The Meaning of Contact Center Management
Contact center management is the process of overseeing the processes, tools, and people of the contact center so that it runs effectively. A contact center is the central hub of a company that deals with all its communications. The communication of a contact center can include different channels. For example:
Phone calls
Live chat
Email
Social media and more
Managing customers through all these different channels and making sure they get fast and helpful responses is not easy.
Managing a contact center is no less than managing a busy airport. Customers come from different directions. They need the right number of staff on duty at all times. A clear system is required so that everything runs on time.
What Does a Contact Center Manager Actually Do?
A contact center manager has different responsibilities. Their job is not just about watching over agents.
Staffing and Scheduling
Staffing and scheduling is one of the core jobs of a contact center manager. They need to make sure the right number of agents are available at the right time.
If too few agents are working during a busy period, customers will wait too long. If too many agents are scheduled during a quiet period, the company will waste money. Managers usually use different forecasting tools to predict when call or chat volumes will be high, and they schedule the staff accordingly.
Performance Monitoring
Managers regularly track how well the agents are performing. This is one of their core responsibilities. They look at different data to assess the performance of the agents:
Average Handling Time (AHT): It is the estimation of how long each interaction takes.
First Call Resolution (FCR): It gives an idea of how the agents are solving the customer's problem in one contact.
Customer satisfaction score (CSAT): It tells the managers about how the customers feel after the interaction.
Abandonment rate: It tells the managers the number of customers who hang up before reaching an agent.
These numbers tell the managers how the contact centers and the agents are working. It also gives ideas on which agents need training, and which one needs appreciation for their good job.
Training and Coaching
Contact center management also involves investing in people to develop them. Agents need proper onboarding when they join. Even experienced agents sometimes require regular training for new products and policies. Therefore, ongoing coaching is required to improve the overall quality of the contact center.
For example, a contact center management noticed that agents are struggling to handle angry customers. They arranged a special session on how to deescalate the customers during a hit moment. Even a 15 minutes one-on-one short session can sometimes make a big difference.
Quality Assurance
Quality Assurance QA is the process of reviewing customer interaction.
The purpose of this process is to make sure that the interactions meet company standards. Managers or dedicated QA team listen to call recording, read the transcripts, and record them against the checklist.
The QA team tried to find out the answers of a few questions, for example:
Was the agent polite?
Did they follow the correct process?
Did they resolve the issue?
The QA team then provides feedback to any agent who needs improvement.
Technology Management
Modern contact centers run on different advanced technologies. Artificial intelligence has taken over many manual jobs. Managers are responsible for making insightful decisions on the use of technology. They make sure the tools and systems are in place at the right time. This may include:
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems: They track customer history.
Automatic Call Distributor (ACD): It routes calls to the right agent.
AI chatbots and voicebots: They handle simple customer questions automatically.
Workforce Management (WFM) software: They schedule and forecast agent requirements.
Choosing and maintaining these tools and technologies is a critical part of contact center management.
Types of Contact Center Management Models
Not all contact centers are managed the same way. There are different ways a contact center may run.
In-House Management
A company can manage its own contact center with its own staff and infrastructure. This is called in-house management, where the company has full control over the contact center. But it sometimes incurs higher costs and more internal responsibility.
Outsourced Management
Many companies outsource their contact center operations. There are specialized service providers which can provide human resources and infrastructure to operate the customer communications of another company. They provide staffing, technology, and day-to-day management on behalf of their clients. This is a popular business model that is cheaper and more efficient to run as a contact center.
Hybrid Model
Some companies keep certain functions in-house — for example, they handle complex and sensitive queries themselves. They outsource the high-volume routine interactions. This is a blended model which enjoys the benefits of both in-house and outsourced management models.
The Importance of Contact Center Management
Proper contact center management matters for most businesses. Below are a few key reasons.
A poorly managed contact center can cost a business heavily. Long wait times, unhelpful agents, and unresolved issues drive customers away.
On the other hand, a well-managed contact center becomes the reason for repeat customers.
Consider a bank which has a contact center where calls go unanswered for 10 minutes. Agents consistently struggle to provide support. They are poorly managed. Their scheduling is not right. They do not use the right tools. That bank will lose customers because of poor service.
On the other hand, a second bank that has a well-managed contact center where 90% of calls are answered within 30 seconds — agents are confident, they use the right tools at the right time, they are scheduled properly, and they are well motivated and trained — will gain customers and retain them for a longer time.
Final Thoughts
Contact center management is far more than just supervising a team. It has multiple responsibilities combined with people management, technology, data analysis, customer experience design, and more.
When all these things go well, a contact center will generate value that drives stronger relationships with customers. It will result in loyalty and reputation, customers will retain for longer, and it will cause the business to grow faster.
