Telephone Excellence by Mike Mitchell

The Challenges of Small Call Centers
By Mike Mitchell

If you manage a hospital or medical office call center, chances are it's not very large. Although we had 32 agents/operators in my previous hospital, only three to five agents were on duty at one time. On weekends and during the third shift, there were as few as two agents on duty at the same time. This scenario presented challenges.

For instance, finding a good time for training (on codes, alarms, and customer service) was difficult, scheduling time off presented problems, and staff absences negatively affected call answering capabilities. In addition to the scheduling and call answering issues, there were the universal problems of staff morale and boredom. How can we effectively handle these situations in a small call center? Here are a few suggestions that may help.

Training:
Agent training has always presented a problem in a 24/7 operation. We needed a well-trained staff in a mission-critical environment. Unless I wanted to be available 24/7, I had to find another way to accomplish our training goals. I enlisted the help of our department supervisor and the lead operator. Both were well versed in call answering and emergency codes and procedures.

By varying our schedules, we could complete the life safety training for all employees. I still conducted the customer service training at more convenient times. All training sessions included a competency test.

Time Off:
We tried to have at least four PRNs (similar to on-call staff) available to work scheduled shifts to accommodate time off for the staff. This strategy works very well for staff vacations. Most of the time, since we used a number of PRNs, daily time off and absences usually weren't a problem either.

The key to using PRNs effectively is to make sure they feel included in the group. Make sure they know the schedule, have the training, and can do the job. I found PRNs to be very conscientious employees with a sense of loyalty and dedication to the hospital and department.

Morale:
I found that when an agent was logged on to the ACD group for eight hours, but had a total talk time of less than four hours, boredom set in. One way to keep energy flowing is to have extra activities available for the low traffic periods. In order to maintain the level of service of your call center, find activities that can be done while the agent is still logged on and ready to receive calls. Everyone wants to feel like they make a difference.

The opposite situation — when agents receive call after call, and it seems the telephone will never stop ringing — can also create morale problems. Finding new ways to keep morale up in this stressful environment is important. Obviously, the staff was hired to answer calls but as managers, we must make sure that they feel appreciated and valued.

Recommended activities to keep the agents alert, productive, and part of the team:
* Updating the physician directory
* Updating the employee directory
* Reviewing and comparing the LEC invoice to the previous month
* Stuffing envelopes for mailings of other departments
* Collecting date/time/description of activities and events throughout the hospital
* Cross-training for other duties (i.e. information desk)
* Updating department manuals

Ideas to acknowledge the agent's contribution:
* Write a personal note of appreciation (not an email)
* Offer to buy lunch (and bring it to them) or better yet, take them to lunch
* Give a gift card to agents who have contributed beyond their assigned duties
* Let the agent leave work early with pay (on a slow traffic day, of course)

Find the Key:
Although we haven't addressed the technical challenges of small call centers, just managing training, scheduling, and morale of a small call center can be a challenge. Finding the key to uplifting and encouraging the staff can go a long way toward creating a productive and cohesive team in a small call center.

-Mike