How To Set Up An After Hours Call Center For Your IT Development Business

Setting up an after hours call center can be a great way for an IT development business to provide exceptional customer service and support around the clock. With more businesses operating 24/7, having staff available after normal business hours is becoming increasingly important.

An after hours call center allows customers to get assistance during nights, weekends and holidays when regular customer service staff may not be available. This constant availability can give a competitive advantage over other IT firms.

This guide will walk through the key steps involved in creating an after hours call center for an IT development company.

The first step is identifying why you want to offer after hours support and what goals you hope to achieve. Some key questions to consider:

• What are your current customer service gaps after normal business hours?
• What types of IT issues do customers commonly experience at night or on weekends?
• Do you want to provide full or limited support after hours?
• Will an after hours call center help you be more competitive and gain market share?

Getting clarity on your business objectives and customer needs will help guide the planning process.

It’s important to research industry standards for after hours call centers in the IT industry. This will help you set appropriate service level targets. Useful metrics to research include:

• Average speed to answer after hours calls
• Average after hours call duration
• Percentage of after hours calls resolved on first contact
• First-call resolution rates
• Average after hours talk time
• Customer satisfaction scores

For instance, a custom e commerce solution service should research metrics from 3-5 similar sized local development shops who have after hours support. They can gather intel by reaching out to their professional network and industry associations like the Silicon Valley Leadership Group or CalSAE. Useful benchmarks to collect include average speed to answer (30 seconds), first contact resolution rate (75%), and customer satisfaction score (4 out of 5) after hours. Comparing their own targets against realistic benchmarks from comparable SF companies will help set standards that fuel growth rather than overwhelm their budding after hours operation.

With your business goals clarified and industry research complete, you can define your after hours call center strategy. Key elements to outline include:

• Hours of Operation – Will you offer support 12 hours, 16 hours or 24 hours after normal business hours? Consider when demand will be highest.
• Staffing Model – Will you use internal or external staff? A blended model balances costs and quality.
• Location – Support staff can be office-based, home-based or located in an external call center.
• Target Service Levels – Outline your target metrics based on the benchmarks, e.g., 20-second speed to answer 80% of after hours calls.
• Skill Sets – Specify what technical and soft skills your after hours staff will need to resolve IT support calls effectively.
• Reporting Requirements – What data will you track and report to measure success? Common metrics are first-call resolution, customer satisfaction, wait times and support costs per call.

Your strategy will evolve, but formally documenting this plan early is invaluable.

A critical decision is determining what staffing model to use for your after hours call center. Common options include:

• Pros: Better cultural fit, access to internal systems, institutional knowledge
• Cons: Increased costs, staff burnout, limited flexibility

• Pros: Lower costs, specialized expertise, flexibility to adjust support
• Cons: Learning curve on your systems

• Pros: Balances cost, quality and flexibility
• Cons: managing two staffing models

As you evaluate options, consider volume forecasts, costs, security risks and customer service impact. Most IT firms use a hybrid model to optimize benefits.

The technology required to run an after hours call center effectively includes:

A business VOIP system offers affordable calling with essential features like call routing, IVR menus, hold music and voicemail.

Sophisticated call center software centralizes after hours support operations with capabilities like:

• Automatic call distribution
• Skills-based routing
• CRM integration
• Real-time dashboards
• Custom reporting

A shared help desk ticketing system allows support reps to track issues and handoffs between teams efficiently.

Secure VPN connections, screen sharing and remote control tools enable call center techs to access systems after hours safely.

If billing will be handled after hours, ensure PCI-compliant payment processing tools are available.

Carefully evaluate leading solutions to find packages tailored to IT support needs at a reasonable price point for a small business.

Documented processes are vital for after hours teams to deliver consistent service levels and positive customer experiences. Key procedures to define include:

• Call handling workflow – Steps for greeting, qualifying, documenting and routing after hours calls.
• Issue escalation protocol – When should tier 2/3 get engaged? What alerts should be triggered?
• Hand-off procedures – How are after-hours cases transitioned to daytime teams?
• Security guidelines – Standards for data access, remote troubleshooting and protecting customer systems
• Payment protocols – How are sales or renewals processed after hours? How is billing information secured?

Keep procedures in a central knowledge base like a wiki and optimize them continually based on rep feedback.

After hours staff should complete a formal onboarding program to skill them up on your services, systems and processes. Training should include:

• Your IT services and infrastructure overview
• Common troubleshooting scenarios
• Call center system training
• Customer service etiquette
• Process documentation review
• Case studies and role-playing

Schedule at least 2 weeks of instructor-led training to prepare teams properly.

Continually monitoring performance metrics, customer feedback and opportunities for improvement is key to ensuring your after hours call center runs smoothly. Tactics to drive ongoing optimization include:

• Real-time call monitoring for quality assurance
• Customer satisfaction surveys after calls
• Rep forums to surface pain points
• Monthly reviews of operational metrics
• Root cause analysis for recurring issues

By constantly soliciting input and feedback, you can fine-tune processes and systems so your after hours service delivers maximum value.

Managing an after hours call center comes with unique challenges. Being aware of these common pitfalls upfront allows you to address them proactively.

Protecting customer data and systems when remote troubleshooting after hours raises valid security questions. Stringent security policies, leveraging VPN connections and using session recording tools allow you to enable secure access. Educating customers on measures you’ve implemented can provide further reassurance.

Extended service hours drive up labor costs through staff overtime or external call center fees. The incremental revenue you generate and customer loyalty you build from after hours support should offset the added overhead over time.

Smoothly transitioning unfinished cases from overnight reps to daytime teams for follow-up requires tight collaboration. Define clear handoff procedures and share context via tickets, shift change meetings and quick huddles to enable continuity of service.

The 24/7 nature of after hours support can strain reps working overnight shifts for extended periods. Build in more schedule flexibility, implement wellness initiatives and monitor sick days to catch burnout early.

While juggling these factors takes work, the customer experience benefits of having after hours assistance make the effort worthwhile.

A top-notch team is indispensable for running an effective after hours call center. Here are the best practices for recruiting and training reps:

• Seek out candidates with technical expertise, problem-solving aptitude, communication skills and customer service orientation.
• Vet critical thinking ability with scenario-based questions during interviews.
• Have candidates complete a paid trial shift to evaluate skills in action.

• Structure initial training to cover both soft skills and technical tools. Role-playing with experienced reps helps cement lessons.
• Implement side-by-side mentoring programs to nurture on-the-job learning.
• Maintain an online knowledge base of documentation, FAQs and training materials to support ongoing development.

• Recognize top performers with incentives like gift cards, prime shifts or public shout-outs during team meetings.
• Solicit rep feedback on an ongoing basis so they feel heard.
• Create opportunities for skills development and career advancement to inspire continuous growth.

The expertise and dedication of your people will directly impact the caliber of after hours service delivered. Investing in the right talent will pay dividends.

A hallmark of a well-run after hours call center is having robust processes for capturing and monitoring performance data. Tracking these critical support metrics provides visibility into operational efficiency and customer satisfaction:

• Average Speed to Answer – Benchmark 80% of calls answered in under 60 seconds
• Abandonment Rate – Industry standard is under 5% of callers hanging up before speaking to a rep
• First Contact Resolution – Target resolving 70-80% of inquiries on the first call
• Customer Satisfaction Scores – Positive feedback should average over 90%
• Average Handle Time – Strive to keep the average call duration under 7 minutes
• Case Volume – Track number of cases by priority level and service type

Having historical data along these dimensions facilitates solid decision making for call center optimization. Displaying this high level data on wallboards also allows reps to self-correct behaviors in real time if certain metrics dip below expected ranges.

Many growing IT businesses find success with a hybrid staffing model that combines internal and external resources:

Dedicated internal personnel manage highly sensitive Tier 1 support needs after hours:

• Handle elevated privilege requests
• Troubleshoot infrastructure issues
• Assist key customer accounts

An experienced outsourced partner provides overflow assistance:

• Resolves standard Tier 1 inquiries like password resets
• Provides extra support during periods of peak demand
• Enables flexibility in staffing

This balanced approach lets you meet base demand cost-effectively while controlling quality for priority accounts. The call center partner should receive extensive onboarding on your systems and processes to align with service standards.

Delivering the same excellent standard of customer service around the clock can be challenging. But for an IT business offering after hours support, it’s imperative you maintain uniform service levels to continue satisfying and retaining customers. These strategies can help your staff consistently deliver their A-game, even when working overnight shifts.

Starting new after hours reps off on the best foot is vital for them to get up to speed quickly. That makes a structured training program essential. The training will ensure that outsourced teams have a clear understanding of the organizational culture and expectations, which will make them an integral part of the organization. Example topics to cover include:

• Overview of your IT environment and technology platforms
• Demonstration of your call center software and tools
• These shadowing sessions should be conducted with other experienced reps
• Skills such as how to answer the phone and how to talk down a customer

Do not cut corners here – a comprehensive initial training of the reps will bring great results in the form of active and productive staff.

When new employees get through the probationary period, it becomes necessary to ensure that they maintain high service standards. Such practices as call calibration, performance evaluations, and real-time feedback help to ensure that behaviors are consistent over time. For example:

• Ask managers to listen to a sample of calls on a weekly basis and give feedback based on the evaluation criteria.
• Conduct weekly check-ins to review and evaluate accomplishments, challenges, and training requirements and hold monthly one-on-one meetings to reflect on performance.
• After each shift, send reps a brief survey to get feedback when experiences are still fresh in their minds.

This active involvement ensures that managers are in touch with the performance of their reps and any development needs that may be needed.

Being intentional about anticipating and preparing for changes in overnight call volume can prevent your staff from getting into the weeds. Analyze historical support ticket and call data to detect patterns, trends, and seasonal fluctuations in after hours demand. With these insights, you can proactively adjust:

• Staffing levels, e.g., increasing part-time reps to meet rising late-night call surges
• Training content, e.g., refreshing materials on hardware diagnostics ahead of seasonal PC troubleshooting spikes
• Customer messaging e.g. warning clients of potential delayed responses over holidays based on limited after hours staffing

Getting ahead of forecasted fluctuations helps you dial in the right staff capacity and skill sets to achieve service level targets, even during crunch times.

Keeping all the players in your after hours support operation connected fosters cohesion in delivering excellent round-the-clock service. This requires maintaining open lines of communication between internal and external team members through:

• Shift handoff meetings to brief the next team on ongoing priority issues
• Cross-functional Slack channels for real-time collaboration
• Shared ticketing queues with context on case status and next steps
• On-call contact info of internal escalation points for complex scenarios

Promoting tight collaboration diminishes the risk of continuity gaps as cases get handed between mixed staffing.

In closing, the major takeaways around successfully operating an after hours call center for IT support are:

• Establish measurable business objectives and service standards at the beginning of the project in accordance with customer requirements and standards of the sector.
• Develop a customized technology solution that includes ticketing, calling, and on-site remote assistance.
• Define guidelines and protocols to regulate after hours support operations.
• Recruit employees with technical ability and ensure that the reps are well-trained through an onboarding process.
• Maintain a keen focus on metrics to ensure continuous improvement.
• When deciding on internal or external staffing, one has to consider the cost factor along with the quality of services.

By adhering to these guidelines, your after hours call center will be well placed to provide excellent help that enhances customer satisfaction and drives business development. Given the current trend of the fast-growing technologies, the need for effective round-the-clock IT support will continue to grow in the future.