SHIRLEY BORRETT WORK EXAMPLE Note: This is an example of a section of a tutor guide for a one-day workshop. The client is a well-known bank that was introducing improvements to customer service by changing the way their call centre handles enquiries. The session includes tutor input, discussions and role plays to familiarise participants with the new processes and to practice customer interactions. 5.1
Objectives By the end of this session, participants will be able to: Demonstrate their understanding of the systems and processes to be followed within their role Demonstrate some key communication skills required to deal with PC customers Demonstrate their individual skills as Agents through some role play scenarios Outline The main elements of this session are: Introduction Exercise Processing and Scripting Role Play scenarios Summary Materials/Resources Flipchart and pens PowerPoint projector Slides VA1 Session Title VA2 Session Objectives Handouts HO3 Screen shots HO4 Example scenarios 5.2
13.30 Introduction VA1 - Session Title VA2 - Session Objectives ASK As you have read in your workbook the systems and processes to follow in the Centre are quite strictly laid down. What are the advantages of this? Get participants to contribute their suggestions. What you are looking for is: Consistency for staff and customers Track to follow, especially when new Audit trail So the process diagrams and scripts in your workbook as well as Signposting on the system are there to support you in communicating in a positive way with our Call Centre customers. Processes and scripts Your workbook includes flowcharts of the processes you will be using with Call Centre customers. Although we aren t able to look at a real system here today, this handout shows you what the screens will look like. HANDOUT HO3 Screen Shots Think about whether there is anything that you don t understand or would like more information about? Take a few minutes to look at the processes and screens and then we ll deal with any queries you have. Remind participants that the screens they will be using are those they are already used to. The screens will have additional options to allow them to provide the new services. E.g. during Call Transfer they will find the Customer Manager WAP phone listed on the Team 5.3
List. EXERCISE Allow 5-10 minutes, and then refer to the flowcharts one at a time and ask specifically if there are any questions about how it works. Clarify any points raised and use the Screen shots handout to demonstrate, where applicable, how they relate to the processes. Deal with any queries they may have on flowcharts, screens and scripts. NOTE: Screen 009 is the only one possibly not familiar to them as this is used to make a call after the customer has ended their call a situation most will not have encountered before. SUMMARISE Now we ve looked in detail at the mechanics of processes, screens etc. and answered your queries, it s time to think about the communication aspects of dealing with these important Call Centre customers. 13.50 Features and Benefits Two of the key things you will be doing are suggesting to customers that YOU can probably deal with their query rather than just putting them through to the Customer Manager. Also that they will benefit from a Personal interview, whether that is face to face with their Customer Manager or as a Telephone Review. So now we re going to consider how the customer might feel about those things. Generally speaking people are prepared to make decisions for two key reasons: To get a benefit To avoid a penalty So we buy a new car to get the benefit of safe and comfortable travel and we buy road tax license to avoid the penalty of being stopped by the police. Use examples to demonstrate and ask participants to contribute others from their own experience: A feature of a product/service is what it is e.g. a Telephone Review with someone at the Call Centre 5.4
Centre A benefit of a product/service is what is does e.g. which means that you won t have to wait until your Customer Manager returns from his annual leave. Using benefits is all about helping the customer to see/understand the what s in it for me? or why should I want to agree to this? Nobody will do anything unless they can see a measurable and tangible value in it, and it s not the same for everyone. So we need to consider only benefits that positively affect the individual. 14.00 EXERCISE Scenario Benefits Use examples: You may like the idea of saving time by not having to visit the branch to see the Customer Manager, but I may only like dealing with the bank on a personal face-to-face basis that may be important to me! HANDOUT HO4 Example scenarios Each of these scenarios is an example of a conversation between an Agent and a Customer. For this exercise I want you to imagine yourself into the customer s mind and try to think of ways in which he or she might benefit from the suggestion the Agent is making. Divide the participants into two groups. Ask one group to look at even numbered scenarios and the other to look at odd numbered scenarios. For each scenario they should list on a flipchart as many benefits as the group can think of. Allow 10 minutes. DEBRIEF Ask one group to show their benefits for the first scenario. Then ask the other group for one of their scenarios. NOTE: There is a lot of overlap in suggestions the agents are making and probably in the benefits. Rather than run mechanically through 1 to 10, pick different kinds of scenarios, get one group to make their 5.5
suggestions and then ask the other to relate it to a similar scenario they ve looked at. 14.20 EXERCISE Communicating benefits You re now going to act out the scenarios in pairs with one acting the customer and one the agent. But at the end of each the customer will ask How will that help me? Then the Agent will respond by explaining the benefit they think most appropriate from those we ve already identified, or any other benefits the Agent thinks relevant to the situation. Divide the group into pairs (join in yourself if you have an odd number of participants). Participants should work through the scenarios, alternating playing the customer and the agent. If there is time they can then go back and repeat the scenarios with the other person playing the customer. Prominently display the flipcharts from the earlier benefits session so that participants can easily refer to it to give them confidence. If they sit next to each other facing forwards (not facing towards each other) they should be able to see the flipcharts but still simulate the telephone situation of not having body language as part of their communication process. Allow 20 minutes for the role plays. DEBRIEF SUMMARISE When everyone has finished acting out the scenarios bring them back together and ask how it went. What did they find difficult, what went better than expected, etc. Get them to contribute suggestions to overcome any difficulties they experienced. Make suggestions yourself where appropriate. The benefits we use with customers must be linked to what they feel is important to them. Features on their own are meaningless unless wrapped up with specific benefits. Every feature can have a unique selling point (USP) for each customer and it is only by asking the right questions and actively listening to our customers that we will be able to identify what the relevant benefits are. 5.6
14.50 Identifying benefits in the processes Now let s link the work you ve done on benefits to the flowcharts for The Call Centre processes. Each of those processes offers opportunities to show customers the benefits of your suggestions. Look at those charts now and mark where these opportunities are. EXERCISE DEBRIEF SUMMARISE Suggest that participants draw a smiley face next to the box where they have the chance to suggest benefits to the customer. Allow them 10 minutes. For each process flowchart ask a different member of the group to say where, or if, they have put smiley faces. Ask the rest of the group if they had any additional ones. Once everyone has contributed, ask for volunteers to deal with the remaining charts. We ve clarified the processes and screens for Call Centre services and linked them to the possible benefits that you can show customers. But not all customers will just accept your suggestions; some will have objections. 15.10 Objection Handling ASK Why do objections occur and how can we avoid as many objections as possible in the first place? Get the group to discuss their ideas and experience. What you are looking for is: Customers tend to have objections: Normally, when a customer is presented with something unexpected or may need clarification on something. You can reduce objections by: Being professional and competent in all dealings with customers; always explaining why you are suggesting a course of action; handing off to the right person first time 5.7
Some customers have a very negative attitude or may have some specific objections to either you or the action you are proposing to take. We need to be able to overcome any customer objections if possible. Some people will say no, thank you and really mean it. So long as you have explained why you think this is beneficial then it s time to recognise they simply do not want what we are proposing, and move on to dealing with what the customer does want persisting too long makes customers feel they are not being listened to. Explain that objections are a natural thing. We all have them from time to time the first thing is not to take them personally and feel rejected. They may initially be rejecting an idea/concept but they are not rejecting the person! One way can we use to overcome objections is a structure called the APIAC approach. This stands for on flip) Acknowledge Probe Isolate Answer Concern Acknowledge means recognising the customer s concern. Write example on flip I can understand you might feel that way. Probe means try to find out what the specific problem is. Write example on flip What particularly worries you? Isolate means making sure there aren t other objections. Write up example Is there anything else that concerns you about this? 5.8
Answer means provide more information about the problem identified. Write example(s) Explain feature of service and it s benefit e.g. Telephone Personal Review./ Saves you time (or travel, or cost, or waiting for someone to be available in the branch). Concern means checking that the customer now understands. Write example You re happy with that? EXERCISE ASK Keeping the call If we re going to meet the target of maturing around 80% of Call Centre customer calls in the Service Centre then, as we said earlier, the key is to get the customer to allow us to deal with their query. What objections might they raise when we say Tell me about your query Mrs because I can probably deal with it? 15.30 Role Play Practice Get participants to make suggestions and then use the APIAC structure to help them identify ways of dealing with the objections. Write up the structures on flips. EXPLAIN EXERCISE Now we re going to put all this together in role plays. Again you ll take turns being the Agent and the customer. But this time you re going to work through some of the process charts and act out the communication between you. Customers can decide whether to accept or decline the suggestions made by the Agent. Agents will use a mix of their own words, perhaps to explain benefits and overcome objections and the relevant scripts from their workbooks and shown on the flowcharts. Divide the group into pairs different to previous pairings. Depending on numbers, you can either take part in role plays or float between pairs and offer 5.9
support and coaching on the spot. Have them sit with their chairs back to back. The participants agree who plays whom and which process they will practice. The customer starts the role-play by saying RING RING to simulate an incoming call. Then they work through the process flowchart. They should alternate as customer and Agent and should choose a different process each time. After each role play the customer offers feedback to the Agent about what happened. Then they swap roles and choose another process flowchart for their next practice. After everyone has had one experience of playing the Agent (i.e. after two role plays), stop the exercise for a few minutes to check whether anyone is experiencing problems. Expect, and explain, that at first they may feel awkward, lack confidence and struggle to find the right words. This should become easier as they get more practice. Emphasise the importance of customers providing feedback in as constructive a way as possible. However they shouldn t spend too long discussing what happened say maximum a minute or so, because the majority of the time should be spent actually practising and getting as many practices each as possible into the time available. 16.20 DEBRIEF Ask participants how they felt about the role plays, what went well, what they feel they need to improve. Get them to make their own suggestions about overcoming any problems and contribute your own ideas too. SUMMARISE Summarise session and check to ensure that objectives have been met. VA2 Session Objectives Any final questions? Close session. 5.10