Agent as Expert: 6 ways to foster connections and empathy for a better customer experience

When customers contact a brand, they expect to find the information they seek without encountering much friction. Nothing is more frustrating than spending a lot of time searching for answers; except perhaps receiving incorrect information or hearing the dreaded, “I don’t know,” or, “I can’t help you.”  

Most people rely on experts (just like your customers rely on your agents) to help them find solutions to complicated problems. When someone interacts with leaders in a particular field who are not only knowledgeable but also generous, fair, and empathetic, they walk away with an experience they’ll always remember fondly.

Whether it’s a conscious behavior or not, contact center agents are expected to be experts on the products and services offered by their companies. And expectations are trending up. In fact, a Salesforce report found that 59% of customers say their standards for customer service are higher today than they were before 2020.

But do your agents view themselves as experts? Do you give them the tools they need to actually be experts? Let’s assume the answer to these questions is a resounding HECK YEAH!

So, if your agents are equipped with everything they need to be experts in their field, each customer interaction provides an opportunity for them to share their knowledge and exceed customer expectations. Sounds great, doesn’t it?

If agents see themselves as specialists rather than customer service providers, it can help them feel a greater sense of pride in their work. And they’re more likely to take initiative to think outside the box and offer customers better options to guide them through their journey.

Reframing agent mindset and training can improve the way they deliver customer experience (CX). And ensuring they have the most up-to-date technology helps naturally make agents experts. This could be exactly what you need to really wow your customers.

So, let’s get moving toward your goal of creating a contact center full of customer experience experts. Here are six tips to get you started:

• Foster a new mindset
• Revise the contact center language
• Reframe agent training
• Create an empathetic environment
• Meet customers where they are
• Give agents the right tools

1. Foster a new mindset

Fostering an expert mindset can go a long way toward providing a stronger sense of purpose and connection to the company mission, which results in more job satisfaction and investment in your customers. This encourages your agents to be more patient with frustrated customers and increase their knowledge and confidence for dealing with complicated problems.

A new mindset can also improve the ability of agents to connect with your customers and offer them additional understanding, support, and enthusiasm in response to their queries. And this is important for today’s customers who have come to expect excellent service. Salesforce research has found that 91% of customers say good service makes them more likely to make another purchase.

Here are six ways you can foster an expert mentality in your agents:

1. Create onboarding and everboarding programs focused on building expertise
2. Allow agents to use your products and services firsthand to help them become self-sufficient quicker
3. Provide proactive tools like smart knowledge management so agents can give customers simple answers to complex questions
4. Embrace the fact that every customer and agent journey is unique
5. Empower agents with a relevant, customizable workspace
6. Reward agents for going above and beyond at every opportunity

2. Revise the contact center language

Shifting the contact center language used by managers and agents when communicating with each other and customers can have a strong impact on the way employees approach their day-to-day attitudes and experiences. When employees approach their work as a way of sharing their expertise, helping solve problems can become an exciting challenge.

Managers should use the same language with agents that they want to be used with customers. For example, there is no such thing as a stupid question, and pointing out a problem is a great opportunity to find a solution. In addition, encourage peer-to-peer support with customer inquiries. Encourage conferencing and transferring interactions to enable real-time collaboration with other agents or subject matter experts (SMEs) based on skills to more quickly resolve an issue.

Gamification (the use of game techniques in a non-game context) programs can be used to encourage positive language and intelligent work. These can foster healthy competition and encourage your agents to learn more and go above and beyond.

A TalentMLS survey found that gamification makes 83% of employees feel more motivated.

And a recent survey conducted by NICE shows that 47% of agents believe that gamification improves their overall happiness and engagement levels. It inspires motivation, competition, and collaboration.^[1]

There are several ways gamification can encourage a shift in contact center language. Perhaps agents can earn points for complimenting fellow employees or helping another agent succeed by sharing knowledge and resources. Another example is holding competitions and rewarding the agents with the most positive sentiment scores.

3. Reframe agent training

Forrester reports that one of the top three drivers of customer service success is agent knowledge. This proves that developing a contact center full of knowledgeable experts should be a top priority.

Onboarding provides the perfect opportunity to demonstrate the customer experience you want your agent to provide. They should experience it first. That means treating them with respect and personalizing the training. Make sure you always provide them with the “why” behind every process. This goes for everboarding as well.

And with real-time guidance, desktop attendants, and knowledge management resources, agents can get to work faster. Keep them engaged and reduce long, drawn-out onboarding processes that can be frustrating and cause an early turnover.

Look for opportunities to allow agents to use their strengths, recognize good work, and encourage development and growth. Ensure agents have a common purpose and trust their supervisors and coworkers so they feel safe at work.

Gamification can be used here as well by offering rewards-driven training and incentives.

4. Create an empathetic environment

Wowing your customers takes heart—it takes empathy. But how can agents focus on soft skills, such as empathy, if they are too busy seeking information? That’s where becoming an expert can really improve CX. Iterable found that 83% of customers are more likely to do business with a brand that they have an emotional connection with.

And a ContactBabel report found that 73% of business leaders indicate empathy is one of the top three most useful and valuable characteristics in a contact center agent.^[2]

Agent soft skill development isn't always an easy task for supervisors and many coaching opportunities are recognized after the fact. But, AI-driven tools like real-time guidance can ensure agents have a helpful eye pinpointing where empathy and acknowledgment can help improve a customer experience as it's happening—on EVERY interaction. Agents can be empathetic experts no matter their experience level and customer loyalty can be established. Everybody wins!

Check out this eBook to learn more about creating the most empathetic contact center.

5. Meet customers where they are

Customers expect your business and agents to value their time. This means agents need to have answers and resources right at their fingertips before a customer reaches out.

According to Salesforce, customers turn to an average of nine channels to browse inventory, seek advice, and make purchases. That means your agents should be proficient in all those channels so they can help guide the customer journey to a successful outcome.

How to Deliver Frictionless Customer Experience | NICE (2022)^[3]

Meeting customers where they are is not just about where they start their journey, it’s about understanding what each customer needs. Customer skills and comprehension levels vary. A well-equipped agent with visibility into the complete customer journey and relevant details can communicate clearly and help customers find their way to the best solution.

Watch this video to learn more about how you can meet your customers where they are.

6. Give agents the right tools

This is likely the most important to tip to help you create a contact center filled with experts that will delight your customers. If agents have the right tools at their fingertips, they are set up for success. And this is crucial because 96% of customers expect companies to make the process easy without the need to repeat information.^[4]

Such tools should include having knowledge management at all touchpoints with real-time and historical metrics and trends. Integrated reporting can help you agents provide intelligent responses on all channels. Having a library of pre-built reports that are easy for agents to access on each relevant topic and issue will help them deliver the answers customers are seeking. And don’t forget how providing IVR (Interactive Voice Response) micro-journeys by topic and intent will help reduce agent and customer effort.

Without relevant AI technology, it’s nearly impossible for agents to meet the expectations of today’s customers. Especially since the customer journey is more complicated than ever. In fact, there is no such thing as a typical customer journey anymore. Linear and predictable journeys are obsolete.

There’s no better time to build your contact center full of experts. It begins with a new mindset to enable you to connect better with your agents while encouraging them to become more invested in your customers. It's possible when agents are empowered with the right resources, data, and tools they need to be the experts customers expect. We think both your agents and your customers will thank you for it.

So, you’re ready to lead your new team of experts who will deliver the best possible CX to every customer, right? But if you want to learn more about how to deliver a frictionless customer journey, take a look at this eBook: “Delivering a frictionless customer experience.”

[1] NICE: Agent Engagement, Internal Survey (2022)
[2] NICE: NICE | Be the Wow Empathy eBook (2022)
[3] NICE: How to Deliver Frictionless Customer Experience | NICE (2022)
[4] NICE CXone: Customer Experience (CX) Transformation Benchmark (2020)