all your reservations about security on the cloud can be easily addressed. Just make sure your cloud provider guarantees certain security measures like multi-level authentication, multiple firewalls and backup, and end-to-end encryption.
2. Map out key roles and responsibilities
For your workforce to operate like a well-oiled machine, everyone needs to have set roles. You'll want to properly define goals, responsibilities, and deadlines.
Once people know what’s expected of them, they can make the best use of cloud tools at their disposal. Based on employees’ roles, you can also define access to certain tools/resources or cloud-stored information. This ensures that confidential data remains so, and you can continue operations securely.
3. Track progress and performances
A remote work model means that it's more challenging to check in on your team's progress. Instead, you can keep track of your agents’ work in real-time via the dashboard. Here, you can check the status of live calls, as well as metrics like the number of calls answered, resolved, waiting, and so on.
You can also schedule reports to automatically be sent to your inbox. Here, the metrics are collated and arranged to be more insightful. Data can also be presented graphically.
These analysis tools allow you to better coordinate and identify pain points even when you’re miles away from the team.
You can adapt to flexible work schedules by checking the work progress and timings of your colleagues. For example, a simple button can toggle your presence or break status so that people know when they can connect with you and tweak their work plan accordingly.
4. Disaster-ready with recovery plans
Disasters are unpredictable and unavoidable. The best thing you can do is prepare yourself and create a crisis management plan. The same is true for your digital office. Make sure you have multiple backups to protect critical data.
The cloud also offers you increased scalability so you can load up for heavier seasons and revert back in calmer times. If you wish to relocate or open a new branch elsewhere, you can easily add more lines or change your virtual numbers. This way, your operations are not disrupted.
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