By Mike Mitchell
Just as a GPS (Global Positioning System) locates a single coordinate with pinpoint accuracy, the G²P²S² Analysis pinpoints the strengths and weaknesses of an ACD group. While the novice ACD manager will welcome this system as a tool to improve call center performance, the experienced ACD manager can use this system to measure the effectiveness of the call center.
Goals:
Your call center's goals and responsibilities should be well-defined. As you assess the group's goals, think not only in terms of present responsibilities but also future changes. Within the first year at my hospital, my group's goals changed twice. Make an effort to find out if your goals will change, and start preparing now.
Good Information:
Providing good, accurate, and up-to-date information to your callers is vital. In a hospital environment, giving incomplete or inaccurate information to callers can mislead or frustrate a family member calling about a loved one. Imagine a parent calling about the status of a child who had been admitted to the hospital, but there is no information available. How do you think the parent will react?
Process of information flow:
To make sure your group is getting good information, identify your sources. Accurate information may be available, but the process might have a bottleneck. It could be the computer system or a specific department that is slow to send out information. At my hospital, the patient registration department used to batch patient information and update it only when it was convenient for the staff. Several times, this situation created extra work for my call center operators in order to get the right information. Do you know the sources you depend upon for good information? What is the process and the flow of information? How does it get to the call center? Can you improve the process?
Process to call flow:
How do calls get routed to your group? What technology is used? Become knowledgeable enough about technology to be able to determine if a better method can be implemented. What happens to a call if it is not answered quickly? Does it overflow to another group or stay in queue? If your organization uses an automated attendant for front end calls, what is the process if the automated attendant crashes or goes offline? Do you have a backup plan?
Statistics:
Statistics provide a means to determine the productivity and effectiveness of your group. A real-time agent/group monitoring system allows ACD managers to look at data such as longest queued calls, longest duration calls, agent talk time, and an assortment of other important stats to improve service to callers. If you still depend on statistics that are not real-time, do your research on what on-board or add-on systems are available for your telephone/ACD system.
Staff:
Your staff is the heart and soul of your call center. I believe the most important characteristic of an agent is a good attitude. Obviously, an excellent agent is dependable and knowledgeable, has great communication skills, is always in control of the situation (especially emergency codes), but when an agent doesn't have a good attitude, customer service will suffer. It's important to develop good training methods, motivation techniques, and management skills to enable your call center agents to perform well.
For more information or clarification about the G²P²S² Analysis, email me at mmitchell@teleexcellence.com . I welcome your comments and questions.
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