Agent Capacity - Agent Capacity determines how many active and inactive conversations an agent will manage at one time. (see slide on Dynamic Capacity). | Recommendation: 1 capacity during training, 2 capacity during nesting, 3 capacity for post-nesting. If an agent is high performing and able to manage, capacity could move to 4. Keep in mind the agent’s ability to manage conversations to resolution may also be dependent on the Brand’s external tools, which in turn, may have concurrency limitations. This should be considered when setting Agent Capacity. How many external tools need to be accessed to resolve? |
Time to Idle/Inactive - Time to idle is how long a conversation is waiting a customer’s response before moving to an inactive state. | Once the conversation moves to an inactive state, the agent will receive a new conversation from the queue (depending on load - See Dynamic Capacity slide). Recommendation: 10 minutes. This means an agent with a capacity of 3 will have up to 3 active conversations. If a conversation goes unresponsive, the agent can focus on the other 2 conversations, giving the customer up to 10 minutes to respond. If the customer does not engage, the conversation will move to inactive and the agent will get another conversation. The 10 minute time frame allows an agent to manage their queue effectively. |
Transfers - Transfers are allowed by user profile and are set according to skills. | Define/establish Brand Transfer Policy to determine if agents or supervisors are allowed to transfer to another agent or another skill based on agent availability. (See Transfer Slide) |
Multilingual Customer Support- What languages will the agents support? | Recommendation: Separate skills for bilingual agents to ensure only agents who are bilingual receive those conversations. |
Agent Post Conversation Survey or Agent Summary? | Agent Post Conversation can capture relevant data from the agent’s perspective, such as whether they believe the issue was resolved, or what product(s) the customer was contacting the Brand about. Agent Summary Widget is where agents can leave notes for the next agent and helps in transitioning. Agent Summary should only be used if Conversation Summary via GenAI is not enabled. |
Secure Forms - Secure forms are sent to a customer to capture sensitive information that is used temporarily by the agent in resolving issues. Secure form data is not stored within the conversation history/transcript. | Will secure forms be necessary for the agent to resolve issues? |
Time to First response from Bot Escalation - The time measured from when a bot determines a human is needed, transfers to appropriate skill and the agent responds. This time will also include queue time. | Agents are encouraged to respond timely to the initial query from the customer and set expectations on path to resolution. Woolworth’s has an expectation that 70% of customers will be responded to within 30 seconds. In messaging, agents should be allowed to formulate a “customized offer to assist” which acknowledges the issue and sets expectation the agent will work to answer or resolve their issue/concern if empowered to do so. Recommend 3-5 minutes. |
Escalation Policy / Transfer Rate - Are agents able to resolve all issues and if not, what is the escalation policy? Does it involve transfers to a higher Tier or another skill. | Transfer rates can be impacted by improper routing or the need to escalate to a higher tier or out of channel. Recommendation: Define the escalation path prior to training and ensure there is a target for expectation around resolving conversations and transferred conversations to ensure conversations transferred are not a sign of agent failing to take ownership or survey avoidance. (See Transfer Slide) |
Supervisor Takeover Rate- Are supervisor requests immediately taken over by a supervisor/agent manager? Is there an SLA on responding to a customer’s request for a supervisor? | Supervisors and/or agent managers are able to join conversations and take over a conversation from an agent when the customer requests or when an agent is unable to gain agreement with the customer on resolution or next steps. Recommendation: Set guidelines for Supervisor/Agent Managers when it is acceptable to join and/or take over a conversation. |
Closing Strategy - When is an agent required/allowed to exist a conversation. | See the Closing Strategy slides. Adopting a closing strategy helps ensure the agents are not overloaded in their capacity, encourages ownership to resolution and gives them the opportunity to leave the conversation at the right time. |
Channel Behaviors - Is there an expectation on handling conversations different via web messaging vs native messaging? | Recommendation: All conversations should be handled based on the customer’s inquiry and “intensity of intent.” Native channel conversations cannot be closed by the customer but should be closed, when appropriate by the agent. Web messaging may not allow for an authenticated experience, so web messaging customers may require authentication before proceeding with account related changes or sharing of sensitive information. |
Hours of Operation - The hours messaging agents are available to take conversations. | If the operation is not 24x7, what is the after hours policy on managing volume?
Will the conversations queue with a message when agents will return? If they are queuing overnight, will agents be scheduled “pre-shift” to help with overnight queues? Will you use an after hours bot to hold a conversation that can then re-engage the customer during business hours? |
Escalation Policy / Transfer Rate - Are agents able to resolve all issues and if not, what is the escalation policy? Does it involve transfers to a higher Tier or another skill. | Transfer rates can be impacted by improper routing or the need to escalate to a higher tier. Recommendation: Define the escalation path prior to training and ensure there is a target for expectation around resolving conversations and transferred conversations to ensure conversations transferred are not a sign of agent failing to take ownership or survey avoidance. Recommendation: Back to Queue not supported |
Supervisor Takeover Rate- Are supervisor requests immediately taken over by a supervisor/agent manager? Is there an SLA on responding to a customer’s request for a supervisor? | Supervisors and/or agent managers are able to join conversations and take over a conversation from an agent when the customer requests or when an agent is unable to gain agreement with the customer on resolution or next steps. Recommendation: Set guidelines for Supervisor/Agent Managers when it is acceptable to join and/or take over a conversation. |
Closing Strategy - When is an agent required/allowed to exit a conversation? | See the Closing Strategy slides. Adopting a closing strategy helps ensure the agents are not overloaded in their capacity, encourages ownership to resolution and gives them the opportunity to leave the conversation at the right time. |
Reporting - Where will agents, agent managers, Ops receiving reporting on the program? | Will the Brand use Analytics Builder, Report Center, Analytics Studio and/or Third party reporting? Recommendation: All reporting tools should be made available to Agent managers and above. |