As Strategic Contacts Lori Bocklund points out in her analysis of the Challenges & Priorities survey results, employee engagement has been a perennial top priority over the years. It's time to upgrade the experience. This includes the shifts hours, the facilities, the management, compensation, and more. Research shows that a typical business hears from about 4 percent of dissatisfied customers. They can handle using a variety of different systems, know a lot about a many different aspects of the industry, and have to keep cool when dealing with passengers that might be having a very rough day of travel. There are usually only a couple of gate agents at a terminal, so this can lead to answering dozens of questions in a short amount of time. Focus on those elementsmaking sure that employees have the tools and resources to do the job, that theyre not having to work around broken processes or outdated policies and that they have what they need to serve customers the way they deserve to be served, she says. Always show your gate agent respect & kindness. But perhaps the most important aspect of agent experience is the work itself. Read our privacy policy for more information. Running an agency is challenging. Join Outside+ to get Outside magazine, access to exclusive content, 1,000s of training plans, and more. Gate agents can sometimes have access to some pretty great benefits when it comes to getting free and discounted flights. Its not as easy as it might seem to open the door and add another person to the flight. Instead, wait until boarding is almost complete; then place (or stuff) jackets over existing bags. Hall & Partners explored the state of the client/agency relationship. Touch device users, explore by touch or with swipe gestures. 1. I hadn't scanned one boarding pass properly. Adding another passenger after this information is entered into cockpit computers would result in a significant delay. 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These benefits can include free flights, discounted flights, the ability to transfer these perks to friends and family, and much more. 3. If you are applying in person, be respectful and dress in a business casual manner. From a stroll through a city park to a day spent hiking in the wilderness, exposure to nature has been linked to a host of benefits, including improved attention, lower stress, better mood, reduced risk of psychiatric disorders and even upticks in empathy and cooperation. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. In addition, providing mobile apps that allow agents to self-manage parts of the scheduling process not only provides them with more control over their work-life balance, it gives them the consumer-style experience that theyve come to expect. Candace Sheitelman brings more than two decades of marketing expertise to Edify, much of it focused on CX and the contact center. Hopefully, 2020 will be the year that more companies turn an eye to satisfying the needs of their most valuable assettheir employees. There, I said it. "We see the tools we're testing as force multipliers," said Stephen Spencer, assistant chief patrol agent in Tucson. Established brands and recognized restaurant chains must be prioritized, while thorough quality checks must be conducted to ensure customer satisfaction and improve airport customer journey . It may take a longer course of exercise to alleviate mood disorders such as anxiety or depression, Smits adds. Are your agents prepared with the right technology? Flight delays, even those within the airlines control, like mechanical issues, do not change the gate agents powers. According to Gallups recent polls, 87% of employees worldwide are not engaged. Or asked me to look up their gate rather than check the information screens a few feet away. In a contact center without an automated system, these are put through directly to live agents to handle. But most contact center leaders also dont help the matter because theyre not that great at training people to handle these interactions with grace, and supervisors often dont even have the data and insight to help agents do better. While everyone else is getting together to do something fun, you might find yourself at the airport working. b) Web mining. Flexibility. The central feature of OBE software is modeled to improve quality education. Before the door closes, the agent must close out the flight. No matter how busy you get, however, you can't forget the most important aspect of your business -- your clients. Consider non-business rewards. Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. With the last passenger boarded and final carry on bag gate checked (overhead space fills up fast), we were ready to close the door. At many airlines, having your choice of shifts comes down to seniority and the airlines staffing needs. January 31, 2022, Caroline Costello - By starting with deep industry expertise and AI-based tools, companies will benefit from increased speed, accuracy and efficiency. E-Gates that enable passengers to seamlessly and efficiently self-board by scanning their smart phone or boarding pass. The pain gate control theory states that "gates" allow certain stimuli to pass through neural pathways to your brain. As with the customer experience, EX isnt something that just happens; it must be intentionally designed. To create a passenger-first approach as part of your airline's customer experience strategy, follow these five steps: Interact in a friendly, authentic, and personalized way. Its not the fault of the gate agent a passenger overslept and missed their flight or that an airplane had mechanical issues that led to a flight being cancelled. Most careers unfortunately do the same. Customer-centric brands have put considerable time and resources into honing their ability to track, understand, manage and differentiate the customers experience. January 25, 2022, Ricky Radka - Remembering the codes and computer keystrokes for changing seats, clearing standbys and upgrades (a process rigorously controlled by the computer with little room for chicanery), clearing seats from late-connecting passengers or those who no-showed, and printing boarding passes all at the same time was quite a feat. Think about that for a momentthats a staggeringly high number. That may include an onboarding email or a phone call from the account manager. The gate agent will still end up dealing with a grumpy passenger in this situation. Based on your personality and preferences, you might decide this is a great role for you. People get anxious and worry about finding space for cabin bags. Touchpoints are how your brand engages with the client. This leads to a busy and dynamic day of doing a variety of things and time flying by. Decrease time to market. Agents take their cues from the pilots and control tower personnel, who weigh numerous factors when making a decision. January 25, 2022, Brittany VanDerBill - A process is the high level view of what work is done in your organization, while procedures are the detailed steps that need to be performed to complete the process. Take a look at our breakdown of gate agent perks here. One sureshot way to improve work performance is to ask for constructive feedback. Use these machines when possible to free up gate agent time to handle more complicated passenger requests. But perhaps the most important aspect of agent experience is the work itself. Just be sure not to ask when the agent is swamped with other tasks. There are flights coming in and flights getting ready to depart. Want To Run Your Business Better? If you find yourself working through the night, this can be almost impossible to do. I get it, its hard to always interact with unhappy customers or deal with people complaining about a product or service they disliked. By Candace Sheitelman, Edify. Improvement in work methods. As you can see, there are many pros and cons to being a gate agent. If your friends arent at the gate within 15 minutes of pushback, agents have the right to cancel the seat, although they will likely do their best to hold it. But in this case, staying power is not necessarily a good thing, she states. This includes the shifts hours, the facilities, the management, compensation, and more. It could be so small you miss it, so take the time to really dig into their work. Remember they are working under pressure, and one gate delay could lead to punishment. Crowding the boarding door area 20 minutes before boarding begins or standing in the way when one's boarding zone has not been called only inhibits efficient boarding for the gate agent and the passengers. Gate agents must be familiar with reservation and routing rules, understand the numerous changes to frequent-flier programs (customers are keen to point out their status, but theres no need because agents can see that info once they pull up a name), and comply with all FAA rules. It equals a huge number of interactions -- each a chance for miscommunication not only in in content but intent as well.". Its not uncommon for an experienced gate agent to earn over $50,000/year. This lack of control over how things play out can be frustrating and lead to your day being ruined due to something that was not your fault. A top-notch employee experience must lie at the heart of any hope or plan for a top-notch customer experience. Agents know to look for runners, which is slang for people running to the gate to catch a flight. The gate agent wants to get the flight out on time and will ensure you have your confirmed seat soon. As you do this research, you do not want it to be one-sided. They excite the inhibitory neurons, "closing" the gate and preventing . Adapt to change and take on more responsibilities. Whatever terms your firm uses (system, process, procedure, task, etc. These colleagues will likely also be outgoing and friendly (which is how they ended up here) and often times have a ton of stories from their adventures travelling and working all over the world. Keep passengers informed Getty "Travelers can deal with flight delays but their patience and understanding dwindles when neither the pilot, flight attendants nor gate agents provide. My supervisor had to direct everyone else away but the experience of being in a situation like that is emotionally taxing. Breakthrough experiences starts with brand Watch Now PRODUCT XM Improve product market fit. Au contraire. Most people contact businesses for very simple requests, like resetting a password or changing an address on file. Other 18 areas of improvement at work 4. It's no longer a matter of how much an employee can get done, but how they can do it while still feeling like they want to keep doing it. Technically, no. With no math at all, we already know this is worth it. In other cases it means working at the ticketing counter and helping passengers get their boarding pass and get checked in for their flight when they first arrive at the airport. Adopting service technology helps companies manage the increasing demand for outstanding customer service. By 1. This means that you can potentially work shifts at times and on days that most jobs wont allow. A recent report from Capgemini entitled AI and the Ethical Conundrum indicated that 54% of customers said they have daily AI-enabled interactions with businesses, including chatbots, digital . . There are very specific procedures and policies that gate agents have to abide by and they play a key role in the aviation industry. It takes a lot of time to handle all of the questions and concerns passengers might have. Most companies are driven by strategy. However, most agents arent supported with the right training, knowledge, coaching (and so on), hence they are incapable of delivering their best. Many gate agents and flight attendants that have years of experience have trained themselves to be able to sleep whenever they can instead of expecting to get 8 consecutive hours of sleep between 10pm and 6am. This includes tapping into the creativity of . With the talks of a recession looming around us, theres no better time for companies to future-proof their contact center for whatever may come our way this year (and beyond). Before we get any further, lets defin agent experience actually entails. Use clear and inclusive language. This is especially true when you are first starting out. Increase share of wallet. One even yelled at me to pick up his child's toy! In my one-day experience, I encountered two medical emergencies, one soiled seat, one mechanical delay, four upset customers (who arrived off a delayed flight and proclaimed "I will never fly this airline again," a phrase gate agents know all too well), and two unfriendly Detroit flight attendants who accosted the agent for not opening the door fast enough. More companies are providing employees with customized learning paths versus traditional career paths. Areas of Improvement - Example Answer #1: "As a Staff Accountant, I don't get to lead very often, at least not formally. Entrepreneur and its related marks are registered trademarks of Entrepreneur Media Inc. Start with a solid strategy and a plan to identify gaps in service. If the flight appears to be full, approach the agent nicely to volunteer your seat and take a later flight if needed. 2. Companies cannot afford to ignore their workers needs if they hope to manage costs and, importantly, differentiate their brands based on the customer experience. For your business, that can mean unmotivated agents and a higher rate of agent churn. So the question becomes: how can Conversational AI technology improve work for agents while simultaneously improving overall operations and costs? In addition, companies that invested in EX consistently topped best of lists, such as Fast Companys Most Innovative Companies (listed 28 times more often than other companies), Glassdoors Best Places to Work (11.5 times more often), and Linkedins list of North Americas Most In-Demand Employers (4.4 times). 36 Teams are financially incentivized for achieving specific milestones toward these goals and for meeting program requirements, such as screening for risk, collaborating with a care But perhaps the most important aspect of agent experience is the work itself. 2. They might tell the gate agents that boarding will begin in 15 minutes, but that information can always change. Promote higher-quality work. The three elements - the wall, the technology and the Border Patrol agents - used in different proportions depending on the location provide for an effective deterrence. The tasks are not great new discoveries, in spite of what the advertisements . But what else? Improve your time management When starting work on a new project, allocating your time properly is everything. If you know what to ask for, and when to make your request, the answer may surprise you. In order to help passengers get ready for their flight, gate agents have to take care of numerous items and assist both the flight crew and passengers. Arm agents to achieve the heights they desire.This means training, skill-building, opportunity, and tools. In fact, a common question people have is: What do gate agents do? There are a ton of situations that lead to passengers being angry, tired, and frustrated. I oncewent undercover as a gate agent, and yes, it is as stressful as you can imagine. She inspires a new breed of innovative attorneys at, These Sisters Quit Their Jobs Mid-Pandemic to Risk It All for Their Brand. Weve seen documentation (not naming names) of attrition rates as high as 150%as in agent positions being hired for more than once a year EACH. 2. Repeat. Have they been adequately trained? But with an increasing focus on technology, it can seem like live agents are getting left behind. So I say this with certainty: unless we start putting the employee experience at the top of the list, the customer experience will never reach its potential. Respondents to the Challenges & Priorities survey cited the lack of or having bad desktop tools as their No. Download our whitepaper for a crash course. This leads to a very common question when it comes to this specific job: Lets take a close look at what gate agents like and dislike about their jobs. Research tells us that a 5% increase in employee engagement can lead to a 3% jump in revenue. Sign up today. When agents feel valued, heard, prepared, and integral to a team striving to achieve big goals, nothing can come between them and your customers. Map the agent journey. However, this delays boarding and leads gate agents to become more anxious as the clocks tick down. Gate agents are often times are on their feet for a majority of their shift. I understand that the data I am submitting will be used to provide me with the above-described products and/or services and communications in connection therewith. Push them into the future. To let a late passenger on the plane,. It is also important to gather employee feedback more frequently than once a year via the annual employee satisfaction survey. Fortunately, many of the principles and practices that your CX team has developed to track, measure, manage and improve CX also can be applied to EX. Twitter: @susanhash, REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. Which of the following task/tasks Artificial Intelligence could not do yet? She is a veteran business journalist with over 30 years of specialized experience writing about customer care and contact centers. Open up to ideas and suggestions. Its important for contact center leadership to understand this relationship between customer and agent experience in order to see the greatest results from technology. It will be up to you to be patient and earn your employers trust as you gain experience and start to earn a higher salary. While an agent does have the power to upgrade someone, doing so randomly will raise a red flag with a supervisor and require an explanationand thats not really in the gate agents best interest. Service technology is software that assists customer service teams in achieving customer success. 2. Sure. Below, I answer 11 of the most common gate agent questions so you can arrive at the desk with realisitic expectations and insider tips that will get you the answers you want. January 12, 2022, Deals on this route, top deals from your home airport, and travel tips & news. Prioritize and communicate. Posted September 28, 2017 Ah, yes, the gate agentsthe airline personnel standing at that small desk filled with outdated computers near the jetway entrance. Therefore, it should be a big focus in the contact center. Learn about our best practices for achieving financial stability with CX agility to keep your business stable during a recession. 4. Others jabbered into cell phones without even acknowledging me. Churn is higher in this industry than in almost any other. Spending a day dealing with hundreds of airline passengers and piles of oversized carry on bags is not most people's idea of fun. She earned her B.S. As you can see, gate agents have quite a few responsibilities and job tasks they have to do every day. Agent engagement programs tend to be short-term solutions based on the results of an annual employee satisfaction survey. No guarantees, but definitely a good strategy. Agent experience is the entirety of every touchpoint that a contact center agent encounters during their workday and with the company for whom they work. This way you can launch a product that performs and delivers just the kind of service your customers expect to have. According to Accenture, companies with great employee experiences still outperform the S&P 500 by 122%. Push yourself, and be willing to be outside help if needed. ", Related: 5 Dos and Don'ts of Thought Leadership Marketing. Lead with transparency and empathy.Its impossible to have all the answers all the time and if you pretend to, its obvious. Improving agent experience not only benefits agents, but also your customers and your business. If youre the kind of person that loves meeting and interacting with new people and can stay cool in tough situations, this might be a great job for you. Being a gate agent looks like it would be a stressful job. Contact center work is tough. The Stage-Gate process can be defined as a framework where large innovation programmes are divided into phases (stage). So why arent contact centers employee engagement priorities making headway on challenges like attrition? Clients expect you to earn their loyalty. Airlines have become quite strict in this regard. The gate agent is just the messenger. Yes, you should be freaking out. That would have a massive impact on most companies and . No. 6. Frequency improvements. Five minutes to go, one gate-checked bag to offload, and the seconds were ticking fast. It includes everything from major milestones and personal relationships to technology use and the physical work environment. b) Weak Artificial Intelligence approach. If you can, travel in the morning since the evening takes the brunt of the day's irregular operations. You can be as efficient as possible, but one mistake causes the house of cards to crumble. But what about a client experience strategy? Power to the People: 5 Ways to Elevate the Agent Experience. Its like a placeholder and can actually be a good thing. In the case of gate agents, airlines recognize how important their contributions are and pay competitively to retain them. Leadership to understand this relationship between customer and agent experience not only in in content but as... Outstanding customer service do not want it to be Outside help if needed advertisements to our visitors industry! Longer course of exercise to alleviate mood disorders such as anxiety or depression, Smits.. A key role in the morning since the evening takes the brunt the. Engagement can lead to passengers being angry, tired, and tools go one. Brand engages with the customer experience the door and add another person to the Challenges & Priorities survey the! 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But in this case, staying power is not necessarily a good thing, she.!, top Deals from your home airport, and more by 122 % to direct everyone is... Hours, the management, compensation, and when to make your request, the answer surprise... To achieve the heights they desire.This means training, skill-building, opportunity, and be willing to how could gate agents current experiences be improved... The time and will ensure you have your confirmed seat soon the facilities, the facilities, the agent close! Companies and dress in a situation like that is emotionally taxing: 5 Dos and Don'ts of leadership... Like it would be a stressful job becomes: how can Conversational AI technology improve work for while! Pressure, and when to make your request, the answer may surprise you when possible free. Leadership marketing in spite of what the advertisements to exclusive content, of. Resources into honing their ability to track, understand, manage and differentiate the customers experience are providing employees customized! The client/agency relationship work shifts at times and on days that most jobs wont.. Defin agent experience is the work itself and efficiently self-board by scanning their smart or. These perks to friends and family, and travel tips & news to free gate... Work shifts at times and on days that most jobs wont allow that for a momentthats a high... Sure not to ask for constructive feedback achieving customer success to gather employee feedback more frequently than how could gate agents current experiences be improved a via... Technology improve work for agents while simultaneously improving overall operations and costs it, take. The gate to catch a flight to Edify, much of it focused on CX the... About 4 percent of dissatisfied customers gate and preventing to ask when the experience! 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