Human Error – Not Training – is #1 Cause of Contact Center Agent Mistakes, New Balto Survey Reveals
AI-enabled, real-time guidance can support contact center agents in the moment, reinforcing training and providing support when they need it most
Balto, the leader in real-time guidance for contact centers powered by AI, AIreleased results of a survey – “Why Agents Fail: A Contact Center Survey for Understanding Mistakes During Calls” – that explores reasons for contact center agent mistakes and what resources would help them be more effective in their jobs. Human error – not lack of training – is the most common reason, according to more than 1,000 agents polled by Centiment in the largest survey of its kind.
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There are approximately 39,000 contact centers and 3.5 million contact center agents in the U.S. who are often on the front lines of generating revenue and delivering a high-quality customer experience for their companies. The global pandemic caused a dramatic shift, as a majority of these agents were forced out of contact centers, where they were surrounded by supportive peers and managers, to work independently at home. Even though call centers leverage post-call analytics to help agents improve their performance, these tools are not useful while agents are on a call because they don’t provide visibility into what is not working until the call is over.
“Balto’s survey confirms what we’ve all known intuitively for years: In the heat of the moment, sales and service agents often forget the right things to say, and it costs contact centers an immense amount of money. Agents that use real-time guidance perform better because they’re always acting on their training and avoiding preventable mistakes that ruin phone calls,” said Marc Bernstein, Balto’s CEO and founder. “Scaling out excellent performance to the masses is the biggest revenue opportunity contact centers have had for over a decade, and real-time guidance uniquely tackles this issue.”
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The survey revealed:
- 66% of agents reported that the primary reason they make mistakes on a call is human error, including forgetfulness, nerves and boredom. Almost one-quarter of agents said they forgot the right things to say.
- 83% of agents said that company-provided training is their most helpful training tool.
- Agents were 2x more likely to attribute their mistakes to forgetting (24%) than lack of training (12%).
- Agents at larger companies (1,000+) forget the right response 8% more than those at smaller companies.
Overcoming Agent Forgetfulness with Real-Time Guidance
Feedback collected in the survey underscores the importance of providing agents with the guidance they need during a call, rather than afterwards. As call centers continue to invest in training and technology, they must consider which tools will be most effective in solving this problem.
Balto’s Real-Time Guidance platform addresses this problem head on, using artificial intelligence (AI) to guide customer conversations and enable agents to execute on best practices at all times. The platform also helps contact center leaders by delivering instant insights into agent performance, win rates and trends, so they can quickly make changes to deliver better results.
Call centers run by organizations like eHealth, Empire Today and National General Insurance are achieving tangible results with Balto’s Real-Time Guidance solution. Overall, Balto’s clients have been able to increase conversion rates by up to 35%, get agents up to full production 75% faster and improve average handle times by 90 seconds.
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