Call queue management is the oversight of call queues to make sure customer wait time is minimal, while also ensuring fair workload distribution to the agents working. When done correctly, good call queue management can lead to reduced wait times and overall better customer experience.
What is a Call Queue?
A call queue, also known as a virtual queue, is a virtual line that callers fall into when they call a business, but an agent isn't immediately available (Learn more).
How Effective Call Queue Management Can Benefit Your Business
Call centers in particular can benefit greatly from utilizing call queuing. Many of these businesses receive thousands of calls per day, and the best way to ensure all issues are properly addressed is via a call queue.
Establishing an IVR encourages self-service and call routing tools such as call queues helps callers get connected to the correct agents the first time. The benefits of the call queues include:
Minimize customer wait times: Utilize callback to free callers from waiting on the phone. This is a great cost saving technique.
Ensure fair workload distribution for your team: Utilize Round robin routing - This method is the most flexible of the common call routing rules. You can distribute calls evenly to each team member, route calls based on the best agent to receive the calls, or have certain members receive more calls than others
Prevent agents from missing calls (which could result in losing business): It allows your business to deal efficiently with call traffic peaks without losing important Customer’s calls and projects a professional image of your business at all times.
Reduce pressure and stress for agents: a call queue can handle calls for the receptionist or agent,then feeds them to that employee when he or she is ready.
Empower agents to stay organized, resulting in greater job satisfaction:properly organized queues can help agents stay organized and ultimately help reduce churn.
Reduce caller abandonment rate: If your business is receiving a mass amount of calls at once, queuing technologies will give you the option to play a customized message to your callers. The message will alert callers that you know their call is being received, but that an agent is not yet available to take it. Instead of a busy tone, this encourages the customer to hold on the line until an agent is available.
Marketing channel: While they are waiting for a representative, the caller can also listen to marketing content such as; a new product or service that the business has introduced or a portfolio of other services that may be of interest to them. This allows for cross-selling without spending additional costs to the business.
Using Data to improve customer service: Call queues do one other really important thing - they gather data. Savvy managers and directors will use the data from a call center to decide how to make hiring and scheduling decisions.
With a call queue, nothing changes for the sales or customer service team, but the manager can utilize the data gathered by the queue to gauge engagement by the staff, as well as information about the callers themselves.
This data is extremely useful to coach the staff to their behaviors. Couple this with call recording, and you can experience their interactions which enables more effective Total Quality Management. Long term calling trends can be mapped and analysed, and this can inform actionable plans.
Reach us at support@mteja.io to learn more about how the call queue feature can help your business improve its customer engagement strategies.