Hiring can be a very daunting task. Especially if your criteria for the contact center agent is not clearly defined. Not everyone is suited for this job. It takes candidates that are naturally inclined to assist, that takes the time to explain and is solution-oriented. Top  performing service agents carry these traits:

• Friendly
• Customer Service focused
• Considerate
• Efficient
• Results-oriented
• Accurate

Any intelligent person can learn the technical skills of the job but it’s the true aspiration to help customers that is much more difficult to relay. Therefore seek out candidates that already possess this ability to have successful hires.

At the recent Lync release Derek Burney (Corporate VP, Microsoft Lync & Microsoft Office Data) took the center stage showcasing Microsoft Lync 2013 fully running on Microsoft’s cloud-based Office 365. This integration will be implemented across the service within the next 18 months.

Here are the highlights of the items demonstrated at the release event:

• The ease with which a new user can be added to an Office 365 account with whatever Office application license.
  
  
• Using Lync on array of mobile clients. Starting obviously with a Windows phone to Android and iPhones. He expressed that the client retains its “Lync-ness” while still adapting to the design of each mobile operating system. Creating ease of use and comfort.
  
  
• Discussion of Lync Web app for browsers. Allowing any user join a meeting from a PC or Mac browser
  
  
• WebRTC – the Web Real Time Communication and the premise to support this exciting initiative in the near future once standard is ratified
  
  
• Focus on moving Microsoft Lync into the conference room. Using two large touch-screen displays, Burney demonstrated how with single-touch to join a meeting and then designate one screen to video and the other to electronic virtual whiteboard. This allowed for note taking of the meeting eliminating the need to take pictures of the old-fashioned whiteboard.

While the demo wasn’t groundbreaking, the overall delivery signified the fulfillment of the vision Microsoft had for Lync. They have delivered a UC system that can provide voice as well as IM/Presence, video, desktop sharing and overall all elements of modern communications system. It can run on all the major platforms whether desktop or mobile and now is moving into conference rooms. The success and popularity of Microsoft Lync keeps on growing and enhancing.

Contact us if you need help implementing Microsoft Lync and Office 365 with your contact center.

The best customer service comes from engaged employees. They go beyond and above to solve customer issues and consistently provide superior customer service.  Encourage agents to take the time to solve the issue a customer is experiencing to avoid having them call back again. And worse, call back upset that they haven’t been properly helped in the first place. Agents who connect with customers are likely to better access the issue by the rapport they have with the client and therefore better prescribe corrective action.

Engaged Employees add value to products and services. Disengaged employees with one word answers cost companies millions of dollars lost each year. It is imperative that each caller is properly welcomed by the front-line personnel. This is easily accomplished if employees are excited about educating customers. Front-line employees who place themselves as experts and take the time to answer customer queries not just correctly but with facts and helpful hints increase first-call resolution.  As fully informed customers don’t need to call back again. Issue is solved and the customer is happy.

It is important therefore to recognize engaged employees in your contact center. Here are three basic ways of increasing employee engagement:

ComputerTalk’s hosted ice Lync cloud can connect with your cloud for added communication features.

Adding communication capabilities to your contact center and day-to-day business processes can help drive business results and help you exceed customer expectations.  If you are looking for a full end-to-end unified communications solution for your office and contact center, combine Office 365 with ice in the ComputerTalk cloud.

You can also come to us for help in meeting technology goals.

If you are looking to replace your PBX with an IP-PBX, we can provide telephony expertise, so you can become SIP voice-enabled at the speed you choose. Once the transition is complete, you can take advantage of the benefits of SIP telephony in your office and in your contact center.

If your cloud is missing certain contact center or communication pieces, you can connect to ours for all the products listed in the ComputerTalk cloud (i.e. PCI compliant contact center, Lync IP PBX, ice, applications that make your processes more communications conscious.)

We can also work with you to provide your customers a joint offering.

Questions?  Send it to us using the Message Us section.

Unified Communications gained incredible popularity and usage since the inception of the first multi-modal smartphone in 2007. With the wide adoption of mobile smartphones and tablets in the market now, UC market has just exploded. It is clear that UC-enabled mobile communications (MCEBP) is at the top of everyone’s list for tablets and smartphones. The only concern is its security and how it’s handled for consumer usage vs. work usage.

There are several factors and perspectives to consider such as mobile operating systems, multi-modal mobile applications, support and access security privacy controls. Overall, UC mobility has value for any end users, no matter if it’s an individual consumer or an employee within an organization but both will shape where the market is going with new online and mobile technologies. This requires strategic planning for migrating into more “virtual” and hosted services in private and public “clouds”.

A recent survey by a recently formed consortium of enterprise software companies focused on mobility, the Enterprise Device Alliance, confirms some mobile impacts and trends for internal IT organizations. These include the following:

Every day, young people in Canada are experiencing the cruelty of bullying, the loneliness of depression, or the pressure to succeed, compete, or conform. No matter the reason, every young person who reaches out to Kids Help Phone is struggling with their emotional well-being. Kids Help Phone believes all young people have a right to be heard and to decide for themselves their unique course of action. They don’t just want kids to feel heard and understood; they want kids to come away from every chat, call, or online visit with something tangible, from new information to a realistic plan for the future and a sense of hope.

As a charity, Kids Help Phone relies on the generosity of donors to ensure the 6.5 million of young people in Canada have continued access to free, professional counselling, information and resources, when and how they need them.

This year ComputerTalk is proud to be a Sponsor of the Kids Help Phone Walk so Kids Can Talk. We have exceeded our corporate target and will be participating in the Toronto Walk on Sunday May 5.

With your support, kids, teens and young adults in our community can continue receiving the help they need and the hope they deserve, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It’s not too late to participate – register and/or donate at www.walksokidscantalk.ca.