Contact center optimization: Everything you need to know

A contact center is the hub of communications — it’s where customers reach out for help, whether it's through phone calls, emails, or chat messages

Contact center optimization is all about making this hub work better. 

Better contact centers lead to happier customers, and happy customers are more likely to keep using a company's products or services. 

There are many ways to optimize a contact center. For example, companies can train their staff better, use new technologies to handle customer issues faster, or find smarter ways to manage incoming calls and messages. The goal is to solve customer problems quickly and reduce average handle time. When done right, contact center optimization can dramatically improve a company's reputation and financial success.

What is contact center optimization?

Contact center optimization is about making sure your contact center runs smoothly and efficiently. The goal is to provide great service to customers while keeping things running as effectively as possible. This means having enough staff and making sure the processes they use work well.

The key elements of a contact center

Contact centers are complex operations with several moving parts. To run smoothly, they rely on four main elements: people, processes, technology, and data. Here are tried-and-tested contact center optimization strategies you can use to streamline call center operations and increase retention.

People

The heart of any contact center is its people. This includes agents who directly interact with customers, supervisors who manage teams, and support staff who keep everything running.

Agents

These are the front-line workers who handle customer inquiries. They need to be patient, knowledgeable, and good communicators. Sometimes, call center agents can become inefficient if they're not properly trained or if they're overwhelmed with too many tasks.

To optimize:

• Provide regular training on products, services, and customer service skills
• Offer ongoing coaching and feedback
• Create a positive work environment to reduce burnout and turnover

Supervisors

They oversee teams of agents, ensuring quality service and meeting performance targets. Inefficiency can creep in if supervisors spend too much time on administrative tasks instead of coaching agents.

To optimize:

• Use automation for routine tasks, freeing up time for mentoring
• Provide leadership training to improve team management skills
• Encourage regular team meetings to share best practices

Training is so important for both new and existing staff. To optimize your training program, develop a comprehensive onboarding program for new hires, offer continuous learning opportunities (including product update and soft skills training), and use role-playing exercises to practice handling different customer scenarios. 

Processes

Processes are the backbone of contact center operations. They dictate how work flows through the center and how quickly and efficiently tasks are completed. 

Workforce management plays a huge role here. This involves scheduling the right number of agents at the right times to meet customer demand. Poor workforce management can lead to long wait times during busy periods or overstaffing during slow times. You can use historical data to forecast call volumes and implement flexible scheduling to accommodate peak times among other tactics that we’ll dive into in more detail below.  

Then there’s call center performance management, which involves tracking and improving agent productivity.

Technology

The right contact center technology can make a huge difference in efficiency. Outdated or poorly integrated systems can slow down agents and frustrate customers.

Common tech setups include: 

• VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol): Allows for cost-effective phone communications
• Call recording: Useful for training and quality assurance
• Automatic call distribution (ACD): Routes calls to the most appropriate agent
• Call queues: Manages waiting customers efficiently

Optimizing your tech stack involves regularly assessing and upgrading your existing software, making sure all systems are well-integrated to avoid data silos, and providing thorough training on all tools.

Data

Data is the fuel that powers call center optimization. Without accurate, real-time customer data, it's hard to make informed decisions. This kind of data allows supervisors to see what’s happening in the contact center at any given moment, predict how busy things will be, and track a customer’s journey from first contact to resolution.

When optimized and used in the right way, these call center metrics can help you make better staffing decisions, uncover potential bottlenecks, and improve the overall customer experience. 

How to optimize your contact center

Ready to turn your contact center into a well-oiled machine? Here are some best practices you can apply. 

Agent productivity

Agents are at the heart of your contact center. Optimizing their workflows and productivity means you can effectively answer more calls and resolve more issues at all touchpoints. 

Here are some ways you can do this.

• Set clear key performance indicators (KPIs): Establish measurable goals for performance metrics like first-call resolution rates and customer satisfaction scores (or Net Promoter scores — NPS). Make sure agents understand these targets and how key metrics are measured.
• Provide ongoing training: Regular training sessions keep agents up-to-date with product knowledge, customer support techniques, and company policies. Consider implementing a buddy system where experienced agents mentor newer ones.
• Equip agents with the right tools: Invest in user-friendly contact center software that gives agents quick access to customer information and knowledge bases. A good CRM system can significantly reduce call handling times.
• Encourage breaks: Counterintuitively, regular short breaks can boost productivity. Implement a system that allows agents to take brief breaks between calls to recharge.
• Recognize and reward agent performance: Create an incentive program that acknowledges top performers. This could be as simple as an "Agent of the Month" award or more substantial bonuses for consistently meeting or exceeding targets.

Workforce management

Workforce management is all about having the right number of people with the right skills at the right time. Here's how to leverage WFM for contact center optimization:

• Use staffing heat maps: Create visual representations of your busiest periods. This helps you schedule more agents during peak times and fewer during lulls.
• Analyze channel interactions: Look at which communication channels (phone, email, social media, chatbots) are most used at different times. This allows staff to handle customer interactions appropriately for each channel.
• Implement flexible scheduling: Consider offering split shifts or work-from-home options to cover busy periods without overstaffing during quieter times.
• Use historical data: Look at past trends to predict future customer needs. For example, if you know call volumes spike every Monday morning, you can staff accordingly.
• Cross-train agents: Having agents who can handle multiple types of inquiries or work across different channels gives you more flexibility in scheduling.

Quality management 

Customer expectations for support are higher than ever — in fact, McKinsey found that companies that prioritize customer service grow quicker. Quality management ensures your agents are consistently delivering high-quality service and creating a customer-centric experience. Here's how to implement effective quality management:

1. Develop a quality scorecard: Create a checklist of what constitutes a high-quality interaction. This might include factors like politeness, problem-solving skills, and adherence to company policies.
2. Implement call monitoring: Regularly listen to a sample of calls for each agent. This can be done live or through recordings.
3. Provide immediate feedback: Don't wait for scheduled reviews to give feedback. If you notice an issue, address it promptly with the agent.
4. Encourage self-evaluation: Have agents listen to their own calls and score themselves. This can be a powerful learning tool and empower them to improve their workflow.
5. Use customer feedback: Incorporate customer survey results into your quality management process. This ensures you're measuring what actually matters to customers.
6. Create a culture of continuous improvement: Encourage agents to share best practices and learn from each other. Regular team meetings can be a great forum for this.

Benefits of contact center optimization

Optimizing your contact center isn’t just a box-ticking activity. You’re setting yourself up for future success — here’s why. 

Improved customer experience

When your contact center runs smoothly, your customers feel it. They experience shorter wait times (nobody likes being on hold) and don’t have to be transferred from person to person to get their issues resolved. Better routing means they get to the right agent the first time. This can lead to higher retention rates and a boost in customer loyalty. 

Reduction in operating costs

Money talks. An optimized contact center means you have the exact number or staff you need at all times. No more paying for twiddling thumbs during slow periods or scrambling for help during rush hours. Plus, agents have the right tools and knowledge so they can solve issues faster and streamlined, integrated systems often cost less to maintain than a hodgepodge of different platforms. 

Boosted agent productivity 

Happy agents are productive agents. The right optimization software can help agents handle customer queries faster, and with smarter call routing, problems get solved quicker. It’s a win-win for everyone and helps boost customer engagement, as well as service quality. 

Reduced agent turnover

High turnover is a pain. It’s expensive, time-consuming, and bad for morale. Optimization can help keep your best talent because agents are less frustrated with the tools they’re supposed to use, they have a better work-life balance, and have a clear sense of progress. This ultimately leads to better employee engagement. 

Better, real-time data and analytics

Knowledge is power — and optimization gives you a whole lot of knowledge. Real-time dashboards show you exactly what’s happening in your contact center as it happens, while predictive analytics spot trends before they become problems. You also have powerful performance tracking capabilities so you can identify your star performers as well as those who might need a little extra help.

Use workforce management to optimize your contact center

If you take one thing away from this, make sure it’s that optimizing your contact center is nearly impossible without effective workforce management. This is where Assembled comes in. As a handy workforce optimization tool, it can help you run your contact center without a hitch. 

Here are just a few of the ways it does this: 

• Smarter scheduling: Assembled uses advanced algorithms to predict when you’ll be busiest. This means no more overstaffing during quiet periods and ensures you have enough hands on deck when you’re busy. 
• Real-time adjustments: Things change fast in a contact center — maybe there’s a sudden product issue or a marketing campaign goes viral. Assembled lets you adapt on the fly. It gives you a real-time view of what’s happening so you can quickly move people around or call in reinforcements. 
• Happy agents and happy customers: Assembled makes it easy for agents to swap shifts or request time off. This might seem small, but it’s huge for improving the employee experience and keeping your team happy. And happy agents mean better customer service. 
• Data-driven decisions: Assembled gives you clear, easy-to-understand reports on everything from how well you’re meeting service levels to which times of day are most efficient. This helps you make smart decisions about agent training, hiring, and your overal initiatives. 
• Omnichannel magic: Customers don’t just call — they email, chat, DM, and more. Assembled helps you manage all these channels in one place, giving you a birds-eye view of your entire operation. 
• Forecasting that actually works: Assembled’s forecasting tools are visual and intuitive. They help you plan for the future, which means you can be proactive — not reactive — with staffing levels. 

‍Ready to optimize your contact center with the help of Assembled? Find out more about workforce management and book a demo.

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