Why is call flow so important for your contact center?

Call flow is a method for guiding call center agents through the customer service problem-solving process. It's particularly important for employees who are in their first year at your call center because it helps them effectively ask the right questions to resolve inquiries as quickly as possible. Read on to find out everything you need to know about call center flow.

What is call flow in a call center?

Call flow is a customer service agent's road map to providing solutions as speedily as possible in a call center. It provides prompts to take the correct action from the beginning of the call until the customer hangs up the phone. It includes information such as questions to ask, actions to take and when to escalate the call to a supervisor.

Call flows aren't just used in phone calls, but can also be useful for live chat, SMS, email and other mediums.

Giving each call center agent a call process flow diagram as a reference point, along with access to a comprehensive call center knowledge base, is an excellent way of increasing employee confidence and operational efficiency.

Call flow example

The majority of call flows look something like this:

  • The greeting sets the tone for the call and allows the agent to take control of the situation
  • Authentication is essential to ensure the person you're speaking to is who they say they are
  • Find out what the call driver is — why is the customer calling?
  • Empathize with the caller to demonstrate that you're listening to them and on their side
  • Troubleshooting is the process where the agent does what they can to resolve the customer query
  • Transition to another resolution path might be necessary
  • Branding is repeating the company's name and finishing with a strong farewell so the customer leaves with a good impression

There's a lot of room for variation between call flow scripts, depending on the needs of your business, but implementing a well-designed call flow process is essential for all contact centers.

Benefits of effective call center call flow

An unsavory experience on a customer service call can have far-reaching consequences, and it's challenging to get a lost client back. Call flows help your team make an excellent first impression. Let's take a look at some additional benefits:

  • First call resolution: FCR is an important metric for customer service because it costs the customer the least time and eliminates the need for them to state their issue repeatedly.
  • Employee retention: Call flows help guide agents to make smart decisions without being overly prescriptive about exactly what to say. When employees are confident about their work, they're more likely to stay in their job.
  • Increased productivity: When customer service agents use call flow, they can resolve issues faster and help more clients.
  • Clear, Achievable Metrics: The call flow serves as a great reference point to see if agents are hitting KPIs.

Improve customer satisfaction today

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