A day can never have enough hours in it. This statement has been proven to be true at least once in the career of every employee.

Call center agents, in particular, need to be excellent time managers. It's simple to become sidetracked and lose track of time when there's so much going on all the time. We have therefore created a post to assist you in making the most of every day and establishing excellent time management practices.

Why Time Management is Important for Call Center Agents?

Even though the length of each customer conversation is no longer your primary concern, managing time is extremely important in a call center environment. The instant a customer calls your phone number, their customer experience begins.

Whether or not you resolve their issue in 5 minutes, customers can become irritated if they have to wait 15 minutes on hold to speak to someone. They still believe they have been on the call for 20 minutes. Your call metrics will display accurate call length data.

As a result, call center time management is crucial and has an impact on a variety of aspects of the customer experience. Traditional measures, such as call length and work time spent after calls, are important. However, you also need to pay attention to other factors like average hold times and the frequency of client transfers when they phone in.

Tips to Improve Time Management for Call Center Agents 

Planning

Planning effectively is the first crucial step to better time management. This requires more than simply listing every task you have to complete; it also requires understanding how much you can get done, what tasks require top priority, and what can wait. The distinction between planning and good planning is this. 

Now that the majority of your work is done in real-time when the client calls, concentrate on the scheduled and ongoing chores that can be planned. It's preferable if you create a to-do list for this reason because having your duties visible will encourage you to give them more attention. 

Planning your day wisely can be done in a variety of ways. Consider using the matrix technique, which divides your priorities into categories such as urgent, important, both, and neither. You can establish your priorities by evaluating your tasks in this manner. Even if something urgent might appear critical, you can often delegate it and save time by doing something else instead.

Next, choose your initial course of action. One strategy is to devote yourself to the most important tasks first thing in the morning when you're at your most productive. For instance, you might be resolving a significant issue for one of your major clients. By doing so, you can guarantee that the most crucial activities are completed and handled effectively.

As an alternative, you may decide to begin your day with quick wins, or tiny activities that you can complete right away off your to-do list, such as standard emails or quick follow-up calls. This isn't a bad notion either because it will inspire you to move on with your day and take on some more difficult activities by giving you a sense of success.

>>> Read more: What Does A Call Agent Do?

Set attainable goals

Your customer care representatives could occasionally estimate their aims incorrectly and establish unattainable expectations. Burnout, a negative self-perception, and low agent satisfaction could result from this.

You must teach your agents how to develop SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound) goals in order to prevent it. This way of defining goals makes sure the agent has a greater understanding of their objectives and aids in their readiness for work.

Work within a timeframe

Establish a general time limit for each call or conversation. If you ever find yourself having a lengthy chat with a customer, do not be afraid to end the conversation politely and quickly get to the point.

You can always say things like, "Without taking up much of your time, let me make a suggestion," "Give me five minutes of your valuable time to address the situation," and so on. Customers won't mind brief chats because you are highlighting the importance of their time. You will save time and avoid offending your consumers by adopting such a professional attitude.

Utilize tracking tools and contact center software 

Utilizing computer tracking software to actively monitor how much time you require for specific tasks is another approach to enhance your time management. The fact that you can do so much more with this tool, though, is its true value. You can use it, for example, to identify the apps and websites that distract you the most so that you can try to avoid them. 

Alternatively, you can determine your peak productivity period and work on the most crucial chores then. The success of your other time management techniques can also be evaluated, including which tools are most beneficial for you and what kind of workflow suits you best.

Besides tracking tools, call center agents will be more effective with the right contact center software. Businesses can try a 15-day free trial with StringeeX Omnichannel Contact Center. 

This contact center software allows agents to manage contacts and tickets while performing call center tasks daily.

Learn to delegate

Establish a general time limit for each call or conversation. If you ever find yourself having a lengthy chat with a customer, do not be afraid to end the conversation politely and quickly get to the point.

You can always say things like, "Without taking up much of your time, let me make a suggestion," "Give me five minutes of your valuable time to address the situation," and so on. Customers won't mind brief chats because you are highlighting the importance of their time. You will save time and avoid offending your consumers by adopting such a professional attitude.

Prevent overworking

Call center agents should prevent overworking.

It could seem as though the agent is being helpful by taking on more duties. However, they might actually be overworking themselves or burning out, which eventually could result in subpar agent performance and low job satisfaction.

It's imperative that you ask agents to refrain from taking on too much.

Agents that frequently accept new tasks and wind up working excessive hours should be on your radar. Set rules for when duties can be delegated to different staff, and make sure such agreements are made with your awareness.

In this manner, you may recognize when an agent is working too hard and reassign duties to stop it.

Take breaks frequently

Agents in call centers typically work in front of computer displays. However, excessive screen usage may be linked to poor physical and mental health. You should encourage them to take regular breaks in order to avoid this.

You may offer the 20/20/20 rule, which calls for regular breaks.

This technique states that every 20 minutes of screen usage, an agent must look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

Promote work-life Balance

The key to effective time management in a call center is empowering agents with the tools they need to perform assignments on time and stress-free.

Agents have enough time for personal commitments when their workday is finished on schedule.

They can utilize this time to get healthier, learn new things, spend time with their families, or engage in other leisurely pursuits. This could improve their work-life balance and help them lead healthier lives, all while raising employee engagement.

Final Thoughts

A call center job is challenging. Getting things done on time may seem hard given your busy schedule and heavy workload. But if you give these time management suggestions a shot, you'll be able to come up with a plan for achieving your objectives without being overworked or anxious.