Call Center Standard Operating Procedures: Complete Guide
Are you planning to scale your call center? Are you hiring call center agents to handle more calls? If you’re part of the call center industry, you must remember certain policies and procedures before onboarding new agents.
There is a need for certain policies and procedures in a call center setting. These policies and procedures provide a foundation for smooth call center operations and help secure the organization and its stakeholders.
These call center policies apply to your existing agents too. Ensure they know and agree to all the policies. These call center standard operating procedures help improve the overall customer experience and your call center’s effectiveness and keep your company as secure as possible.
Top call center standard operating procedures
Call center standard operating procedures are in place in call centers to help employees and management deal with workplace problems head-on. It is put into practice to ensure that everyone can internalize these performance benchmarks. Here are the ten crucial call center rules and regulations for employees that must be followed:
Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
All of your employees shall submit to signing an NDA (Non Disclose Agreement). It helps you ensure that your employees are not sharing information about your business (customers, business procedures, etc.) with someone else once they are no longer affiliated with your business.
Your NDA should include the following:
- Your technical systems (techniques, inventions, script, patents, etc.)
- Your business information (client lists, pricing, marketing strategies, and financial data)
- Your customer information (name, project details, etc.)
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Social Media Engagement Policy
It highlights what the employee can publish on social networks related to their work. They should feel free to post positive content about their job, pictures of team outings, or with their colleagues. You can leverage this content to build your employer brand. Get some TikTok likes if the content is shared on that channel and build social proof for your brand.
However, they cannot post anything representing the company as a whole or as your call center’s spokesperson. They should also not post content harassing customers or defaming them (directly or indirectly).
Background Checks on Employees
96% of employers conduct background checks when hiring. During the hiring process, background checks are a reliable way to verify the job seeker (like degree, percentage, job experience, etc.). These checks also help to ensure that you are not hiring anyone who can affect your company’s reputation (like someone with a criminal record).
Consent for Recording Audio and Video
Most call centers record every call for quality assurance purposes. These are available in the call center software which they use. Some companies even put cameras with microphones in the common areas, not to spy on their employees but to keep everyone safe (in case of legal issues).
If you also record audio or video in your call center, ensure your employees know about it and sign a document consenting to it. If not, your recordings may not be admissible in case of legal issues.
Attendance Policy
It ensures that your employees arrive on time to work every day. If not, your call center efficiency will deteriorate significantly. It could also hurt the customer experience, as agents may not be available to attend to them during business hours.
Dress Code
It differs from call center to call center. Some don’t have a dress code, while others have a strict formal policy. Convey the guidelines your call center follows. It should also include personal hygiene. For example, things like scented lotions or cologne can trigger allergic reactions in others, so you should encourage employees to avoid them.
Drugs & Alcohol
No employee should enter the office premises under the influence of alcohol or any other drug. Talk with your legal advisor (or attorney) to advise you on legal policies related to drugs and alcohol in the workplace.
Also, create policies and call center standard operating procedures for what would happen if an employee is found under alcohol influence inside the office.
Track All Agents With Unique Access ID
Give all your agents a unique access ID that allows them to enter the call center floor (via biometrics). It will enable you to track accurately which days the call center agent visits and when. It also stores their check-in and check-out times, allowing you to calculate their salary precisely.
Also, policies should be created regarding what happens when the access ID is lost. And what happens to the ID when an employee leaves the job?
Electronic Devices
Call centers should not allow employees to use electronic devices (mobile phones and wearable technology) near their work desks.
Imagine an agent is having a bad day and encounters a rude customer. He might feel tempted to share the experience on social media. And, if he shares any personal customer information, things will get ugly quickly.
What to Say to Customers and What to Avoid
Ensure your agents know what to say to customers and what to avoid. When a customer is angry and refuses to wait for the solution, agents might say something they should not.
Thus, create policies that inform agents on things they should not say to any customer, irrespective of the situation. And what happens when they do it? Consider creating a call center script that highlights what an agent should say and should not.
Feedback
Matters like flexible working guidelines and work schedules require agents’ feedback.
On the other hand, discussions regarding client selection, mergers, and termination may not necessarily include agents.
A call center standard operating procedures manual should clarify when to involve agents in decision-making processes.
This will allow agents to convey their thoughts on matters where the new guidelines can affect them. You can then use their feedback to review, edit, or retain the guidelines.
Benefits of Call Center Standard Operating Procedures
The benefits of call center standard operating procedures are not limited to enhancing customer satisfaction and optimizing business processes, though these are the primary ones. Other benefits include:
Quality Maintenance
An ideal SOP will make use of KPIs and metrics to assure quality. It will also set a certain quality standard for the product/service the company offers to its customers.
Referring to the SOPs, employees can modify their schedules and meet the performance standards to maintain this quality. SOPs can have mandates that require the call center executives not to put a customer on hold for more than 5 minutes. The supervisors can, accordingly, adopt measures to reduce the hold time.
Better Crisis Management
The call center employees must know how to manage a crisis before it turns out to be detrimental to the overall operations.
SOPs can help crisis management by providing them with a checklist to follow. Crises like the call center encountering a sudden downtime during a peak hour can be handled by referring to the SOP to continue offering uninterrupted customer service.
There are several detailed guidelines for dealing with other crises resulting from an internet outage or exposure of sensitive data during cyber-attacks.
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Conclusion
Call center floor rules can be used and maintained in the best way to fully maintain the contact center business. Call center employees are bound to follow all company policies, personal and professional etiquette, and call center protocols. By implementing call center rules and regulations for employees, the management can use its resources better.
Every contact center has policies that they cannot do without. The ten call center policies and procedures mentioned above are the most important. Ensure your call center agents know about and consent to all of them. You can also use the call center policies and procedures template and modify it according to your needs.
FAQs
1- What is the procedure In The Call Center?
Standard operating procedures, or call center procedures, outline all the daily operations guidelines. An SOP includes all the procedures that will guide call center agents, managers, and executives in executing specific tasks, such as scheduling, call forecasting, and setting KPIs and standard metrics. You can find various call center SOP templates that can give you an idea of what to include in your call center procedures.
2- What Are Security Policies In The Call Center?
A call center security policy specifies comprehensive rules, policies, and procedures that regulate access to the company’s network. An exemplary policy protects the company, agents, and customers’ data.
3- What is the Zero Tolerance Policy in Call Centers?
Specifically, it is designed to protect employees from violence, abuse, or harassment from fellow employees or customers. Workers who commit one of these actions face immediate dismissal.
References:
https://www.outsourceaccelerator.com/articles/call-center-standard-operating-procedures/
