Why does service level exist in the world of service?

Every kind of service delivery should have a service level to measure if the delivery timing is satisfactory or not.  It differs from one service to another, the impact of time, the service nature and the urgency of the case itself, but generally a less time to fulfill is always considered as a better service.

We are living in a new fast world, while time is considered the most valuable resource, so every service provider is always recognized by his ability to deliver an excellent service in a very short notice.

Imagine yourself as a health care center manager who relies on a contact center to answer all your clients’ needs and demands, the first thing will come to mind is that your clients have to be answered in a very short notice.

On the other hand, from the client perspective, a fast and correct response to your demands is crucial to his judgment on the service offer.

The service level in the contact center world is always measured by the percentage of handled demands (calls)/ number of seconds of waiting. (Till the customer receives an answer) 

For example: 97 % of customers received an answer in 30 seconds.

Simply, the faster the customer receives an answer, the more he will be satisfied. 

 

How can we achieve the service level objective?

Most of the clients demand a service level percentage over 30 seconds time waiting.

To achieve the target, the contact center has to have an excellent analysis team.

The team will study the queue flow and the peak times and all the internal and external elements that can affect the queue.  After making this study, the team will be able to create the workforce plan that can achieve the target.

This kind of study ensures the clarity of the manpower needed and all the corrective actions needed to overcome any obstacles in the future that may annoy the target achievement, as shown below:

 

Work force

The work force team is the starting point of the planning cycle.

Having an excellent team is the key to achieving all the targets and objectives.  Starting from the queue study to achieve the customer’s request, also making employee schedules for the different teams and making plans that may adapt to all the new challenges.

1. Receiving requested objectives (SLA and productivity).

2. Studying the queue.

3. Determine the manpower needed.

4. Making a schedule.

5. Plan B for the corrective actions needed.

 

Productivity

How can we make an employee more productive?

To be more productive, we have to understand that we have to work on two layers.

• Technical

• Psychological.

All the technical knowledge has to be well communicated to all the agents.

The initial training has to conclude at least 80% from all the technical knowledge.

The technical knowledge has to be documented and easily available for all the agents.

Also, a continuous training is a must to refresh the agents and assure a long term of engagement.

The knowledge has to flow everywhere, has to be shared and available for everyone.

Develop the time management skills in the entire organization. 

Always keep the moral up.

 

Motivation 

All persons with a repetitive Kind of job, like ours, will be always in need of continuous kind of motivation.

Motivation is what explains why people initiate, continue or terminate a certain behavior at a particular time. Motivational states are commonly understood as forces acting within the agent that create a disposition to engage in goal-directed behavior. 

There is always a good technique to keep every member in the team motivated:

1. Sharing experience: while everyone shares how they can remove obstacles and turn them into opportunities.

2. Team build up: the work into a healthy team environment always facilitates the work flow and ensures the team members.

3.  Use positive/negative reinforcement techniques.

4. Always take the opportunities to organize activities.

5. Always assure fair challenges between team members.

Finally, SLAs (service level agreements) are notoriously difficult to measure, report on, and meet. They can also be difficult to configure and change in many service desks. Still, it’s important to track your performance against top objectives, and SLAs provide a great opportunity to improve customer satisfaction.

Read also about :

What Is Quality Assurance In A Call Center?

Why And How To Create A Strong Call Center Culture?