To set up a call center, it takes much more than just human resources and equipment Indeed, the heart of a call center is human. On one hand, the most important resource is the agents who will work in the company. On the other hand, the most crucial challenge is to satisfy the clients who will speak to these agents. Therefore, to establish a call center, it is essential to manage both of these elements effectively.
In this guide, you will discover everything you need to know about setting up your call center to manage your own customer service. It is important to note that this guide is designed for companies looking to establish an internal customer relations service.
The preliminary steps before establishing a call center
Before establishing a call center, it is essential to manage the basic details necessary to set up a business. Your call center needs a business plan, financing, a designated space, and of course, all the necessary paperwork for its establishment.
Creating a business plan for your call center
to set up your call center, you need to have a business plan for which the most crucial detail is your objective. That said, the business plan should include:
- Market research
- Competitor analysis
- Detailed operational plan
- Organizational structure
- Growth plan and financial projections
Thanks to these elements, you determine the objectives of your call center and how to achieve them. Essentially, you need to answer the why and how.What is the purpose of creating your call center, and how do you plan to achieve your objective? If your goal is to respond to customer inquiries, is a telephone-based customer service sufficient for this task, or will you also need to utilize messaging services? It is essential to answer these questions before establishing your call center.
Determine the funding for your call center
Customer relationship must have its own budgetBefore creating your call center, you need to plan the funding for operations, human resources, and the purchase or rental of equipment. Of course, the call center must have its own space and resources. It is impossible to delegate customer relationship tasks to agents who are already working on another activity within your company.
How many times have you encountered voicemail because the agent who is supposed to answer your call is busy attending to clients at the reception? Yes, it's frustrating, but this is what will happen to your customers if you do not dedicate agents who will work solely in your call center. You will clearly see that even closely related activities, such as physical and telephone receptions, cannot be mixed, let alone other professions.
The same applies to the equipment and the room. If these are already occupied by other projects, plan to purchase or rent additional ones. In short, to open your call center, you need to dedicate a funding for salaries, training, purchase and maintenance of equipment, as well as the purchase or rental of space.
Reserve a quiet location to establish your call center
To open a call center, it is essential to have a quiet location and conducive to customer relationship activities. Forget about large shared spaces, as you need an area dedicated solely to customer service. The agents working there require concentration. Imagine you have a manufacturing company and one of your customer service agents is on a call while your other employees are cutting metal. This scenario could lead to distractions and decreased efficiency for both the customer service team and the production team.
This would be a nightmare for your customer relationships. Therefore, it is recommended to dedicate a space away from your other activities. If such a place is not available within your company, then look for a rental space.
Address all legal details and regulations for your call center
the confidentiality and data protection clients are essential for a call center. This involves protecting personal information, such as phone numbers, addresses, and sensitive data, in accordance with data protection laws and regulations. Breaching confidentiality can lead to legal penalties and a loss of trust from customers.
The steps to create your call center include
To succeed in establishing a call center, it is essential to conduct thorough thoughtful technological choices. and to establish solid operational processes. In parallel, recruiting skilled team members is a priority. Once your team is assembled, ensure effective management and monitor performance using key performance indicators.
Keep your team updated on the latest trends in customer service. Lastly, carefully plan and manage the growth of your customer base smoothly.
Choosing the right technologies and infrastructures to implement in your call center is crucial.
When talking about a call center, some still imagine a room filled with agents waiting by their landline phones. It must be acknowledged that this era has passed and been replaced by the age of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. However, these systems can be very resource-intensive.
You will need at least a Core i5 computer with 16 GB of RAM to ensure smooth communication with customers. Additionally, there is the choice of customer relationship management (CRM) software; you can find details on this topic in our dedicated article about CRM tools.
Establish a process for your customer service
The difference between a call center and a simple customer service department is that the former always follows a process. This impacts the customer relationship, as the customer journey is well-defined in the case of a call center, while in a simple customer service department, agents respond based on instinct. For various channels, such as phone calls, emails, and social media, clear protocols are necessary.
Call center agents must be trained to respond professionally, resolve customer issues, document interactions, and route requests to the appropriate departments if necessary. Response times should be established for each channel, and service quality should be monitored.
Setting up your call center with exceptional individuals.
The success of your call center largely depends on the team that makes it up.To build an exceptional call center, seek highly skilled and dedicated team members. It is essential to recognize that not everyone naturally possesses the ability to smile for eight hours straight or to remain calm in any situation.
Call center agents must be carefully selected for their communication skills, resilience, and willingness to handle demanding calls with empathy and professionalism.
Manage your teams in an organized manner
The effectiveness of your call center depends on the management of your teams. Create a clear supervision structure and encourage open communication, where each team member knows exactly what is expected of them. Establish flexible work schedules, ensure regular performance monitoring, and provide constructive feedback to promote continuous improvement.
Cultivate a collaborative atmosphere and motivation so that your team performs at its best. If you find direct management challenging or if you lack time, consider appointing a dedicated manager for this task. A manager can provide the necessary support to maintain agent morale, monitor performance, and manage operational aspects. This allows you to focus on other strategic aspects of your call center.
Measure the performance of your call center with appropriate KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)
When creating a call center, it is imperative to consider performance indicators or KPIs. Essential KPIs for a call center include average handling time, customer satisfaction, first contact resolution rate, abandonment rate, and conversion rate.
They allow you to monitor operational efficiency, service quality, agent effectiveness, and resource management. By using these KPIs, you can identify areas for improvement and take steps to optimize the performance of your call center.
And if there is a more effective alternative
Upon further reflection, set up your call center is a very challenging task. The cost is quite high, and the return on investment can sometimes be difficult to measure. However, we cannot simply abandon our clients. If you are short on ideas, don't worry; the solution is to delegate these tasks to a another call center company..
Imagine agents who excel in customer relations, equipped with the right tools, working exclusively for you, undergoing your training, and following your directives as if they were part of your internal team.
Yes, that’s how customer service outsourcing works, at least in our case. You don’t have to set anything up; we take care of everything. For more information, please visit the contact form on our "Contact Us" page.
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