Q&A: How to Deploy a CRM in Your Call Center

5 Tips for a Smooth Integration

Updated: June 30, 2016

CRMQ: I'm buying a new CRM for my call center. It's a huge call center and I want to make sure that deploying CRM software won't disrupt the day-to-day operations of my call center. How can I do this?

A: Thank you very much for your question! When your company relies heavily upon a large call center, any system changes, downtime, interruptions, or learning curves can drastically impact the efficiency of your call center, and the quality of care your customers are receiving. Your instinct to plan ahead for your CRM deployment to ensure that your teams are prepared and equipped is very wise and prudent.

As you purchase your CRM software and plan for its deployment, here are some important tips to help keep the day-to-day operations of your large call center functioning as smoothly as possible during the integration.

1. Build support needs into your CRM shopping.

As you shop around for the best CRM solution for your company and your call center, make sure that you research the support offered by each provider you are considering. CRM solutions that offer a more robust suite of support options, tutorials, and tools are typically easier to implement due to the increased level of support available.

2. Leverage the knowledge of your employees to choose the best CRM software for your company.

While your employees will not have the deciding say in which CRM works best for your call center, they do have valuable knowledge and wisdom that can be helpful to you as you select the best option. Work with your teams to discover the most common pain points, communication gaps, or errors and use that information to select a CRM system that will help solve those issues most effectively.

3. Make sure that your CRM tools are integrated well with your call center.

A seamless integration between your call center and your chosen CRM system is vital to make sure that your call agents can access and successfully use all the screens and tools needed to satisfy customer needs. If the integration is not done properly, then you are prone to experience more issues and disruptions.

4. Plan your CRM deployment in advance.

Planning ahead for your CRM deployment is one of the most important steps you can take to ensure a smooth transition. Make a plan, complete with backup solutions and troubleshooting steps, and then make sure that all your employees understand that plan fully. Preparing thoroughly will take extra time and training, but it will also help save you costly mistakes and disruptions when you’re ready to launch the new CRM in your call center.

5. Support your teams with open, active communication during CRM training and deployment. 

Remember that your managers, agents, and other staff members will have a bit of a learning curve to ascend while they perfect their grasp of the new system and procedures that come with the CRM integration. Support their success with good communication during the deployment and beyond.

We wish you tremendous success in deploying CRM software into your large call center, and offer these additional CRM integration tips that we hope help and benefit you as well.

Want to ask a question of your own? Write to us.

Image courtesy of Freepik from Flaticon, licensed by Creative Commons BY 3.0.
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