New Feature: Warm Transfer

Allow me to paint a picture of the most hated call center scenario of all time: you call a company, discuss your issue at length, find out the agent you are speaking with isn’t capable of helping you, you are transferred to another agent (who has no idea why you are calling) and you have to repeat the info all over again. Sound familiar?

Talkdesk has released a new feature that will put an end to this inefficient and frustrating problem: the warm transfer. A warm transfer is when the agent who is currently speaking with the caller (and wishes to transfer them) speaks with the new agent before the call is transferred. Agent 1 can tell agent 2 about the caller’s issue, give any background information that might be helpful and prepare them for the interaction, before they transfer the call (without the caller hearing). Then, once Agent 1 transfers the caller to agent 2, all three parties (agent 1, agent 2 and caller) can speak together before agent 1 hangs up the phone. This makes it simple to keep agents on the same page and will significantly reduce customer frustration.

Benefits of the Warm Transfer

Warm transfers are a win-win-win feature. They help:

• Your company
  This feature will dramatically increase efficiency, reduce call handling time (as the customer no longer has to repeat information) and improve the professional image of your company. In addition, operational costs will decrease, managers will receive fewer escalated calls from frustrated customers and they will be more available to tackle tougher issues. Finally, customer satisfaction and loyalty will improve. Overall, this free feature will save you and your team a considerable amount of time, money and effort.

• Your agents
  The agents will also benefit from this feature as they will no longer receive blind transfers from angry customers, have to ask the customer to repeat the information over again and make them more upset. They can also easily collaborate and help each other solve tough cases. They will love this new feature as much as the customers do.

• Your customers
  Finally, the customer is the true winner as they are saved from the frustrating and time-consuming task of repeating why they are calling, each time they are transferred. They will be pleasantly surprised when they are transferred and the new agent already knows why they are calling and can turn into a loyal customer from that moment on.

How to:

This new feature is so simple to use and effective that it will dramatically improve the workflow of your call center agents forever. Follow these steps to execute a warm transfer:

1. Click on the “Transfer” button.
2. Select “Warm Transfer” from the “Transfer Type” dropdown menu. You will see a screen like this that will show you each agent on your team and whether or not they can receive calls.
   • Agents that are logged in and available to receive calls have a green dot next to their name.
   • Agents who have “Forward-to-Phone” enabled have a gray dot next to their name. They may or may not be free to answer the call (Talkdesk doesn’t have a way to keep track of whether or not agents are free to take calls on their “Forward-to-Phone” number).
   • Agents that are busy, not logged in or cannot receive calls will not be listed.
3. Decide which agent you would like to transfer the call to and click on the arrow next to their name.
4. You can also type in a phone number to transfer the call to in the box labeled “External Number”. After you enter the phone number, click the “Transfer to Phone” button.
5. Once you click the arrow or enter the phone number of the agent you are transferring the call to, the agent that you selected will hear their phone ring and can accept the transfer.
6. Once you reach the new agent, you can speak with them without the caller hearing.
7. When you are ready to transfer the caller to the new agent, click on the “Add Customer to Call” button and you will now be in a three-way conference call with the new agent, the caller and yourself.
8. Hit the “End Call and Complete Transfer” button after you introduce the new agent to the caller, and the caller will now only be on the line with the new agent.

The new warm transfer feature is incredibly simple to use and effective. It will dramatically increase collaboration on your team, increase efficiency, save time and save money. Best of all, it will significantly reduce customer frustration and increase customer retention. With results like these, you can’t afford to work without it!