Top 10 Tips For How To Reduce The Number Of Escalated Calls?

You are a frontline agent dealing with customer calls, or as a call center owner, you get multiple busy phone calls daily.

However, for some reason, an angry customer may call your call center agent and demonstrate his/her anger or frustration toward your customer assistant or representative, wanting to have a conversation with the supervisor or higher authority level. 

Such situations are commonly known as escalated calls and are some of the common issues faced by the call center or some customer support departments of the company.

Read this blog and know the Top 10 tips on how to reduce the number of escalated calls in your call center or business customer support day to day operations.

What is call escalation or escalated calls?

Call escalation is the process of forwarding a customer’s call to higher-level assistance, such as supervisors and managers when a call center agent cannot handle it due to a complex customer issue or request for various reasons. 

This scenario, which occurs in a call center or business, is known as supervisor escalation or call upgradation, which is an alternative word for escalated calls or call escalation.

Call escalation, sometimes called supervisor escalation, occurs when a customer support team cannot resolve a customer’s concern or issue. In this situation, the initial agent requests a higher level of support or a senior representative to fix the problems.

It usually occurs because the initial agent lacks the sound knowledge to provide an effective solution to the customer.

• Limited knowledge or resources: The initial support agent might not have the dedicated expertise or access to the essential resources to resolve the issue.
• Limited authority: The initial support agent may not have the authority to approve specific decisions or solutions.

Call escalation ensures customers’ serious issues are addressed to the right person for quick resolution. Thus, implementing such a strategy is crucial for enhancing customer satisfaction and prompt fixes to severe problems.

Types of Call Escalation?

There are three main types of call escalations:

Functional Escalation

An agent transfers the call to a higher-level support agent because the agent lacks enough skills or knowledge. The call is routed to a particular department or someone with specialized technical knowledge.

For example, general customer service may possibly escalate a complicated technical problem to the IT department.

Hierarchical Escalation

This involves routing the call to a higher level of decision-making or authorization. Escalation is often necessary to solve complex problems or when they demand managerial intervention.

For example, a customer may be furious about the service, or the resolution needs a policy exception. The call may be routed to a supervisor or manager in such cases.

Automatic Escalation

Call centers sometimes implement technology to automate escalations based on several criteria. To be more specific, these include things like a too-long time limit on a call or signs showing a high escalation rate.

Top 10 tips to reduce the volume of escalated calls

1. Active listening 

Active listening is the process or practice of concentrating and being fully present with the other speaker during their speech to analyze and process what they’re saying and adequately address them. 

Develop an active listening program and encourage agents to listen to the customer’s concerns in an interruption-free and professional manner; this helps to improve the customer’s emotional state with desolate verbal negativity and avoid reputation-damaging call escalation.

2. Proper agent training and empowerment 

Train agents in active listening, empathy, and verbal de-escalation methods to calm upset customers and empower them to resolve issues independently within defined criteria and access authority. This boosts custom support assistant confidence and reduces call escalation due to agent hesitation or lack of authority.

3. Clear & Transparent communication 

Pre-informing or addressing notice about wait times, resolution timelines, and available solutions upfront with clarity helps to prevent call escalation. Being truthful about limitations and keeping customers informed throughout the call, especially if the issue requires further investigation or escalation, explaining the situation transparently, and serving customers with understanding verbal conversation can positively drive a customer’s resolution.

4. Customer-centric support system 

Equipping an omnichannel support system, call deflection, sentiment analysis system, and self-service options like FAQs, customer support resources, knowledge bases, or chatbots in a call center or contact center can empower customers to solve simple issues independently without agent assistance, reducing call volume and potential escalation.

5. Customer feedback analysis

Identifying the dynamic market trends and regularly analyzing customer feedback to understand common pain points can effectively improve call handling with provided skill enhancement agent training.

6. Skilled-based call routing

To match the customer with complex issues, a relevant and skilled agent must connect them to resolve the client’s problems accurately and promptly without unnecessary escalation. Utilizing call center ring strategy such as skilled-based call routing and predictive routing technology helps predict customer needs based on caller data and route them to the most suitable agent for first-call resolution. Skilled-based call routing routes calls to agents with a hierarchy of skills and knowledge levels required to address the complex customer’s issue efficiently, reducing transfer times and customer frustration.

7. Utilize correct resources

You must provide agents with access to the knowledge bases, troubleshooting guides, and additional resources. It allows them to figure out answers quickly, eliminating the requirement to escalate because of insufficient information.

Additionally, you should offer tools and resources, such as customer account information, policy guidelines, etc., for making critical decisions independently.

8. Use emotion AI or sentiment analysis

Sentiment analysis uses advanced AI chatbots and technologies, such as computational linguistics, machine learning, and natural language processing algorithms, to determine customer opinions, emotions, attitudes, and voice tones during interactions from various channel sources and customer materials like user-generated content that provide quick responses and snapshots of conversations with prospects or customers in real-time communication which can assist you in reducing the escalated calls.

9. Improve first-call resolution 

Develop standard procedures for handling frequent customer issues to ensure effective, quick, and consistent resolutions with different ring strategies. This facilitates agents with the knowledge and resources to solve problems independently, which can reduce transfers and frustrations.

10. Develop a call escalation matrix

Escalation matrixes automate the customer issue-handling process, and incoming calls can be handled faster and with prompt call resolution. The call escalation matrix provides a structured framework outside the de-escalation script call center agents receive.

Importance of reducing call escalation

Keeping escalation calls low is crucial for any business or call center operation. Here are some of the importance of reducing call escalation:

i. Improve Reputation:

Escalations are not a good sign from any angle; they frustrate customers. Making customers wait longer or not solving problems on the first try can damage the brand image.

ii. Increased Customer Loyalty: 

Positive customer experience ultimately results in establishing loyalty. When customer issues are resolved quicker, they will most likely stay loyal.

iii. Improved Operational Efficiency: 

The higher the escalation rates, the more time agents lose. Low escalations allow agents to engage in calls, leading to more efficiency.

iv. Better time management: 

Reducing escalations allows supervisors to fully focus on enhancing the overall quality of service. High escalations prevent them from performing specific tasks, including coaching and development. 

v. Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: 

Less escalation refers to fast resolutions and, eventually, happy customers. When the initial agent hears the customer’s concerns and solves them efficiently, then the customers will feel they’re being cared for and prioritized.

FAQs

What are the common reasons for escalated calls?

Some of the common reasons for escalated calls are:

• Limited knowledge and authority
• Lack of resources 
• Unresolved issue
• Rude & miscommunication 
• Unprofessional behavior 
• Complicated demands, queries, and requests of customer

Tips to prevent escalated calls in the future

You can follow these tips to avoid escalated calls in the future:

• Find the root cause for call escalation.
• Try call-deflection techniques or self-service options.
• Try to resolve customer complaints during the initial contact phase.
• Provide the necessary support to customer representatives or agents with the required training, knowledge, and guidance.
• Hire a professional customer support agent.

What are the types of call escalation?

Generally, there are three types of call escalation:

• Functional Escalation
• Hierarchical Escalation
• Automatic Escalation