How Listening Behaviours Affect Customer Satisfaction Related Articles Top Tips to Improve Listening Skills on the Telephone How to Train Active Listening in the Call Centre - With Four Exercises Customer Service Skills: How to Improve Empathy, Active Listening and Knowledge 10 Customer Service Behaviours Every Contact Centre Agent Should Have © BillionPhotos.com - Adobe Stock - 216719041 226 Filed under - Guest Blogs, Talkdesk Shauna Geraghty at Talkdesk looks at how call centre listening behaviours affect customer satisfaction. In the call centre industry, the agent is the voice of the company. However, it is not what they say but what they don’t say to the customer that might have the greatest impact on their level of satisfaction. Effective listening behaviours in call centres: Allow a caller to feel acknowledged, accepted and understood Encourage the caller to be more open and forthcoming with information Promote cooperation between the agent and caller Help to build stronger relationships Lead to learning about the customers opinions, desires and needs Reduce confusion and misunderstandings All of these will increase service quality and are important in maintaining effective, personal relationships with customers. They can drastically change how your agents interact with your customers and how your customers view your company. Understanding how listening behaviour affects a customer’s level of satisfaction with the service they received during their call centre interaction is critical. A recent study conducted by researchers from Pennsylvania State University examined the impact of three types of agent listening behaviours on call centre satisfaction: 1. Attentiveness Has a concern for accuracy and quality of the call Concentrates on the customer’s words, intents, feelings and needs during the call Is detail-focused Is dependable and responsible 2. Responsiveness Answers the customer accurately Readily reacts to suggestions Asks clarifying questions when appropriate 3. Perceptiveness Understands the customer’s needs Accurately summarizes the needs of the caller Checks with the customer to ensure that they accurately understood them They found that the relationship between call centre satisfaction and the three dimensions of listening behaviours was positively and statistically significant. This suggests that agents who engage in all three listening behaviours will increase customer satisfaction. Call centre managers should ensure that their team is properly trained, monitored and motivated to engage in effective listening behaviours. This will result in a more effective workforce that will in turn increase customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and brand awareness. This blog post has been re-published by kind permission of Talkdesk – View the Original Article For more information about Talkdesk - visit the Talkdesk Website About Talkdesk Talkdesk is a global customer experience leader for customer-obsessed companies. Our contact center solution provides a better way for businesses and customers to engage with one another. Find out more about Talkdesk Call Centre Helper is not responsible for the content of these guest blog posts. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of Call Centre Helper. Author: Talkdesk Published On: 30th Nov 2021 Read more about - Guest Blogs, Talkdesk Recommended Articles Top Tips to Improve Listening Skills on the Telephone How to Train Active Listening in the Call Centre - With Four Exercises Customer Service Skills: How to Improve Empathy, Active Listening and Knowledge 10 Customer Service Behaviours Every Contact Centre Agent Should Have Related Reports Guide: Creating a Culture of Compassion in Retail Contact Centers Report: UK Contact Center Verticals - Finance eBook: Generative AI and the Contact Center of the Future Report: Global Contact Center KPI Benchmarking Contact Centre Reports, Surveys and White Papers Get the latest call centre and BPO reports, specialist whitepapers and interesting case-studies. Choose the content that you want to receive. Contact Centre Reports, Surveys and White Papers Invites to Webinars & Events Weekly Newsletter