All of the technological innovations call center professionals will hear about this week at the American Teleservices Association conference are great, but only if they know how to integrate them effectively with strategy and staff.
“It’s not the technology, its what you do with it,” says Daniel Burrus, a futurist, author and founder, president and CEO of Burrus Research Assoc. Inc.
“Technology is scalable and saves money, but there is no substitute for people,” agreed Andy Hatch, director of telemarketing for job listings Web site Monster.com.
Advances such as text chat — where customers can talk with a service rep online in a real time format — present hiring challenges to call centers, said Hatch. Different skill sets are required for both disciplines. For a telephone rep, conversational skills and the ability to switch gears depending upon the temperament of the caller are key. For a rep answering e-mail or text inquiries, good grammar and typing skills — as well as the ability to think on one’s feet — are essential.
As Monster.com has developed, so too have the duties of telereps, said Hatch. Two years ago, when the concept of recruiting for new employees online wasn’t established, reps had to do more selling. Now, more time is spent prequalifying leads who are already interested.
Burrus delivered the keynote address at the ATA’s annual conference yesterday at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. He noted that many of the best applications of technology not only save time but deliver a level of service consumers didn’t even know they wanted.
As an example, Burrus said the last 10 times he has stayed at a Marriott hotel and ordered breakfast the night before, it has arrived not a few minutes early or late but at exactly the time he requested. The first few times he didn’t notice. The fourth or fifth time he noticed, because it was so weird. But by the eighth time, he expected it to arrived exactly on time. Marriott has accomplished this, he said, by integrating computer systems into their kitchens, giving staff guidance on when to begin cooking orders and the best routes to take through the hotel to ensure on-time delivery.
The ATA conference concludes on Wednesday.
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