Clients and Case Studies
Managing quality is a challenge in most contact centres. Even though calls are being monitored and scored, the feedback and support provided to agents is often found wanting. On seeing the change in its supervisors after they attended an i-Fundi development programme, this outsourcer decided to put all its quality assessors on one of i-Fundi’s special development programmes.
Benefits:
- Enhanced quality management
- Skills development of supervisors
- Increased client satisfaction
- Improved agent support
- Reduction of skills gap within the organisation
Case Study: International Campaign
i-Fundi’s training programmes produce quality people. Graduates from a one month training programme recently applied for positions with an international client. Competing against experienced candidates, 77% of our learners were appointed, having met the exacting international selection standards, which are even higher in the telesales environment. This is proof that even entry level candidates can excel if provided with the right training and support.
Call volumes in the control room peak during the festive season as crime rises while people are on holiday. This security company proactively increases its staff complement by training up learners for that period. Agents in this industry handle mainly emergency calls. Because of the related stress, long shifts and unattractive work conditions, staff turnover in control centres is very high. Taking on learners has had a positive impact on staff retention. Since this is their first job, most learners appreciate having the opportunity to work and are therefore more committed to their employer.
Benefits:
- Guaranteed service delivery to clients
- Development of a sustainable staffing strategy
- Retention of staff
With the increase in competition in the telecommunications industry, our client needed to rapidly improve service levels without increasing expenditures. Within two weeks, 100 learners were recruited in collaboration with a staffing agency, all at no cost. This was possible because of the grant funding received by the Services SETA, which also covered three weeks of training and learner allowances for one year. With more people ready to take calls, service levels have improved without increasing staffing costs.
Benefits:
- Improved service levels
- Increased client satisfaction
- Growth of a skilled talent pool using Services SETA grant funding
Case Study: Superior Customer Service
Offering superior customer service became a top priority for cellular providers as number portability was introduced. Management however struggled to bring about change in the behaviour of the agents in the contact centre, largely because of a lack of leadership skills amongst the supervisors. To strengthen their capacity, every team leader attended a one-year development programme. The results have been very positive. All participants have been able to demonstrate improvements in their key performance areas. This was achieved by being more visible on the floor, through a more positive communications style and through a better understanding of contact centre statistics, which allows them to manage the team more proactively.
Benefits:
- Delivery of superior customer service
- Increased client satisfaction
- Development of leadership skills
- Improved agent support
- Reduction of skills gap within the organisation
- Retention of key staff
Agents’ salaries increased by more than 20% during the last year. Given the cost pressures that contact centres face in the current economic climate, tight workforce scheduling is more important than ever. When a contact centre is staffed to a bare minimum, service levels can drop quickly if there are any unexpected spikes in demand. Our client decided to hire learners whose allowances are far below the salaries common in the industry. In doing so, the pool of skilled agents has increased without the salary bill increasing significantly. In this case, learnerships have improved the contact centre’s responsiveness to peaks and troughs.
Benefits:
- Growth of a skilled talent pool without incurring huge outlays
- Increased client satisfaction
It is quite common for contact centre agents to rotate from one bank to another, particularly if these agents have financial service skills. Our banking client realised that it needed a sustainable staffing strategy – as poaching staff from its competitors did not provide a long-term solution. This bank has used learnerships successfully to build its talent pool. New agents were deployed in the bank’s home loan section, which was experiencing massive growth at that time. Other learners were placed in the commercial banking section, from where they could progress to the corporate banking division once they gained the necessary experience. Even though they were new and worked in areas that required an understanding of banking, the learners quickly adapted and became valuable assets.
Benefits:
- Development of a sustainable staffing strategy
- Growth of a skilled talent pool
- Reduction of skills gap within the organisation
- Improved customer service levels and sales performance
- Consistent delivery of service across the various contact centres
- Increased employee satisfaction
Case Study: First Call Resolution
This bank knows what its clients want: a fast response and first call resolution. To demonstrate its commitment to these principles, the bank offered R50 to every client whose request was not resolved the first time round. Supervisors play a critical role in improving first call resolution as they need to be able to trouble shoot and support the agents through coaching. To achieve this, the bank, with funding from SETA grants and government tax incentives, sent its team leaders on i-Fundi’s supervisor development programme.
Benefits:
- First call resolution
- Enhanced trouble shooting skills
- Improved agent support
- Increased client satisfaction
- Improved customer service and customer interaction skills
- A skilled and capable workforce
Case Study: Reduced operational costs
In an effort to reduce operational costs, another bank embarked on a lean process re-engineering project. Various functions that were previously carried out by the branch network were centralised in a shared service centre. To drive the ability of supervisors to increase the efficiency of staff, all supervisors have been attending i-Fundi’s training programme for frontline managers covering topics such as operational management, leadership development and personal effectiveness.
Benefits:
- Reduced operational costs
- Centralisation of services
- Knowledge development of supervisors
- Improved agent support
Case Study: Career Pathing for Employees
Increasing pay has been a common strategy in the war for talent in the contact centres of banks. This bank decided to take a new approach. Top performers are given the opportunity to attend a six-month development programme that leads to a nationally recognised certificate for supervisors. Although the participants are not yet acting as supervisors, they can see a clear career path. Once a new position opens, the agent can be simply promoted and will be ready to perform from the word go.
Benefits:
- Development of a sustainable staffing strategy
- Growth of a skilled talent pool
- Reduction of skills gap within the organisation
- Retention of staff