With peak approaching for most retailers, it’s important that customer service teams are resourced properly to provide the best customer experience possible. If warehouses catch fire or flood (we’ve seen it happen), a major carrier struggles (who hasn’t seen it happen?), or even if your marketing team nail the promotion and you are dealing with more orders than ever, peaks in tickets can be bigger than you expect.
Managing the unexpected is a huge part of the game, and fortunately there is technology that can help you to achieve this. In particular Workforce Management solutions and AI customer service automation.
We sat down with our friends at Surfboard, who have built an amazing workforce management platform for a chat about how these tools can work together to shape a better peak period.
You can watch the recording here, but here is the advice from our conversation.
Surfboard: Workforce Management for Customer Support Teams
Forecasting:
Build reliable forecasts by learning from historical data and collaborating with multiple departments.
Plan for various scenarios to ensure preparedness for both positive and negative outcomes during peak times.
Scheduling:
Adapt shift patterns and introduce additional capacity through temporary staff to handle peak times.
Optimize schedules to make the most efficient use of available resources.
Use flexible scheduling tools to adjust plans without disrupting existing foundations.
Reporting:
Provide accessible and easy-to-read reports to make informed decisions.
Monitor team performance and channel efficiency to identify and address weak points.
Use performance data to train and prepare the team for peak productivity.
Training and Transparency:
Be transparent with agents about upcoming peaks and provide necessary training to boost their confidence and efficiency.
Use performance data to identify areas for improvement and provide targeted training.
Real-Time Management:
Utilize tools like Slack integration to keep agents informed about schedule updates in real-time.
Ensure agents are aware of changes and can adapt quickly to new schedules.
Customer Service Automation through AI, via DigitalGenius
Analyzing Previous Data:
Utilize historical data to identify common customer queries and their patterns.
Understand the intent behind queries to better prepare for peak times.
Taking Work Off the Team's Plate:
Automate responses to frequent queries, such as order status updates, to reduce the workload on customer service agents.
Integrate deeply with systems like carriers and payment providers for seamless automation.
Preventing Repeat Questions:
Use proactive automation to inform customers about the status of their queries, preventing the "doom spiral" of repeat questions.
Implement daily checks and proactive communication to keep customers informed.
Extending Team Capacity:
Automate routine tasks, such as generating return labels, to save time and increase efficiency.
Use deep integrations to streamline processes and reduce manual work.
Information Gathering:
Detect missing information in customer queries and automatically request it to streamline the resolution process.
Use AI to gather necessary details and reduce back-and-forth communication.
For more information about how DigitalGenius can help you manage your peak better, read our case study with AllSaints.
