The Grading Process at TeleDirect

One of the ways in which we hold our employees at TeleDirect Call Centers accountable for their work is with our comprehensive grading process. Each task that is completed undergoes this process, and in this way we can assure that our customer service representatives are maintaining the high standards that we have set for them. Here’s a little bit of information about how the process works:

Grading only begins after a project is published. Before that, it stays in brainstorm mode, which allows for team members to edit the project at will. After publication, the project is graded by the average of all tasks and milestones, unless the project date is moved or the project becomes overdue. In the event a project due date is moved, it is instantly downgraded by 10 points. Should the project become overdue, it is downgraded by 30 points, and the best grade it can receive is a D.

Tasks, however, are graded differently than projects, as they are not affected by the average grade of milestones. If task dates are moved, it will turn yellow and lose 10 points. Canceling tasks altogether results in a 20-point deduction, and if the task goes overdue, it gets downgraded by 30 points. So if an employee moves the due date after the task has been published, his or her best grade possible is a B, but if they give up altogether it becomes an F. Tasks may not be closed until all milestones are canceled or finished.

This grading system makes using the brainstorming mode extremely important. This allows TeleDirect employees to communicate with owners of tasks and get the highest grade possible. The grading system keeps owners of tasks, as well as those who carry them out, accountable for their work. We invite you to read our recent blog post “Training in a 24/7 Environment” to learn more about employee training at TeleDirect.

If you have any other questions about TeleDirect’s grading process for our call center, please contact us today. We have representatives available to answer any questions you may have about our services, and we look forward to hearing from you! www.TeleDirect.com

Training in a 24/7 Environment

Hopefully, if you’ve worked with us in the past, you know that the customer service representatives (CSRs) at TeleDirect Call Centers provide great customer service. And that’s no accident. In fact, while we hire people who clearly have a desire to help people and who can pleasantly answer calls, the real secret to the success of our call center is the ongoing training we provide.

Because TeleDirect does not believe in giving our employees only a week to learn their jobs, our CSRs are constantly learning and improving in order to provide you with the most outstanding service they can.

All of the customer service representatives at TeleDirect are set up with their own personal dashboard. This area presents them with any training “quizzes” that need to be completed, or training issues that must be taken care of. The dashboard also features a training center, which is put into place to make sure that every CSR is held to the same level of accountability.

Any supervisor or manager can change or update training issues or tasks. If any problems or updates arise, they can be addressed with self-trainable methods. The representatives read through these on their own, although there are no self-trainable issues that must be addressed in a classroom environment. Regardless of the type of issue, we make sure to emphasize the importance of completing the training. Not a single CSR will be answering calls without having completed all of their training items that have been allotted to them.

Our representatives are entrusted with keeping up their own training databases, but we do make sure they stay up to date. A significant portion of the bonuses our CSRs earn are based on how well they keep up their databases.

When representatives finish their training issues, their progress is logged and they are able to return to work. Our quizzes are specifically tailored to ensure high retention rates, and trainees must score at least 80% to pass the quiz. Should they fail three times, they must meet with a supervisor or manager to discuss why they failed and what they can do to improve.

These training methods allow TeleDirect Call Centers’ CSRs to offer you the highest level of customer service possible. You can be sure that our employees at our call center are constantly learning and improving, with the goal of doing great things for our clients’ businesses!

A Day in the Life of a CSR

The daily life of a customer service representative may not be glamorous, but it can certainly be fulfilling. Spending your days working with customers is only one part of the job. The great interactions at the call center, the feeling of contentment after wrapping up a successful call, and the satisfaction of a day of helping people are all experiences and emotions that a TeleDirect customer service representative is extremely familiar with.

Upon arrival in the morning, our CSRs (many of them sipping their favorite coffee) immediately check for any messages left via email, phone, fax, or instant message, and make any callbacks that are necessary. As all of these checks and any other duties are performed, our CSRs are constantly alert and prepared to answer phone calls or any live chat messages that come through our website.

As emails, snail mail, packages, faxes, or any other communications arrive, our CSRs check to make sure all leads are covered. Of course, our CSRs get breaks throughout the day to relax and to eat lunch, but otherwise they are busy fielding calls and managing the communication for our clients.

After a while of working in a call center, customer service representatives pick up on some of the quirks of the trade. For example, they may get certain callers that become regulars. Or they may notice that certain times of the day are busier than others, or commonly feature a certain type of customer personality. They come to learn exactly how to deal with a frustrated customer and how to ensure the repeat business of a satisfied one. This on-the-job education is a major aspect of work in any call center, and TeleDirect is no exception.

Outside of their regular duties, the CSRs of TeleDirect Call Centers go through regular training and performance reviews to ensure that their work is always top-notch. They know exactly what is expected of them, and devote parts of their days to logging their activities so their reviews go smoothly.

Most importantly, our CSRs are polite, enthusiastic and helpful. Every day, their main goal is to ensure customer satisfaction. To learn more about how the outstanding CSRs at TeleDirect Call Centers can help you, contact us today!

The Benefits of Having a Live Chat at Your Call Center’s Website

Just because we're a call center doesn’t necessarily mean that all of our customer service interaction needs to happen over the phone! These days, there are plenty of options available for personal, online interactions, not the least of which is using a live chat feature on your call center’s website.

Here are some of the most prominent benefits that come along with using a live chat feature:

• The ability to multitask. Many live chat features allow customer service representatives to chat with more than one customer at a time. This exponentially increases the amount of work your call center can get done within the same amount of time! In a world where time is money, the importance of multitasking can not be underestimated. 
• Great first impressions. Live chat enables customers to get instant and brief answers to their questions. Many people don’t want to spend the time on a phone call, so these instant answers give a great impression to customers. 
• More feedback options. Live chats can be coupled with a post-chat survey that asks customers to rate their experience with the customer service representative and the company itself. These surveys take less time than a survey over the phone would, so response rates will likely be greater. 
• Build instant leads. Live chats allow your customer service representatives to give links to the company’s website or to quickly gain contact information from the customer. This is a great way to build up business. 
• Instant statistics. Some of the best chat providers offer the ability to see statistics about the customer’s referring URL, IP address, geographic location, and more. This allows you to see who is contacting you, where they’re coming from, and how they found you! 
• It’s easy! Live chat is easy to set up and easy to use. For the amount of benefits you can reap from such a simple feature, there is no reason to not take advantage of it.

Are you interested in learning more about live chat? Check out the live chat feature at www.teledirect.com to get some first-hand experience! Then, contact us to let us know what you think!

Maximizing the Productivity of Your Call Center

Let's face it—distractions happen in the workplace, and there’s simply not much we can do to completely avoid them. As much as people may enjoy their jobs, every workplace occasionally suffers from days where productivity is lower than normal. This is particularly true at certain large call centers, where employees might feel as though they’re just another face in the crowd.

At TeleDirect Call Centers, we have made specific efforts to maximize productivity in our workplace by keeping our employees engaged through our business and its processes. The following are some of the efforts we've found to be effective in getting the most from our customer service representatives, and we'd like to share our knowledge with you:

• Get your employees involved. Arrange different types of contests, or possibly days devoted largely to fun activities. These ideas allow your employees to interact with other people in the company outside of their department. This serves as a reminder that there is more going on in the company than what they’re doing, and gives them a sense of being an important part of a team. Plus, people just enjoy having a good time!
• Reward people for a job well done. Employees like to be told they’re doing a good job, especially when it comes from a superior. It really increases people’s sense of motivation to know that all of their hard work doesn’t go unnoticed. This is especially effective when congratulating people in front of other employees, by giving an Employee of the Month award or simply giving public recognition of their hard work.
• Break the monotony. Working in a call center can occasionally grow monotonous, so find ways to occasionally change up the daily work life of your employees.
• Avoid micromanagement. People should know that their managers are there for them should they need anything, but managers also shouldn’t interfere too much in their employees’ work. It often comes off as insulting and even a bit condescending. Employees will get much more work done if they are not being constantly badgered.

At TeleDirect, we know the importance of keeping employees happy and motivated at our call center, and because of that our productivity is constantly at high levels. If you’re looking for a call center full of enthusiastic, hard-working employees, contact us today to learn how to get started!

Forming a Long-Term Relationship with Your Call Center

When working with a call center, it's important for companies to find centers that make the day-to-day operations of a business as easy as possible. And, just like with any business relationship, once you find a great call center, it's important to build a long-term bond with that company. If you are sure that the work you are choosing to outsource is a great long-term investment, then it’s important to find one high-quality call center and stick with its services.

Forming a long-term relationship with your call center not only ensures that you will consistently have high-quality customer service representation, but it’s also simply a smart financial option. While call centers like TeleDirect make it as easy as possible to get started, there can be some growing pains associated with moving all of your call center services from one provider to another. That's why we see ourselves as partners to our clients, integrating seamlessly with their business processes and procedures.

Perhaps most importantly, no matter what length of time you plan on using a call center, you’re placing a high level of trust in its services. If you feel like you can trust a call center enough to use them for a short period of time, then you should be able to feel the same way about using them for an extended period of time, as well. If you don’t, then chances are you’re using the wrong call center and you need to look for one that better suites your needs.

Here are some questions to consider when trying to choose that perfect call center for your business: 

• What is their approach to customer service? 
• Do they put forth a culture and attitude that is consistent with your business? 
• Do they provide a high level of training for their customer service representatives? 

These questions and more should all be a part of the backbone of your call center research.

TeleDirect wants to be that company that you can trust for the long haul. Check out our website today, and feel free to get in touch with us should you have any questions.

How to Get Certified to Become a Call Center Representative

Have you been considering working as a customer service representative for a call center? You’re not alone—many people are attracted to customer service positions and greatly enjoy them. But before you begin the application process, there are a number of things you should consider, ranging from necessary personality traits to the proper training.

Here are some items you should put on your checklist before you apply to any call center CSR position:

• Have the right kind of personality. A call center representative should be friendly, outgoing, and eager to help and meet new people. If you are the kind of person who is easily frustrated or prefers to be alone, this might not be the job for you. You should be able to deal with happy customers, as well as the ones who are not satisfied.

• Make sure you have the necessary skills. It is optimal to be comfortable with multiple computer operating systems, have good problem solving skills, have a solid memory, a strong attention to detail, and more. Being a call center representative is more difficult than many people first anticipate. There is also currently a great demand for bilingual representatives, particularly those who speak Spanish.

• Set a plan for where you’d like to see your career go. Do you have a particular call center where you would like to apply? Do you have aspirations beyond a job as a call center representative? Is this something that you actually want to do? These are all questions that you should be able to answer for yourself.

• Seek out the necessary training. There are numerous training and certification programs for call center representatives, and some companies require different training methods. Your certification will differ if you are a home representative as opposed to an office representative. How do you decide whether to do home or office training? That depends on personal preference, but if you have small children at home, for example, you may be more inclined to work from home.

Are you interested in learning more about the training required to become a call center representative? Contact TeleDirect Call Centers today!