We have entered a new age in which remote work is a reality that all companies must embrace. For outbound sales call centers in particular, it’s time to maximize and leverage existing tools to make remote work more effective, productive and profitable. There is no reason why sales agents working from home should not be as productive as those in the office (if not more). With a headset, computer and internet connection, they should be able to work from anywhere.
It is not, however, that simple. Phone connections can be poor, which is a huge cause for failed calls leading to lost sales and revenues. In addition, agents can be isolated and disconnected from what their colleagues are doing due to poor VPN solutions(and the good ones take a huge bite out of your ROI).. However, with the right technology remote call center agents can be just as productive as those working in a single office.
So, what are the features that you should look for in a remote call center solution that will increase agent productivity? Read on to find out!
1. Maintaining Call Quality
At the first sign of a spam call, even the warmest lead can go cold. When sales reps are connected to the network via a VPN, they end up losing sales because of poor connections and bad call quality arousing suspicion in those on the receiving end. If you’ve got agents making calls from home or other remote locations, you need to ensure that the call quality will be just as stellar as if they were calling from a high-bandwidth office network.
VPNs have been the go-to solution for remote workers to connect to a corporate network. The problem with VPN is both the high cost involved and the fact that the networks are notoriously unstable. Especially as teams grow, the network is less likely to be able to handle the increased usage.
Key Feature: A fully WebRTC-based solution offers a much more stable connection via a web browser with no need for downloading any software to your computer.
2. Protecting Company Information
There’s no question that the increase in remote work has put companies’ proprietary information at risk. A recent survey revealed that 80% of security and business leaders are concerned about the additional exposure to risk their companies have because of the higher numbers of remote workers.
Every time a remote computer connects to a company network, it’s another potential point of entry for a malicious hacker. The hackers are getting smarter and they know where the vulnerabilities lie and how to exploit them.
With agents making phone calls from disparate locations, cybersecurity risks grow exponentially and it is critical to take extra precautions and prevent hackers from gaining access.
Key Feature: An ISO certified remote call center solution ensures that calls can be made safely and securely from any location.
3. Seamless Agent Experience
Remote work is meant to be more convenient and productive, not less. So, when a call center agent works remotely and has to navigate a complicated log-on procedure just to get connected to the network, by the time they can actually start to make their calls they are already frustrated and exhausted. This does not bode well for a productive day of sales calls.
Wherever they are in the world, one quick log-on should provide remote agents immediate access to the same workflow automations and integrations that they would get on-prem. They need to be able to take advantage of features like AI dialers and omnichannel communication to maintain efficiency and sales success.
Key Feature: Remote agents must be able to easily access the entire suite of features that would be at their fingertips in the office.
4. Teamwork and Collaboration
When agents are working remotely each in a separate location, collaboration and teamwork can suffer. It is easy for everyone to get caught up in their own work and not check in with team members. Managers may also lose track of what their direct reports are working on.
Agents should not have to leave the platform to find information from colleagues about the leads they are contacting and they also must be able to seamlessly transfer calls when necessary even to other remote agents. Managers must be able to assign leads, create workflows, and access reports remotely as well.
Even though everyone may not be sitting in the same physical location, employees still must feel supported by their team members and managers. Collaboration goes a long way towards building morale – giving encouragement when a call has gone badly and offering advice and improvement to make the next one go better.
Key Feature: It’s crucial for remote call center software to include collaboration tools that are accessible from any location.
5. Agent Monitoring and Coaching
When managers are not in the same physical location as the agents, it can be difficult to oversee performance. In-person, managers can walk around and listen to the calls taking place and jump in when they spot a problem. Without a good remote call center solution in place, it can be virtually impossible for managers to have a handle on how the agents are doing and what can be done to improve conversions.
Managers should also be able to listen in on calls remotely and use call-whispering features to coach agents in real-time or use recordings for post-call training opportunities.
Key Feature: A remote call center solution should automatically collect productivity insights from remote sales agents and feed the information directly to managers.
The Bottom Line
Remote work is here to stay and call centers must take advantage of the opportunities it creates, including happier and more productive employees. By providing them with the right technological tools, remote sales agents can make your outbound sales call center more productive than ever.
VoiceSpin’s unique and secure Onliner solution is built to power your remote workforce with the 5 key features described here and more! Contact us for more information.
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