In this modern era, maximum businesses avail call center services from reputed vendors because they are acquainted with the fact that handling customer calls has become an arduous task. The major challenge that comes is to provide satisfactory resolutions within a short time span. In simple words, AHT should be kept low while handling customer service operations.
By and large, businesses running an in-house inbound call center fail to maintain the CSAT score while reducing the AHT. As a negative consequence, they face negative reviews and higher customer defection.
Here are the top 4 tips to dwindle AHT without letting the CSAT score get affected negatively, so pay heed:
1.Refine your call center agent training programs
To reduce AHT and deliver unprecedented support experience at the same time, it is instrumental to ensure your service agents do their work in the best possible manner and waste no time. To make certain that, you must refine your call center agent training programs because that’s how you can reap desired results.
Specialized call center service providers always make sure that their support agents get thorough training so that customers can be delighted with prompt assistance.
Companies handling customer service operations on their own usually cut the period of training programs as they want their in-house support agents to get on the real work ASAP. Due to this bad approach, their agents face a hard time when customers throw them a curveball during service interactions. This not only leads to high AHT but also puts the business’s credibility at jeopardy.
2.Create an organized library of resolutions
Well, the best and easiest way to bring the AHT down is having all the pertinent information at your fingertips. In simple words, if you have an organized library of resolutions, you are likely to deliver one-stop resolutions with aplomb.
Companies don’t maintain the knowledge base aptly always pay the price in terms of soaring average handle time and mismanagement of service requests. Finally, they end up with a negative brand image.
On the flip side, organizations having a prestigious call center service provider on board always enjoy smooth customer support operations because the latter always maintain a central repository of resolutions. This helps to create phenomenal service experience without letting AHT get amplified.
3.Present self-service facility
Well, it is cent-percent true that paring average handle time is fundamental, especially when you have a pile of support requests to resolve. From the business’s perspective, the quality of resolutions can’t be compromised in the name of quick closing of interactions.
The best way to reduce the number of support service requests is to present the self-service facility to customers. By means of this alternative, customers seeking no human response can resolve basic or mediocre issues on their own. This will result in the two-fold advantages — ‘A significant drop in the number of support requests’ and ‘High CSAT score.’
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that when your support agents aren’t under the pump, they are likely to assist customers in an appropriate manner and reduce average handle time.
4.Harness the power of call routing technology
Delighting customers with splendid support experience is what businesses should be aiming for, as this leads to a stronger customer base and amazing brand equity. By and large, AHT soars when support calls get connected to the wrong department as internal call transfers take place and customers have to explain issues again and again.
At this juncture, if you have the state-of-the-art call routing technology at customer service operations, your customers are likely to be connected with the right department. This will save valuable time for both parties i.e. customers and support agents.
Therefore, if you don’t want to avail call center services from an eminent third-party company, the other choice you should make is using the call routing technology as that’s how you can reduce AHT and uplift the CSAT score.
Final few words:
These days, customers seek prompt response and first-rate resolutions after initiating a support interaction. From the business’s point of view, reducing the average handle time is significant as this paves the way for proper management of queries and high customer satisfaction. It is imperative to understand that dwindling the average handle time is central, but securing high FCR should be the first and foremost priority.
By dint of this write-up, we have shared 4 tips that will help to dwindle the AHT without letting the CSAT score negatively. We hope you have understood all the pointers with ease, however, if you have any questions related to this blog, don’t hesitate to reach out to us via the comment section given below.
