The night of Halloween is upon us! For the past two Halloweens, we’ve been under the spell of the pandemic that took countless lives and upended the lives of the living. A grim mood gripped the world. People stopped going out and looked for alternative ways to carry on their work. Remote working has helped them and their employers to carry on their business. Albeit they have faced a few challenges as they navigated through the uncharted waters of the new working mode, but at least it has helped them and the businesses stay resilient in the face of danger.
Today, as vaccines are becoming widely available, the curse of the pandemic is slowly lifting, and people are getting back to their everyday lives. Yet, the lasting effect of the pandemic is still there, and life will not be the same. Take remote working call centers, for example. They have helped businesses and their customers during those dark days of the pandemic and will continue to be a part of the call center industry for a long time. Therefore, it is time to tackle the challenges a remote call center employee faces and find viable solutions that don’t affect call center agents, their employers, and the brand they represent.
This Halloween, we will add a spooky twist to these challenges and help you find a solution for the same. So, without further ado, let us delve deep into the world of remote working horrors and find a solution ere Halloween dies down.
Day of the Dead Wi-Fi
With more people working from home, internet connectivity and frozen Wi-Fi have become a recurrent issue. While it might not be that big a challenge for other businesses, it can severely affect work-at-home call center employees, who provide 24/7 customer service via voice, chat, and emails. How can you provide support and ensure a superior customer experience over a zombified Wi-Fi?
The Cure: Have a backup internet connection from a different telecom provider on standby so that you can switch between both connections easily without affecting performance and customer experience.
Lack of A Quiet Place
Everyone faces some distractions while working from home – be it the doorbell ringing or your dog barking at your cat. And who can forget that famous remote working moment of Prof. Robert Kelly? However, if you are working for a remote call center in a voice process, these background noises can take a toll on customer experience.
The Cure: You can inform people about your working hours and ask them to inquire about your availability via SMS before coming to your home. As for those online deliveries, you can now set the delivery time as per your convenience so that it does not clash with your working hours. Find a regular working area (preferably a lockable room) to set up your office and ensure minimum distraction.
The (work-life) Bridge Curse
Maintaining a work-life balance during remote working has bothered most people during this pandemic. Work-at-home call center agents are no exception. The lack of a bridge between work and regular home life will lead to depression.
The Cure: Allot specific time for your work and home life. Making a routine and sharing it with your family members will be a good idea. Adhering to that routine will allow you to strike the right work-life balance.
Feeling Alone
When working in a remote environment, it is quite natural to miss the office culture – the events, the peer meetings, the chitchat by the cooler, the small exchanges between calls. Now that your home office has become your workplace, missing those things can lead to FOMO. Also, in case there is a lack of communication between you and your supervisors, it can make things worse – you feel disengaged and left out.
The Cure: Organize a virtual meeting using any teleconferencing software and talk to your colleagues – even if it is for five minutes once a week. You can also use such platform for celebrating birthdays and team success. You can proactively communicate with your manager or supervisor to see whether you have missed any crucial information on your day off. All these will keep you from feeling alone or, worse, left out.
The Machine Issues
Not all work-at-home call center agents are tech experts. So, what happens when their PC or laptop hangs mid-interaction? Such tech-related issues can often affect agent performance and customer experience. Therefore, one must take adequate precautions from the very beginning.
The Cure: Before you start working in a work-at-home call center, ensure that all the computer hardware, software, and accessories are in top condition and up-to-date. Install an antivirus and do regular scans and clean-ups for viruses and adware. You can also learn about the basic tech fixes using self-learning methods such as how-to articles or YouTube tech fix related videos. Also, keep the contact details of the tech support team of your company handy. It will help you get rid of any tech issues that are beyond your control. Finally, if you face any tech issues, do not forget to inform your manager or supervisor right away!
These small but essential steps can help you cope up with the remote working challenges while working in a work-at-home call center and reap the benefits of remote working.
