Customer support lines can be a nightmare for both customers and companies. Long wait times and serious problems can cause call centers to be ineffective and unhelpful. Although companies try their best to resolve issues quickly and effectively, many customers become frustrated and hang-up before receiving help. For businesses, this is a huge issue because agitated customers are more likely to seek out competing services, or complain publicly.
To fix this problem, some companies have turned to automated support lines. Unfortunately, many customers find computer generated service annoying, and customer satisfaction doesn’t often improve. Consequently, companies have begun to realize that the most important part of customer support is the human element. Which creates the question – is there a way to increase the speed and efficiency of customer support while maintaining human service? There is, and it’s called gamification.
Gamification provides a fantastic platform for enhancing call center service. Incorporating game mechanics into a call center promotes efficiency and encourages employees to handle calls more effectively. Call center agents can often become frustrated and disengaged after dealing with difficult or angry customers. A gamification platform provides an enjoyable way to maintain engagement and productivity.
There are several gamification vendors that offer effective products designed specifically for call centers. Bunchball offers a platform that allows companies to create challenges based around their business goals. Their games allow for useful analytics that can be used to improved performance and increase first call resolution rates. Playvox, by Acaris, is a comprehensive gamification solution specifically for enhancing call centers. They provide games that aid in every step of the process , from employee training to performance recognition.
Freshdesk provides a low-cost alternative. Their service has an easy-to-use interface, and incorporates ticket management tools and analytics. Points are awarded to agents based on the quickness and accuracy of their customer responses. To increase competition, service representatives can be put into teams adn given specific goals – each team’s points are then displayed on an online leaderboard.
Call center gamification seems great in theory, but how effective is it in practice? LiveOps, a cloud-based call center service, wanted to increase their sales by enhancing the effectiveness of their training. They implemented a gamification platform using competitions, badges, points and an online leaderboard. Once this solution had been put in place, 72% of employees voluntarily completed additional certification. As a result, service levels increased by 9%. Additionally, the training time for new employees decreased from 4 weeks of class time to just 14 hours.
The quality of a customer service department relies heavily on the effectiveness of the service representatives. Call center gamification is a powerful way to increase the productivity of service agents. If you’re interested in adding game dynamics to your customer service department, try our Smart Advisor Tool and quickly compare over 90 gamification vendors. If you have further questions, contact us directly and we will find a gamification solution that meets your needs.
