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Telephony—The Magic Wand

A receptionist is an entry level job, yet they have so much power over their organization’s reputation. Of the ones that do their jobs well, do they radiate warmth, or are they robotically efficient? In my years as a telephony and IT consultant, I’ve had many opportunities to observe switchboard and call centre employees. I’d like to share some stories of the superstars that I’ve met.

By Ellen Koskinen-Dodgson

Ellen Koskinen-Dodgson is President and Managing Partner of TMC IT and Telecom Consulting Inc. She is an IT and Telecommunications Management Consultant, electrical engineer, author, speaker, media resource and Expert Witness.

The Moms

I worked with a small contact centre at a large post secondary institution. The group transferred calls to the main number from 6 am to 10 pm with shorter hours on the weekends. To this day, I have never met a more effective team.

They worked in shifts of three and when someone left, the remaining operators had a system of training the new person to effectively become a clone of the others.

As I spent more time observing them, I was repeatedly amazed. No matter what problem they were presented with, they were able to help. Students would call, “I’m lost, I don’t know how to find my class” and “the Mom” would calm them down, ask questions and help them find their way. In another case, a caller said that they needed to reach “that professor, that math professor, the one with the complicated name.” It took a few extra questions, but the information was found and the call was put through. If the call wasn’t answered, the switchboard operator would take back the call and find another way to help the caller.

Their magic came from their attitude of finding non-standard ways to help and the DIY knowledge base that let them find any information about locations within and around the campus, course and event schedules, and people (faculty, staff and students).

They added real value and projected an image of “We are all here to help you. This is a great place to learn.” In another organization, callers may have been met with “I’m sorry, if you don’t know the name, I can’t help you.”

My advice to senior management was that this switchboard group should be nurtured and supported as they were superstars.

The Robot

She was good at her job—friendly and warm, yet people kept asking employees, “Is she a robot?”

I asked people to explain why they thought that, but “unnatural, not quite real” was all they could say. So I interviewed her, and I called in myself, to get the full caller experience. I came to the conclusion that her naturally sultry tone, combined with her unusual timing—”Goood afternoo-oon. Howww may I direct your caall?” gave callers the image of a machine doing its best to act like a human receptionist.

Upon consideration, she was judged to be an asset in the high tech company, and wasn’t asked to change her style.

Calm Under Pressure

I observed a switchboard team at a large hospital and they did their jobs well. It was not until they shared “the book” with me that I understood how very good they were. They informally logged each unusual call and noted their response: calls such as “my girlfriend just fed me all of her birth control pills, will I turn into a girl?” and “help, the drugs are leaving my body.” Their responses were calm, reassuring, and helpful.

Building a great call-taker team sometimes happens organically, but it usually needs intent, planning and guidance.

If you’d like to comment on this article or explore these ideas further, contact me at .

This article was published in the June 2022 edition of The TMC Advisor
- ISSN 2369-663X Volume:9 Issue:2

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