Have you decided that having a remote customer support team is the way to go for you? Then you will need to take out a little time from your busy schedule to create a detailed plan for your vision of how the team should look and operate along with the type of work the customer support team will need to do and the support channels that have to be covered.
If you don’t know where to start then here are a few tips that will help you along the way.
Step one
Identify the skills that your customer support agent will need to have
Being able to work remotely is a skill in its own that the team will need to have. Most successful remote workers were either freelancers, startups, or have worked on a contract basis previously. Along with the specific skills that you will need the support team to have you will also have to look for individuals who are independent, self-starters, and have the ability to identify the most important task first and are eager to work.
Some of the top qualities required for remote workers are
Great communication skills
Familiarity with the latest technologies
Have a result-driven attitude
Are self-motivated and can stay focused while working independently
Have the relevant background needed for your industry
Step two
Walk a mile in your teams' shoes
You need to take a bit of time off and actually do the work that you want someone else to do. This not only gives you hands-on experience and knowledge of the kind of work that is needed but also makes it a lot easier for you to understand and recognize the potential in someone else to be able to do the job. Just a week or two of this kind of hands-on work will give you a lot of insight into the requirements of the job and also helps you in the next step.
Step three
Create a work description
You want to attract the right employees to your company, for this you need to ensure that the work description truly shines. It needs to ensure that it portrays your in the best light and it showcases your values to attract employees with similar values and beliefs. Make sure that you include all of the specific requirements of the job, the more details, the better. Give a detailed description of your company with particular emphasis on the work environment and culture at the office. You also need to focus on the must-have skills and experience so as to weed out any applicants who don’t fit the profile.
Step four
Cast a wide net before directly hiring
Just posting the job description and hoping for the best will not get you anywhere. This may initially give you a few great applicants, but you also need to actively look for candidates that are looking for such kinds of jobs. You need to spend a bit of time to research the perfect candidate for the position and approach them to see if they will be interested in it.
Step Five
Evaluate your prospects and respond quickly
Even after posting a detailed job description and requirements you will find that there are a few applicants who do not fit your need. What you have to do is go through the list and find the ones that fit it and respond to their application as soon as possible. A candidate who is good at his job is likely to be in demand, and it is best if you scoop them up before someone else does. To ensure you get the cream of the crop, you will have to create an online application process rather than hire the traditional way.
Step Six
Conduct interviews
Now that you have identified your top it is time for you to find your team. You need to pay close attention to the conversation, check out how they respond to a video call, and also judge their communication skills as these are the most important when it comes to working remotely. It is a good sign if the candidate offers different modes of communication such as Skype, hangouts, or phone. It is even better if they suggest potential dates and timezones.
You then need to check how these candidates will fit into your own company and how you will be able to benefit from them working with you.
Last but not the least is setting your team up for success
Once you have selected your team, you would need to make arrangements for a team meeting or a group meeting that will help everyone get acquainted with each other. This goes a long way in setting the right tone for the team.
You then have to provide them with the needed resources to make them a raging success and make communication as well as remote working easier.
The next thing to do is set the goals and requirements of the team it is best to set achievable goals so that they are not overburdened and compensate on the quality of their customer service skills.
Make a clear plan for the future and ensure that you work towards that aim every single day.
Offering excellent support to the customer is the key to customer satisfaction and retention and it had always been so.
Gone are those days when a customer support team with telephonic support setup was what most businesses had in place.
The major benefits of using suitable help desk solution include:Enhanced helpdesk efficiency, less time required for grievance and query resolutionBetter resource sharing and collaboration between teamsEnhanced customer satisfaction- leading to enhanced retentionBetter visitor to buyer conversionStrong brand image development along with positive word of mouthFactors to analyze when you want to select the most apt customer support software There is no shortage of helpdesk software solutions but you should not pick randomly.
Not all the customers will be tech savvy and still they will need to access the support team, online or by other means.Integration and compatibility with software, apps- This is a major parameter to consider when you shop for support desk software for the company.
The helpdesk solution has to be compatible with these existing applications.
You will not like it if installing the software and configuring it to suit operational needs takes a lot of time, leads to making many changes and productive time is wasted.
To scale businesses nowadays is very hard and need to keep more effort on to that.
In past days it is wearing different hats like sales and marketing where understanding taxes and corporate compliance that can involve interacting with users on a daily basis.
Don’t put more focus on the short-term outcome of your work.
It is better you need to look to the long term and you can build sincere value and look to help the users.
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