Your customers and members need you now, more than ever. They need answers and they need to connect with someone that addresses their questions and concerns with confidence and clarity. A June, 2020 survey of over 120 credit union contact center leaders conducted by Strategic Contact found that:
- 93.5% of contact center leaders report an increase in call volumes of 20% or higher and 44% reported an increase of 50% or higher.
- 72.5% reported an increased average handle time
- Average speed of answer has doubled
- Abandonment rates have barely increased indicating that they are willing to wait to get the help they need
The Impact on Your Staff
When we look at the problem through the lens of the customer or member, we overlook the people that are delivering those experiences – your staff. What impact has COVID-19 had on their experience as they have been forced to deal with increased workloads, working remote, changing roles, and keeping up with the ever changing policies and procedures related to COVID-19? The same survey found that:
- 81.7% of contact center leaders were forced to convert other staff (branch, managers) to assist in the contact center.
- 60% report that their top challenge is training existing staff on ever-changing information
And that doesn’t account for the emotional stress of having to deal with anxious customers and members looking for answers as they navigate the financial challenges of COVID-19.
Is Training the Only Answer?
While training is critical, it is never enough. Your staff need access to knowledge that is accurate, up to date, and easy to use so they can confidently deliver the experience your customers and members expect. The challenge for most institutions? Their staff struggle to easily find up-to-date policies and procedures and it’s only compounded during COVID-19. The impact on them? Frustrating experiences that translate into frustrating customer or member experiences.
A $3+ billion dollar credit union recently shared a story with us that summarizes the same problem we’re hearing over and over:
“We recently ran our annual employee survey. The number one challenge our frontline staff reported was struggling to find information within Sharepoint. The information might be there, it might not, and even when they do find it, they aren’t confident it’s updated or accurate. It is impacting not only our staff morale and retention, it is impacting our member experience as we’ve seen an increase in complaints and negative feedback. We need to fix this ASAP.”
This is a problem that we’ve been able to help over 200+ Banks and Credit Unions fix. Below are a list of resources to help improve your knowledge management so you can empower your staff to deliver the experience your customers and members deserve.
Resources to Get You Started