Handling conflict in the contact centre

Introduction

Effective communication is at the heart of human relationships. Honing these skills can give us the confidence to handle a range of situations, de-escalate conflict and avoid miscommunication, particularly in high-emotion situations.

This workshop will enable you to enhance the effectiveness of your interactions with both customers and colleagues.

Who should attend?

This course will be of benefit to all employees, particularly those who are managing teams and those who are customer-facing. This course can be especially useful for complaint-handing teams.

Benefits to your business

• Effectively addressing and resolving conflict can increase customer retention, loyalty and brand awareness
• Skilled contact centre agents avoid and resolve conflicts in the early stages of a call, before they interfere with the relationship between the business and the customer
• Employees who know how to handle conflict can work more efficiently due to their increased problem-solving skills and skilful handling of situations. They are less likely to escalate disagreements, allowing for increased rates of first call resolution
• Agents who can communicate and resolve conflict in a professional, respectful manner can create strengthened relationships. This gives the benefit of more collaborative working internally – and crucially, improved customer interactions and satisfaction levels
• By training your employees how to handle conflict on their own, the overall tension decreases, facilitating a better working environment and increasing efficiency of call flow
• Conflict resolution skills allow people to move beyond their own emotions and opinions, encouraging a deeper understanding of situations and consideration for other possible solutions

Learning outcomes

By the end of the workshop you will be able to:

• Recognise some of the causes of workplace conflicts
• Understand how differences in communication styles can increase tension in customer situations
• Develop levels of listening and tools for better communication
• Identify different communication styles and preferences
• Develop assertiveness techniques for managing tough conversations
• Identify and de-escalate problems that occur due to miscommunication
• Develop strategies for self-care to diffuse situations – PACR