In times of need such as a natural disaster or medical emergency, we all need someone to listen and be there for us. At Ansafone Call Centers, our agents are paired with the task of communicating with a wide variety of people with various personalities and unique needs. It is imperative that our agents are properly trained to handle distressed calls, yet address the person’s needs with empathy and kindess. Customer experience is one of our highest priorities.
So, how do we train our call center agents to respond with empathy? We train our staff with the ability to use a special technique called, “active listening “where the focus is on the customer first and listening intently of their needs and requests. Our professionally- trained agents engage callers with personalized service, efficiency and quality care.
In providing quality customer service, we make sure our agents instill our core values and work ethic in everyday relationships.
Customer Experience – Engaging Callers with Personalized Service
Whether a caller is directed to our agents for help during a crisis, order gifting for a family member, or is wanting to make an after-hours appointment with their doctor, they often prefer a natural human person over an experience with an automated call center response.
Because of people’s inherent want for professional human interaction, we train our call center agents to be warm, friendly, understanding, and willing to listen intently to the requests or issues brought to them in confidence by the caller.
This live call also gives a sense of togetherness and teamwork to both the caller and agent, allowing them to feel that they can work together to sort the issue out… rather than leaving the caller with an impersonal feeling of speaking to artificial intelligence.
Customer Experience – Our Call Agents and Active Listening
When people participate in a conversation with one another, their main focus is usually on how they will respond to what the other person is saying — but the opposite is required from our call center agents to make the experience as complete and less frustrating as possible for our callers.
Active listening refers to the act of putting a complete focus on what the caller is saying and diverting the mind’s attention away from the upcoming response. We train our agents to refrain from interruptions and encourage them to reiterate the need, question, or concern before thinking of and responding with an answer.
Understanding exactly what the caller is wanting helps our agents not only to become more involved with the situation as they’re in the moment (through processing the information before speaking) but also to respond with empathy as they deal with ever-changing situations.
Making the Most Out of Call Time
Attentive listening and an understanding of what the caller is needing is imperative to proper training in our field. And for our agents to properly use their listening and communication skills during calls, a sufficient amount of time in the call is required — and for the caller to get the message across.
Because the caller needs an adequate amount of time to relay their message to the agent, we train our call center to respond with patience. Agents that practice professional patience and allow the caller to speak for as long as they feel they need will save on frustration for both parties later in the call due to misunderstanding; therefore, resulting in empathy for the caller and their situation.
Providing Callers With Seamless Communication
At Ansafone Contact Centers, we work with companies one on one to help you relay the right information to your customers effectively through our agents.
For example, a pharmaceutical company or family doctor’s office may provide us with the names of the office locations, physician names, and field of expertise, opening and closing times, office schedules, appointment times and availability, and so on. With that information, we can educate our agents through the course of their training so that they get a thorough understanding of what is required of them when a call comes through for your business.
Preparing our agents with the necessary tools and resources helps our agents to empathetically respond (due to their knowledge of the caller’s situation) and prevents confusion or frustration.
It also benefits our callers by allowing them to receive the information they need in a clear, concise, and timely manner as to not overwhelm them or waste their time with roundabout answers.
Our Overall Take on Agent Training
When it comes to the experience we want callers to have with our call center agents, we keep our training focused on the ability to listen, understanding what exactly the caller wants, either by asking questions or repeating the sentiment back to the caller and relaying helpful information in a way that is easy to understand and in the common language that people are comfortable with.
Teaching our agents key communication and listening skills helps them to become empathetic as they divert to different business types, caller personalities, and information handling.
How Ansafone Can Help
Ansafone Contact Centers is an award-winning, BPO provider with 50 years of world-class customer experience and brand care. We are a national call center with omni- channel services, fully-equipped to help you in business and any special circumstances.
Request a quote or call 800-510-0514 to learn more about our custom solutions for creating exceptional customer service experiences for your clients. We’re happy to offer insight into what your customers seek from your company’s language offerings and tailored customer solutions.
