ADVICE & OPINION
COMMENT
CALL CHANGES
During the pandemic, corporate switchboards
experienced a shi in phone behaviours as
volumes dipped. This was due to the closure of
o ices and increased use of collaboration tools
such as Zoom and Teams, which transformed
communication with colleagues and clients. At
the pandemic’s peak, we saw a leading global
professional services firm drop from 55,000 calls
per month to 14,000 and an engineering firm
reduce from 11,000 to just 3,000.
Now, while volumes have largely returned to
pre-pandemic levels, it has become harder to
predict call volumes which in turn a ects resource.
Many FMs furloughed or disbanded front of house
and reception teams at the start of the pandemic.
Now struggling to refill those roles, and with other
in-house departments facing the same challenge,
scalable solutions like outsourced switchboard are
being called on to manage in-bound calls.
ACCESSIBILITY AND CHANGED BEHAVIOUR
The pandemic was a reminder of the importance of
accessibility. We all sought greater reassurance and
assistance from the businesses we bought from and
worked with, so we took to the phones as well as
other channels such as websites, live chat and social
media.
Much of this was initiated by the fact many
12 JUNE 2022
corporate switchboards couldn’t be operated
remotely, especially at the start of 2020, and so
businesses had to deploy all available tools to
support customers. The lasting behavioural legacy of
this is a greater willingness to ‘self-serve’. The nation
is now happy to find answers on-line or via tools
such as live chat, before they pick up the phone.
The result now is that when people call, it’s
because they really need support and from a person.
The calls businesses are receiving are the ones
that really matter. Call durations are longer, and
enquiries are of higher value – these are the calls
that businesses can’t a ord to miss. Post-COVID
call handling strategies must reflect the emotional
motivations and needs of callers and how this has
increased call durations; for this has an onerous time
and resource implication.
Set against this backdrop, inbound call
management must now be viewed strategically
rather than tactically as when calls take on new
meaning for customers, they must also take on new
significance for FMs.
Devising an e ective inbound call management
strategy comprises four stages:
1.Monitor and review: An understanding of
actual rather than perceived needs, provides
an important place to start. What are the call
volumes broken down by time and day? Are
there patterns of demand and what are the average
call durations? Consult all sta who answer the
phone to gauge their views and identify their
frustrations. Consider whether people answering
the phone stops other important internal activities
from happening, as well as what prompts frustration
in callers.
2. Categorise calls: Categorising calls helps to
understand callers’ needs, their journey and how
best to respond. Ask questions such as, are all calls
routed to the right person e iciently every time? Are
callers given enough time to express their needs,
or are they rushed o the phone? Are call handlers
suitably empathetic or mindful of customer care
practices, or do all sta chip in to answer calls? Are
calls answered with the same consistency across
multiple sites?
The answers might identify the need for a
dedicated recruitment helpline, out of-hours support
to reflect typical enquiry times, training for call
handlers or use of digital switchboard services with
intelligent speech recognition, so that calls can be
directed to specific team members easily, wherever
they are.
3. Set benchmarks: Suitable standards might
include agreeing how callers are greeted, what
happens with complex calls (are they escalated
or transferred to a specific department) how
quickly a call must be answered, the detail that
must be captured and when call backs are made.
Agreeing these standards will not only provide a
useful benchmark but also make it easier for those
with call handling responsibility to be consistent.
In larger organisations, these standards should tie
in with or reflect wider customer care charters or
SLAs too.
4. Think resource: This process may reveal there
is insu icient resource to handle calls properly
– particularly as call durations increase due to
more complex needs. In these instances, consider
outsourcing for overflow support – which frees up inhouse
teams, out of hours support – so that callers
never have the frustration of reaching a voicemail,
or a fully outsourced solution - which means all calls
are answered by a third party. A partner will identify
needs, agree protocols and guarantee scalable and
professional support in line with demand.
KNOW THE VALUE OF A CALL
Communication is key. Handling calls quickly,
e iciently and professionally will help FMs to
improve service, revenues and reputation. Those
that adapt their call handling strategies will not only
reduce pressure on current resource, but also ensure
the highest levels of customer care at a time when
their value has never been higher.
Since the start of 2020, the nation’s phone behaviours have changed
dramatically. This presents a new set of considerations for FMs
resourcing call handling and devising strategies to manage inbound
calls, says Jess Pritchard, Head of Corporate Sector at Moneypenny