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Evolving Customer Service to the Next Level

by Susan Preiss in Call Center Agents, Customer Service Outsourcing, Elizabeth Sedlacek

The evolution of the self-serve customer service solution isn’t exactly headline news as we enter this new year. We all know that many, if not most, consumers today prefer to avoid interacting with a live customer service representative if a self-serve option is available. But when a complex situation pushes a consumer to their wit’s end and forces them to contact the call center, the agent they need may not be the agent most brands provide. Industry expert Matt Dixon believes it’s time to break the customer service hiring model. And that is headline news.

We believe that the next big leap forward in customer service is not going to come from “how” we handle customer service – it will come from redefining “who” handles customer service. Matthew Dixon, author of Kick Ass Customer Service in the Harvard Business Review, led a global, cross-industry study that found the type of agent service managers hire most often is not the type of agent most likely to make interactions both efficient and painless (We’re especially delighted that Dixon’s new HBR article holds up Blue Ocean as an example of an outsourcer whose profiling and hiring practices are already successfully geared toward the effortless experience). Dixon presents the concept of the Controller agent in his compelling article – a concept that we believe will change how both in-house and outsourced call centers will approach their hiring.

As you’ll see in Dixon’s article, we’ve successfully built a differentiated profiling and hiring process founded on “starting with who, then what.” Our strategy is designed to attract agents who can take charge and pursue the right solution with every resource at their disposal. The story of our agent Anthony Conrod delivering custom server parts overnight to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for a time-sensitive procedure is only one of countless instances where the ability of our agents to use their knowledge and act with confident urgency changed lives for the better. We anticipate that more brands will see the value of hiring Controllers, as Matt Dixon calls them, into their customer service team.

If you’re ready to evolve your customer service solution, let’s talk. We’re leading the pack in hiring for the effortless customer service experience and can put that expertise to work for your brand. Click here to connect with our director of sales.

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