Call Centre Standard Operating Procedures - 2022
Purpose of the Call Centre
Why do we have a Call Centre; what is the role of the Call Centre in our customer relationships?
The purpose of the Call Centre is to impart information to our internal and external customers, regarding anything related to CPUT, in a professional and friendly manner, thus alleviating queries directed to faculties and departments.
Description of Call Centre operations
The Call Centre operates from 07:30 – 16:30 from Monday to Thursday; and from 08:00 – 16:00 on Fridays.
The Call Centre does not operate on weekends, public holidays and when the Institution is closed.
When there is a high volume of emails, overtime is considered, and agents are compensated with time off.
The Call Centre services its customers via telephone and e-mail.
The Call Centre uses the ITS system and the CPUT website, as well as information received by the faculties and departments to service our customers.
Organisational structure of the Call Centre
The Call Centre is comprised of a Call Centre Supervisor and Call Centre Agents, made up of permanent staff members and student interns. The Call Centre Supervisor reports directly to the Director of the Marketing and Communication Department.
Job descriptions within the Call Centre
The Call Centre Supervisor is responsible for the following:
• Identifying patterns in call volumes throughout the year and adjusting the staff compliment appropriately.
• Recruitment of contract employees.
• Ensuring the operational functionality of the Call Centre.
• Attending regular meetings with service providers.
• Attending quarterly Students Administration Committee meetings with the Director: Marketing and Communication
• One-on-one meetings with the Call Centre Agents to review their recent performance.
• Submitting reports to the Director of the Marketing and Communication Department.
• Attending to escalations.
Call Centre Agents are required to:
• Provide information to our internal and external customers.
• Direct any queries that the Call Centre is unable to assist with to the relevant faculty or department and ensure that the correct staff member is receiving the query.
• Ensure that the information they impart is current and correct.
• Advise the Supervisor of any problems they experience that affect their capability to perform their role as a Call Centre Agent.
• Provide a high level of customer service. 2
Staff requirements
What are the staffing levels needed to maintain minimum service levels at the various times of the year?
The Call Centre optimally requires a minimum of 8 permanent staff members, 4 interns on a fixed, non-renewable year-contract for the purpose of providing experiential training to CPUT final year/ Postgraduate students
Currently, the Call Centre operates with 5 permanent staff members and 4 student interns
In peak periods, a staff compliment of at least 12 Call Centre Agents would be required.
Call Centre equipment and facilities
What are the management systems details, features, Call Centre operator equipment; who provides these services; who owns these services within the CPUT; what SLA’s are in place; how long are these still valid for as of August 2019? Also, physical building, space and furniture requirements.
The Call Centre staff currently have the following programmes installed on their computers:
Openscape Manager – the Supervisor uses this programme for monitoring performance and running reports
Openscape Client – this programme is used by Agents to answer calls
Openscape SoftClient – Agents answer calls using this programme when working remotely
DS-Win – this tool is used to search staff contact numbers
Jaws – this application translates written information and computer features into words for a visually-impaired Agent
MSOffice 365 – a package used for working on the info@cput.ac.za folder
Virtual Private Network (VPN) – this virtual network is used when a user is outside of the CPUT network
The equipment used by the staff:
Lenovo Laptops – permanent staff in the Call Centre use laptops
Desktops – student interns all use desktops computers (Lenovo hard drives and Samsung monitors)
Siemens hand phones – these desk phones are used to receive incoming, and make outgoing calls
Huawei Internet modems – these are used when Agents are working remotely; CPUT loads the data for these
Plantronics cordless headphones – these allow greater movement in the Call Centre since they are cordless
Plantronics USB headphones – when answering from the SoftClient installed on laptops, agents use the USB headphones only to listen and speak
Statistics available
What statistics can be drawn from the management system?
The Openscape Manager system can draw real-time and historical reports dating back a maximum of 3 months.
Real-time reports are reports that are viewed online to monitor the current status of users and the queues that provide information on abandoned calls.
Historical reports provide statistical summaries on the performance of specific resources over a specified time period. Historical reports are commonly used to evaluate or assess contact centre performance, configuration efficiency, and the productivity of individual queues and users. Statistics are available at user and department levels.
While common ranges for historical reports are daily, weekly, and monthly, custom ranges can also be specified. Within the range of a report, the statistics for display can further be broken down by specified intervals.
In the CPUT Call Centre, daily historical reports are drawn for the following:
Individual agent reports
First log on and last log off
Total time away
The total number of calls offered an agent
The total number of calls answered and abandoned
The fortnightly summary historical queue reports are then drawn for the following information:
Overall Call Centre received call for each date
Overall Call Centre abandoned calls and rate
Overall answered calls
The service level per day
Statistics of handled emails is inserted manually
The ASC Powerplay system records all calls handled by agents for assessment of calls – the score is added onto the daily historical report.
These calls are used for Quality Assurance purposes; and call assessments are done weekly. Recorded calls are also useful in escalations and disputes.
Once a month, the Supervisor receives a detailed report from the networking department, on the calls made from the Call Centre.
Sourcing of information for client requests
Where do, the operators get information to service client requests; what level of information are they equipped with; who is responsible for sourcing this information; where is the information stored; how often is new information added; how is this information disseminated to operators?
The Call Centre Agents are able to access the Integrated Tertiary Software (ITS), which runs most of the University administration systems. This enables them to view the following:
Student accounts
Residence status
Biographical information
Application status
Resetting SOS pins
The SOS portal is used by Call Centre Agents to access student information and make changes on the student or applicant information, where verbal consent has been given by the student/ applicant.
It is the duty of the departments and faculties to inform the Call Centre of any changes and updates regarding their specific sections.
The CPUT website is used for assisting with applications for students who already have student numbers; and for information regarding courses and staff members responsible for each course.
The feedback letters are also downloaded from the CPUT website (acceptance and unsuccessful students).
SECTION 2. OPERATING PROCEDURES
Call intake process
When a client calls, what procedures are followed to resolve the call; what language is used; tone; etc.; and what questions need to be asked?
A typical call should follow this standard format:
1. The call gets routed to an Agent.
2. The call will be answered within 3 rings.
3. The Agent will greet, identify himself/herself and ask the caller how they may assist them.
4. The caller will advise the agent of their query.
5. The Call Centre Agent will repeat the query to show understanding of the query.
6. The Call Centre Agent will advise the caller of the action that the agent will take or provide the requested information.
7. The Agent will take said action and aim for the First Call Resolution (FCR).
8. If the call needs to be transferred to another department, the Agent will provide the direct number before transferring.
9. The Agent will request if any further assistance may be offered; and repeat steps 4–7 if the caller has another query.
10. End call.
English is used as the standard language of communication, unless the Call Centre Agent is able to assist the caller in their (the caller’s) preferred language.
Call Centre Agents are required to be friendly and professional.
Staff procedures and house rules
How are Call Centre staff expected to conduct themselves during work hours?
• Call Centre Agents are required to ensure that their workstation is fully functional and are required to inform the Supervisor immediately of any problems that inhibit them from fulfilling their duties optimally.
• Call Centre Agents are required to be available to receive calls from the start of their designated shift.
• Call Centre Agents are required to be logged on to the Openscape system from the beginning of their shift until the end of their shift, for record keeping purposes.
• The house rules are followed by all Call Centre staff to ensure satisfactory behaviour during their shift.
Staff training
What staff training is conducted prior to Call Centre Agents being allowed to answer calls; continuous staff training?
New recruits receive the following training before they are allowed to answer calls:
• Basic telephone etiquette training
• Business writing skills training
• ITS training
• OpenScape Client training
• As part of continuous staff training, emotional intelligence and time management courses are offered to staff
Reporting
What are the reporting times, reporting requirements, what is reported, Call Centre operator feedback process, escalation process?
The Call Centre Supervisor sends daily historical reports to staff with their individual previous day’s performance; one-on-one intervention meetings provide feedback to agents and help identify areas of improvement and training.
Fortnightly, the overall Call Centre performance of the previous 2 weeks is sent to the Director: Marketing and Communication; these reports help identify trends, and thus solutions to challenges can be sought.
When callers or email senders complain about service received, or are dissatisfied with CPUT processes, the Call Centre Supervisor is the first contact to handle the complaint; if no solution can be agreed upon, the Supervisor escalates the matter to the relevant departmental representative by writing an email and copying the complaining party in order for the departmental representative to respond directly to the dissatisfied person.
Business continuity
What happens if the Call Centre is not physically accessible?
If the Call Centre staff is not able to be on campus, for reasons known by Management, programmes are available that allow them to operate remotely.