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The way you treat your customers defines their perception of your business. Call centers with minimal waiting times keep callers satisfied, boost loyalty and long-term revenues. Consumers hate being put on hold, and music or robotic messages can only exacerbate their frustration. Follow our tips to establish efficient two-way communication for long-term success.
What Is the Average Wait Time (AWT)?
The average wait time is calculated as the total wait times for all answered calls divided by the number of these calls. It depends on many factors — organization, industry, time of day, staff availability, and others. Fortunately, there are many ways to minimize it.
Globally, the call center standard is the 80/20 ratio. It means that your team must answer 80% of calls within 20 seconds. The following ideas will help you achieve this goal. Let your audience know that every query is important and you will do everything in your power to serve them fast!
Integrate Conversational AI
Most consumers are annoyed by automated voices. However, there is a better alternative to flawed Interactive Voice Response Systems (IRVS). Digital products enriched with AI have superior capabilities. First, they replicate the experience of conversing with a live agent. Secondly, their voices are natural and human-sounding.
Thanks to AI, automation can solve actual pain points. These systems can answer queries and handle common requests like changing service plans, processing billing, or providing information. Unlike the tools of the previous generation, AI delivers real value.
Check Call Queue Configuration
If your company has to continue using IVR, check its performance. In particular, assess the quality of call routing, data input reading, and the dialer options it gives. Make sure it connects callers to the right department ASAP.
Adjust the settings to separate queues for teams from queues for call agents. Give callers an opportunity to leave their queue and have an agent call them back if the wait time must be extended.
Track Key Metrics
First, implement live call monitoring to let managers listen to the interactions in real-time. This way, they will know how to improve training and ultimately increase the resolution speed.
Secondly, record calls to understand why the average wait time is long. Track key indicators continuously to identify trends. Your agents will be better equipped to handle calls responsibly, and the AWT will decrease.
Build a Self-Service Knowledge Base
Evaluate the most common problems reported to customer support. Create a detailed knowledge base addressing these issues. It will benefit your agents who will have all the necessary data at their fingertips. Customers will also save time. Program your automated system to direct them to this repository.
Staff Agents Thoughtfully
Finally, adjust the size of your support team depending on expected traffic. Popular software for call centers has in-built workforce management modules. If you encounter staff shortages repeatedly, you have a valid reason to hire more agents.
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