How To Manage a Remote Customer Service Team

Build Your Customer Service Team Online

Learn about managing a remote customer service team

Have you ever wondered if you could hire customer service professionals from your computer?”

If someone is looking to hire customer service online, there is a myriad of freelancing websites available to locate good, quality workers. Running a remote customer service team can be quite profitable but also challenging. It is extremely important to do it the right way. Below are some tips and suggestions.

A business venture such as this is without a doubt the way to go in the ever-growing world of internet outsourcing. Your customer service representatives can be located around the world, all working from the convenience of their own home, while you have the luxury of doing the same and earning profit from your business. Remote work is on the rise, and now is the time to take advantage.

Hiring
First you will need to hire customer service employees. Because a remote worker is not “seen” by you while they are working, as they would be in an office setting, you want to look for certain traits in deciding if the potential employee will be successful working in an at-home setting.

• A key trait is that the individual has worked remotely before, full time. These individuals already have the discipline and knowledge of what it takes.
• Another important trait would be that they have experience freelancing and/or running their own online business.

These individuals are much more production because they know being responsible in their online work is what produces the paycheck. The more responsible, the better the paycheck.

At least one of these characteristics should be present when hiring.

Coverage
Honestly, contrary to popular believe, there is no need for 24-hour coverage. Most customers expect a day for a response. And, faster response time is not most important. Good service is. Extraordinary customer service is the goal.

Productivity
The best way to keep your online customer service employees productive is to keep good communication, task management and focus. Use Skype or something similar where your team members can go to communicate with you and each other. This will assist in accountability, praise and keeping everyone in the loop.

Speak to them about site blockers. It is so easy to lose focus when nobody is looking over your shoulder. You can actually put the site blockers in place yourself (if you feel it necessary).

Team “Water Cooler Time”

Customer service can be really hard work, stressful, annoying and exhausting. Allow your team de-stress on the Skype site that you created. Having that option will help them to talk it out with each other, release the stress, and stay productive.

Software

You must research and choose the right help desk software. Be sure that the software performs the following:

• Routing every request for handling and follow-up without slipping through the cracks.
• When necessary, support tickets are forwarded to other team members.
• The same ticket is not responded to more than once.

Choose software that is remote-friendly and runs well. Check out the reviews on each different one. This is essential to the success of your remote customer service team.

Article Written By Kelly Martin View Her Profile Here

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