Step into any call centre in the world and you’re likely to see some form of wallboard on display. But while wallboards have become a firm fixture in call centre environments, getting the best from your agents takes more than displaying metrics and targets for everyone to see.
Whether your hosted dialler offers a built-in wallboard or you are using separate software, there are various advantages and disadvantages to consider as you plan, design and implement what your screens will display.
To help, we’ve put together a short summary of the strengths and weaknesses you need to account for, drawn from our hands-on experience working with call centres on every scale.
Advantages of a hosted dialler wallboard
A wallboard that’s visible to the entire call centre can be a powerful way to motivate agents and improve performance. This works in several ways.
First, displaying metrics like the number of sales on a per-agent or per-team basis encourages friendly competition and a drive to do better. This can be supported further by the use of incentives and rewards, or call centre gamification.
Meanwhile, your hosted dialler wallboard can also become a place to spotlight individual agents and provide positive reinforcement. Messages like ‘Agent of the Day’ show your people that they’re valued, appreciated, and their hard work is recognised.
Finally, an effective wallboard can create a culture of mutual support, encouragement and accountability. Simply displaying how long people have been ‘not ready’ for is a huge deterrent to long idle periods between calls.
Of course, it’s not just performance. With the right customisation, your wallboard can also be used to display timely information, such as details of your current campaign or administrative messages. It’s an effective way to communicate with your entire call centre at once, without interrupting the core task of calling.
Disadvantages of a hosted dialler wallboard
Putting up a wallboard can bring your agents together and dramatically affect performance. But without the right planning, a wallboard can also become a big distraction – and damage your campaign results.
One major disadvantage is the increased pressure on agent and team performance. Getting the best from your agents is a balancing act between encouraging them to improve and making them feel as if nothing is ever good enough. In part, this can be avoided by limiting the number of metrics you show and focusing on a team and organisational level, not individual performance.
In addition, an over-cluttered wallboard can become a never-ending distraction from getting the job done and actually making calls. The latest hosted dialler wallboards allow for rich customisation – but you should never add to your wallboard without some careful thought and a real sense of purpose.
An effective wallboard needs to motivate and inform agents at-a-glance, not distract them from the desktop for minutes on end. Features like colour-coding and a bold, simple interface can ensure your agents stay on-task.
Trust your agents to know what they need
With advantages and disadvantages, displaying your hosted dialler wallboard to your agents is a difficult decision and one that’s different for every call centre. In our experience, the best way to begin is by understanding what your agents need to know, what’s relevant to their work, and what they could benefit from during the course of a shift.
The Hostcomm hosted dialler comes complete with an Agent Activity Dashboard – a bold, tile-based screen that makes it easy to share performance information with your agents. Colour-coded and highly customisable, it combines detailed information with simplicity and ease of understanding.
As a result, you can motivate and encourage better performance without distracting people from making more calls.
See the Hostcomm wallboard in action.
Visit at https://www.hostcomm.co.uk/solutions/hosted-predictive-dialler