Customer service agents who surf the net are missing calls according to one high profile contact centre, who blame the distraction of the web on missed KPIs. They contacted TUANZ to ask if we knew of any way to stop people looking at the internet when they should be answering calls.
Agents are likely to surf the net during quiet times, but as they become absorbed in the website, the calls go unanswered. The centre doesn’t want to use a “big stick” to get their agents to stop surfing, but they are desperate for strategies to employ.
“We recognise that for a lot of our agents, especially younger people, the internet is a bit part of their lives but its affecting our targets.”
I suggested a timely email to all staff noting that internet usage is monitored, however the centre had already tried this and it was felt that looking up an individual user's history (or at least threatening to) wasn’t a very “friendly approach” to managing the problem.
So anyone have ideas on how to stop agents surfing on company time? Or is this something that managers and team leaders have to accept their CSRs will do – a kind of unwritten perk of the job?