Agent User Types
My Role: Researcher and Service Designer
Project Brief
Our team was tasked with redesigning an outdated and inefficient software for call center agents.
We began this process by working with candidates to create understanding and empathy around user needs. From our research we were able to identify and address new and existing opportunities to ideate from. Furthermore, the variety of agents using the software and their behaviors were an unexpected, but interesting, insight. Due to an NDA I cannot show the final designs of our interface, but I can show how I began documenting the behavioral findings between each user.
Behavioral User Types
The research we did was based on their ability to compete tasks on our prototype, but each agent we interviewed treated their process and job title very differently. We didn't ask them personal questions based on demographics or their hobbies so I could not build personas based on these agents. However, through the synthesis of our research I found patterns that made me believe internal job titles effected their external view of customers. If we wanted to design one software for several kinds of agents we needed to understand how their internal procedures effected their calls.
Behavior: Reach Customer
This agent is outbound, which means when they talk to customers they are not listening for what the customer needs completed. Customers in some cases will have things they want the agent to help them with, but their main concern will be why they are receiving a call. In this case agents are more concerned with solving the problem presented, rather than, meeting the customer emotionally.
Agents incentives are driven by accuracy. This means agents main goal is to get ahold of the customer when there is fraud detected on their account. The only way for agents to be accurate with this is for them to get confirmation from the customer.
Behavior: Sympathize Customer
This agent is inbound, which means every call will be different with no prior knowledge to why the customer is calling besides that someone has passed away. There is no way for these agents to predict how emotional the situation will be. Therefore, they have been hired for their ability to sympathize with customers, and their “calming” and understanding voices.
Agents incentives are not driven by good promoters scores, which is very different from other agents. They expressed that it was hard for them to get a good promoter score, because of the situations they have to deal with. Therefore, the company has had to provide other ways to motivate. agents like, monthly incentive programs.
Behavior: Help Customer
Collection agents have the unfortunate job of requesting money from customers. They expressed to us the biggest frustration about the job is not being able to send customers a new card after fraud is detected. This puts customers and agents in a sticky situation where customers might not want to close cards because of this, despite the fraudulent use of it.
Although they are dealing with a sensitive subject they are still driven by a good promoter score. They are well trained agents who work with the customer until they find a solution and have immense patience doing so. The agents are able to work with customers in creating a payment plan that works for them on the spot.
Behavior: Know Customer
These agents help the people who represent “high spenders” category. This internal perspective of customers directly effects the way a High Value agent acts and thinks when speaking with a customer. We learned from our research that they are extremely bubbly and confident. They follow the procedures given by the company with a spin of their own “personal” touch.
Their incentives are driven by the personal relationship they build with customers while on the phone. One agent told us that she even gives customers her personal EID number for them to call back and speak with her. This creates a feeling that agents are building their own personal clientele, which in turn, makes customers value the agent more.
Not everyone can be apart of the research. Therefore, the purpose for these pamphlets are to be used as physical artifacts for everyone involved in the project to quickly see how these agents perform differently and why. My goal was to create something that could be understood by anyone new joining the project and as a quick reference for what agents would be looking for in the redesign.
User Type Pamphlets
Agent Tools Ecosystem
My Role: Visual Designer
