Effectively managing a (customer support) team starts with understanding your workload and consistently tracking how it evolves.
Here’s how to stay in control:
1. Track and Categorize Every Interaction
Ensure that agents consistently categorize each ticket or interaction (if you don't yet use AI) and hold them accountable for accurate classification. Why does this matter? Proper categorization helps you spot patterns and identify high-volume topics that could benefit from self-service options or automation. Not every issue requires a human response! Keep your categories simple and straightforward; overly complex categories can lead to errors and inefficiencies. #KeepitSimple
2. Monitor Contact Volumes and Handling Time
Regularly track incoming contact volumes on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis, as well as the Average Handling Time (AHT) for each type of request. Keeping a pulse on this data allows you to forecast demand, allocate resources effectively, and plan for future growth but also explain Performance. Monitoring these metrics is also essential for budgeting and negotiating costs for the upcoming year.
3. Map Out All Tasks and Activities
Your team likely handles more than just customer tickets, do they also update knowledge base articles, coordinate with other teams on Slack, or create Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)? Have visibility into these additional tasks and the time spent on each. A simple time-tracking sheet or tools like Toggl or Clockify can help. This not only provides a clearer view of future workloads but also aids in prioritizing tasks so your team can focus on high-impact activities.
To help you get started, you can find a basic template here for tracking monthly workloads. This template is a practical tool for anyone in support management (and not only), providing an easy way to monitor and analyze workloads. With this, you’ll be able to identify trends over time, make informed resource decisions, and optimize your operations.
Final Thoughts
Mapping workloads is a continuous process that gives you critical insights into your team’s capacity and performance. By categorizing interactions, tracking workload metrics, and accounting for non-ticket (Offline) tasks, you’ll be empowered to make decisions that improve efficiency, save costs, and ensure your team is working at its best.
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