After Call Work (ACW) is exactly what it sounds like. In call centers, it’s the tasks performed by an agent right after they finish a customer call, also known as call wrap-up. These can be tasks like updating records, noting key details, and preparing for the next call. Accuracy and efficiency in after-call work are of prime importance in customer service operations.
What is After Call Work (ACW)?
After-call work for different clients, call types can look very different from each other. But generally speaking, after-call work tasks can include the following tasks”
- Logging Call Notes: Agents have to summarize their interactions with the customer. This includes the customer’s issue, actions taken, and the resolution provided. Good call notes help ensure consistency in future interactions. Call notes can also provide insight into customer concerns and common pain points. These can be invaluable for all the stakeholders involved.
- Tagging Calls: Based on their notes, agents are supposed to tag calls based on their type. These could be tags like support, sales, or billing. These tags are not universal. Different processes will have different tags that the agent will have to use. Tagging can also help filter successful interactions from unsuccessful ones. This distinction helps find failure points during a call, which can then be improved with more training or information.
- Updating Records: Interactions during calls may also need to be updated to a customer profiles after calling completes. An example of this would be to create tickets and update their status as the customer request progresses through a system.
- Scheduling Follow-Ups: If a customer is unable to speak at a given time, or they need to wait on their resolution, agents need to schedule and update follow-up times for that customer.
In a call center, call wrap-up or after-call work is considered to be a part of an agent’s Average Handle Time (AHT). Lower call wrap-up time contributes to a lower AHT, which improves overall efficiency. However, this should never come at the expense of quality.
How to Wrap Up a Customer Service Call
An efficient and high-quality wrap-up process keeps accuracy and customer experience at the forefront. Even when you are trying to speed up handle time, the customer should never feel that they are being rushed.
- Confirm Resolution: Any call wrap-up process must begin with confirming with the customer that their issue or query has been resolved. A statement like “Is there anything else that I can assist you with today?” is a great way to confirm that the customer’s main query has been resolved. Additionally, it gives the caller space to ask more questions if they have doubts.
- Summarize Next Steps: With the query resolved, summarize what the customer can expect now. An example of this would be an SMS or a confirmation email post-resolution. Giving the caller clarity on these processes assures that their query/request has been or will be resolved.
- Thanking the Caller: A simple “Thank you for choosing us” or “Thank you for your business” is usually enough to reinforce a positive experience. Lastly, you want to close with “Have a great day” or “Please feel free to reach out, if you need anything else”.
Once the call is completed, quickly move on to the after-call tasks. This could be filling out a form, adding caller information, or updating a certain record.
Best Practices for ACW
ACW tasks look different for different processes, but certain best practices can help improve agent performance and accuracy across processes and call types.
- Automation: Automating the after-call process or at least part of it is the best way to reduce after-call work. This also reduces the time spent performing these tasks. Call monitoring tools usually plug into CRMs and other call center software to populate fields like name and phone numbers, so the agent focuses on call notes and outcome tagging. Some AI-powered tools can also take down key points from an interaction and tag the call. This reduces the load on the agent, where they only need to check certain fields before moving to the next call.
- Brief Call Notes: Keep call notes brief. If another department or agent needs to take action based on your call notes, they must know what the problem is and the resolution sought. This makes it easier to follow up with a customer without losing sight of their core issue.
- Time Limits: After-call work time should have reasonable limits in place. Ideally, it should not take more than 45 seconds after a customer interaction to complete after-call work tasks. Bast case, it takes place during the call.
- Monitor Quality: Reducing after-call work time should not come at the cost of sub-par quality. There should be a review process in place that ensures that the records kept are both accurate and comprehensive. This goes for both manual and automated processes.
Why ACW Matters
What makes after-call work important? Is it even useful to spend time recording information after a call is complete? The answer is, yes. Accurate and complete documentation of customer calls ensures that there is a complete history of customer interactions. So if a caller calls back, your agents know the reason for that call. A streamlined ACW process also ensures smooth handoff. Any query that needs escalation or further processing can use these call notes to see what the caller is experiencing, and then fix some of the issues
An ACW process that is incomplete or rushed can create frustration and confusion for both the agents and the customer. This impacts customer satisfaction. Additionally, this translates to more time spent on calls, which adds to the average handle time, that negatively impacts call center performance.
