The 'Super Agent' Arrives

"If we the agents had a magic wand to listen and respond to all of them, then it will be a dream world!"

These are the words of a contact center agent who is today so overwhelmed at the unbelievably complex interactions happening around him. Having to deal with a customer who is increasingly tech savvy, switches different channels, and in the process makes a lot of noise, is a reality that an agent has to deal with every day. Realities that are beyond the capabilities and reach of an ordinary agent, in fact, can only be handled by a 'super agent'.

Intentionally or not, today's multi-channel contact center environment has somehow given way to a new breed of customer service agents that the industry proudly calls 'super agents'.
The term itself sounds so interesting and forces you to think why would some people be called 'super agents'. What is so different about them? Have these people inherited some rare skills or acquired it in some way?

This was a linkedin response I received to the question. "super agent can be referred as a "multi-hatted" or "swivel-seat" agent. They are typically higher skilled and higher paid. You would hope that all agents are willing to go above and beyond and pay attention to details"

What we figured out is that it's not a few skills in isolation but a combination of the right attitude and skill sets that makes someone a super agent. Actually the name is not that important. Universal agents, multi skilled agents - these are all terms that are used to describe a set of people who are capable of handling multiple tasks, comfortably switch across channels and most importantly adapt to the rapidly changing environment.

"These agents could be moved around a call center to account for channel volume changes in a given client's program, driven by new product launches and other high traffic, multichannel events", said, Mike Cholak, Vice President, Convergys Analytics in an interaction sometime back.

Although a higher level of technology is being used to enable such changes and to cut down the effort of an agent, that is only half of the job. A lot depends on the attitude.

Narain says, "It is a fallacy that anyone could walk into a BPO job." The industry has moved to a level where there is need for all round competencies that have to be constantly upgraded according to the changing industry needs.

Hire or Train Right?
Every organization is going to need such agents to connect with their customers. But the question is where do we get so many people with 'special skills'. Can all of them be hired out of the available lot or there is need to train and transform our agents into super agents?

Under the current scenario, getting people imbibed with all the right skills is a little too much to ask for. Even if organizations are lucky enough to attract the right talent, that will not be sufficient to fulfil the growing needs.

Screening process will undergo change and this will make it even tougher. "You can always train and upgrade the skills to take it to the next level. But it's also important to assess some capabilities right at the door", says, Koustuv Mitra, XecuteHr Solutions.

Having said that, there is lot more to be done in terms of investments into training and development. Service providers clearly need to invest more in this area. Despite shrinking budgets, customer service is one area that can't be compromised with. Alok Narain, Chief HR Officer, Quatrro BPO, says, "Investments clearly should be doubled or tripled. Multiple initiatives on all sides are needed to really make use of the human capital that we have and to improve the employability of our talent pool available."

Partha Desarkar, CEO, Hinduja Global Solutions also has a similar view. "Training and development has to be more robust. For service providers, investments into skill building will have more prominence going forward", says Partha. And since conversations have moved beyond voice, the industry needs to look beyond language. Investments have to be spread uniformly across multiple channels like voice, web, chat and email. Narain adds, "All the channels have some specific challenges. However smooth transition from one channel to another is needed. There has to be a degree of finiteness."

Training Needs for Multiple Channels
In voice, the focus is more on language. Pre process training might take 1 to 3 weeks. Client specifications, grammar, pronunciation and accent are the key essentials.
In web chat, pre process training takes 1 to 2 weeks. Focus is more on written English capabilities concise writing skills, written grammar, comprehensive writing and tool specific training is provided. The agent is taught to handle multiple chats at the same time, multi-task on subjects varying from sales to customer service.
In email process, the stress is given on formal written English, structure or the template of the email. There has been increasing focus on providing customized emails as demanded by clients and training is provided in order to achieve that. Typically, pre-process training is provided for about 1 to 2 weeks.

The Way Ahead
There is a lot of gap in what is available and what the industry actually needs. Our education system too is not in line with the changing business environment. "Inputs in the formative years are not necessarily conducive to the skill sets demanded by the industry. These go way beyond language proficiency with a tremendous focus on behavioural competencies rather than educational qualification", says, Narain.

He also points out that training on customer orientation, rapport building and empathy is the most difficult part. Voice still remains a significant part of interactions and also one of the biggest challenges. Mitra adds, "Training on voice and accent is challenging as there is a socio cultural element that impacts learnability.

For potential candidates seeking a career in the BPO space, the message is clear. There lies a huge opportunity that is yet to be fully leveraged. One needs to constantly upgrade his skills and most importantly not see it as a 'quick money making'alternative. Narain adds, "An unwavering attitude is what is required to stay and grow here. Over the years only the professionals have stayed on and no surprises that they have done well in career growth terms."
For organizations, a combination of right hiring and training is the only solution going forward. Indian contact centers have to adopt global standards and that needs more focus on quality. Shantanu Ghosh, Senior Vice President, Practices, Solutions and Transitions, Genpact, asserts, "Hiring has to change dramatically."

This has to be coupled with the right investments in learning and development. Narain points out Quatrro's strategy,"The only way for us to have delivery and process excellence is by investing in people making them domain experts." 'Hire for attitude and train for skills' is the mantra.