Customer Service Manager Remote

About our Role:

• The Customer Service Manager typically reports to the Contact Centre Operations Manager. This role is responsible for the Customer Service Centre, ensuring a professional world-class service is delivered to the organizations’ customers and relevant stakeholders. During after-hour schedules, this role takes on full management responsibility for the entire call centre.

Key Responsibilities:

• Driving operational efficiency
• Recruitment and onboarding of customer service agents
• Ensure the team is sufficiently staffed according to inbound volume trends, fixture indexes, events and headcount forecasts
• Consistently review volume by hourly intervals, headcount requirements and player base growth in order to remain sufficiently staffed at all times
• Proactively compile and present a business case for additional headcount where additional headcount is required based on growth in the channel
• Ensure additional staffing is secured where demand increases in order to retain the necessary handling rates and service levels
• Formulate and maintain a best practice IVR strategy for optimal routing and a seamless customer experience
• Ensure that the IVR continuously evolves by implementing initiatives that drives query automation and self-service
• Critically analyse QA, CSAT, FCR and NPS data to fully understand customer’s sentiment on our product, service and processes
• Continuously review interactions from cradle to grave to identify service failures and process gaps, initiatives, coaching and new processes should be implemented to address deficiencies and process gaps.
• All processes implemented needs to be continuously reviewed and monitored and where necessary amended to drive optimum efficiency on the channel
• Formulate a QA Framework and service charter specific to the channel
• Constantly review the effectiveness of your Coaches and implement new strategies, standard operating procedures and checklists to further streamline shift operations specific to the channel
• Active management and achievement of handling rate and service level targets
• Consistently work on reducing key call metrics to deliver fast and efficient service
• Staff management, engagement & development
• Actively monitoring the performance of the team and decisively manage performance in line with the PEP process where performance standards are not met
• Ensure the coaches are continuously developed and performing at a high standard
• Manage all disciplinary processes in line with the code of conduct when and where required
• Ensure that all staff have a Personal Development Plan in place and that these are actively attended to, managed and reviewed
• Ensure you have active staff development processes and campaigns in place that supports all staff’s personal development plans and proactively managing succession planning within the Contact Centre
• Initiation and management of staff reward and recognition campaigns, both formal long-term campaigns as well as short-term ad hoc campaigns where needed
• Ensure regular staff engagement sessions are held that also includes 1 on 1 meetings with staff members
• Based on your regular staff engagement understand what’s making the Contact Centre less desirable and ensure measures are put in place to address such detractors. At the same time understand what can be regarded as promoters and ensure more consistent campaigns cements this to make the Contact Centre the best environment to work in and that drives overall motivation and happiness amongst staff
• Real-Time monitoring of the channel volumes and ensuring that agents are producing optimal per hour handled interactions
• Active listening to live calls to monitor service standards and process compliance
• Initiate mystery shopper calls to test service standards, query resolution and process compliance. Coaching and feedback sessions should be held where any deficiencies are noted
• Active intervention and management on calls exceeding a 15 minutes duration and swiftly resolve these longer calls
• Compile shift reports on the Channel’s performance and SLA adherence
• Compile relevant and informative monthly reporting and trend analysis on the channel
• Critically analyse the performance of the Channel and ensure relevant performance conversations are held with relevant staff where applicable
• Ensure customer experience trends (eg. CSAT, NPS etc.) are consistently analysed, root causes identified and plans are put in place to mitigate poor CX trends
• Identify opportunities for reporting automation, alert automation etc.

Skills and expertise required:

• Relevant Degree/Diploma
• Minimum of 5 years’ customer service experience within a large volume call centre
• Sound understanding of Contact Centre Metrics and influencers.
• Proven track record of making measurable impact in the Contact Centre
• Experience of compiling high-level reports on Contact Centre activities and metrics.
• High level of strategic thinking and exposure to setting goals and strategies.
• Ability to maintain high-level professional communication skills
• Process oriented, deadline and results driven
• Excellent business acumen and ability to make commercial decisions
• Strong attention to detail
• Ability to manage time effectively and to individually prioritize multiple tasks of competing priority
• Strong leadership and ability to influence others positively
• Take full ownership and accountability of your respective area
• Customer Centric (both external and internal customers)
• Collaboration with all staff and teams within the business to resolve any challenges
• Technological savviness and innovation
• Always take initiative and provide direction in any situation
• Adaptability and resilience
• Proactiveness and curiosity
• Strong conflict management ability
• Interpersonal skills, social and emotional intelligence
• Strong decision-making capabilities
• Self-Management
• Must be willing to work shifts. The Call Centre is a 24-hour operation and agents work on a rotational shift basis
• Essential – must have own (reliable) transport
• Must be flexible on overtime (should it be required)