Connect First Blog Posts

If you’ve spent your life a long way from civilization — without phone service — you might not have come across an IVR. If you're like most people in the world, though, you’ve probably already carried on many conversations with different IVR systems.

Call center agents are generally responsible for taking customer service calls and helping people with questions or problems related to the product or service they’ve purchased. Call center executives, on the other hand, usually have a few more responsibilities. Stretching, growing, and moving forward professionally requires specific skill sets that should continually be developed and honed, no matter the position. 

Finding the right work-life balance isn't easy, and a recent study of 9,700 workers from Ernst and Young states that "33% of full-time employees globally say it has gotten more difficult to manage work/family in the past five years." 48% of those surveyed in that same study said, "My responsibilities at work have increased."

 One of the keys to running a successful call center in today’s world is ensuring that customer expectations are always met. Increasingly, customers expect that when they call into a contact center, their problems will be solved quickly via the expert ministrations of a highly skilled agent. Things may not always pan out that rosily, but call center managers should still do everything within their power to ensure their agents are trained thoroughly and possess the necessary skills to handle customer inquiries quickly and efficiently.

More and more employees are working remotely these days. This can be beneficial for both workers and employers, as it provides workers with more flexible schedules and allows managers to supervise projects from any location. To make the most of this type of arrangement, take advantage of the latest technological solutions that facilitate both communication and productivity. Here’s a list of the top seven apps that can go a long way toward improving efficiency for remote workers.

Video conferencing is an essential part of business today, so it's important to have the right app for video conference calls. Nowadays, you can complete training and webinars, conduct face-to-face video chats, and even share files or record calls with a high-quality program. However, with so many options on the market, it's hard to find the app that best fits your company's needs. Let’s take a look at some of the best options out there and help you find the app that's right for your budget and business priorities.

Working as a call center agent can be challenging. You often get calls from people who are frustrated, upset, or angry. And you have to find a way to interpret their needs, all the while devising and offering effective solutions that guarantee their satisfaction. Whew! That's a tall order.

If you manage a call center, you no doubt face challenges, regardless of your type of business. You may be responsible for monitoring dozens of employees, assessing their performance, and finding areas for improvement. On top of that, your position in call center management may include boosting customer satisfaction or providing faster service. Here are a few tips to help you manage your call center more efficiently while creating a positive, solutions-oriented atmosphere for all staff. 

Customer Service 101:

While there are various methods you can employ to ensure the success of your call center, the most identifying and important aspect comes down to the customer-employee interaction. Stellar customer service is an invaluable advantage for businesses, yet call centers face unusual and individualized challenges when it comes to inspiring continuous quality service.  

Ten Key Ways to Promote Productivity

You’ve finally built a remote team of highly skilled professionals from around the world, and you feel you’re off to a great start. As you begin to manage them, however, some questions begin to arise that you may not have considered. How can I best engage the team? How can I make sure the team continues to grow? What can I do to increase their productivity?