Energizing the Contact Center:
Inspire Agents with Better Processes and Tools

The Secret to Outstanding Performance
A Gallup poll cited in the book Now Discover Your Strengths asked 198,000 employees a simple question: “At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?” The results were striking. When employees answered “yes” to this question, they were 50 percent more likely to work in business units with lower turnover and 44 percent more likely to have higher customer satisfaction scores. Unfortunately, only 25 percent of survey respondents answered an emphatic “yes.” Contact centers seeking to maximize their performance must engage and expect the best from all of their staff. Fortunately, Consona’s Knowledge Driven Support solution can help.

Like all employees, contact center agents have basic needs: a safe workplace, a reasonable supervisor, and fair pay. But (according to research by Frederick Herzberg) what inspires employees is their sense of achievement, how they’re recognized, and the nature of the work itself.

Inspiring with Achievement
Agents and support professionals like helping people—it’s in their DNA. They also like solving problems. Closely integrated case management and knowledge management capabilities, such as those provided by the Consona Knowledge Driven Support solution, motivate them by helping them achieve more than they otherwise could.

• Knowledge at their fingertips makes even new agents effective.
• Capturing or improving knowledge in the course of working on a case means agents are not just solving one problem; they’re helping their colleagues and customers solve the problem many times.
• Agents who are empowered to capture and edit knowledge feel trusted.

Inspiring with Recognition
The flip side of achievement is recognition. Even something as simple as a heartfelt “thank you” from a customer can be a big boost. Consona Knowledge Driven Support helps agents get the recognition they deserve.

• By tracking all contributors to knowledge articles, everyone gets credit for the benefit delivered by knowledge. Consider making agent names (or more anonymous forum-style “handles”) visible on all documents—it feels good, and it boosts quality.
• More satisfied customers give more positive feedback.
• Comprehensive dashboards show agents—and their managers—the value that their knowledge is creating for peers and customers.

Inspiring with the Work Itself
Good agents don’t want to be on a case-handling treadmill where they’re handling the same old question day in and day out. Knowledge sharing and reuse makes the work more interesting.

• Effective self-service reduces the volume of redundant issues in the caseload.
• A case tracking system that is tightly integrated with knowledge management streamlines the agent’s workflow and reduces duplicative work.
• Increased efficiency leaves time for more interesting activities such as lab time, training, or delivering value-added services.

The bottom line: the practices of Knowledge Driven Support, in conjunction with highly effective tools designed to support the practices, makes agents happier and more effective, increasing their loyalty, their ability to delight customers, and their effectiveness. With Consona Knowledge Driven Support, agents will honestly be able to answer that they strongly agree that they do have the opportunity to do what they do best, every day.