Venkatesh Korla, President and CEO, HGS Digital. He has over 25 years of experience in the digital marketing space as a tech consultant.
While the physical seats in contact centers will always be populated by human agents—even if they are staffed from home—the rapid adoption of technology and software accelerators will offer unequivocal improvements all around: faster resolutions for customers, vastly improved customer experience (CX) scores and greater employee experience (EX) and retention.
The contact center landscape today needs some improvement. According to findings from ICMI, a substantial portion of call center agents (60%) currently lack the necessary tools to provide customers with top-notch experiences.
Tech Features Driving Better CX
Decision-makers in the CX space have some ground to cover by adopting tech to improve CX and EX. Customers desire faster resolutions and decreased average hold times (AHTs), which are being delivered by a few deployment trends in the contact center:
1. Omnichannel, cloud-based software accelerators on a unified platform.
2. Tech-agnostic, AI-powered solutions.
3. “Single pane of glass” (SPoG), 360-degree dashboards.
As these trends continue to evolve, several technology adoptions in contact centers are reshaping how agents interact with customers. With the integration of advanced tools, agents are empowered to deliver superior CX leveraging data-driven insights and automation to provide timely, personalized and efficient support. This includes the use of:
• AI-powered predictive smart responses that give agents the ability to provide faster, more tailored answers to customer questions.
• Robotic process automation (RPA) to help reduce—or even eliminate—repetitive agent tasks such as password resets and order status inquiries.
• Consolidated and centrally located repositories of customer information for fast recall of things like account and loyalty details, purchase histories and even previous agent interactions (and how the issues were resolved).
• Real-time sentiment analysis of speech and text interactions to help agents take appropriate actions (solve versus escalate).
• Powerful analytics tools using AI to monitor performance live—at the agent, team lead and organization level—and streamline team lead reviews of customer interactions (hours devoted to call log reviews, distilled into just a few minutes).
Tech Features Enhancing EX
To deliver streamlined and enhanced agent productivity for increased customer satisfaction, call center employees have some additional needs that aren’t currently being met widely. While tech has been a priority, CX decision-makers are increasingly trying to put it in the hands of employees to make it count.
According to the results of a recent survey of CX decision-makers, in the next 18 months, 28% of respondents plan to spend over $1 million on adequate training and access to a dynamic “knowledge base” (institutional and customer information) for agent access to learning tools. The effects of tech adoptions on agent attraction and retention may be intangible, but by no means does that serve to reduce their importance.
By providing agents access to advanced training and support solutions, organizations can realize:
• Enhanced job performance from agents, including the use of learning tools and gamified skills development incentivization.
• Real-time tracking of changes in agents’ customer interactions, preparing team leads to assess mood and capacity, and intervene appropriately (e.g., additional breaks throughout the day, more frequent escalations, etc.).
• Resetting the bar for organizational goals and KPIs relative to CX performance.
Equipping call center agents with these valuable skills through the aid of advanced technology helps boost confidence and foster a sense of professional growth, ultimately enhancing job satisfaction and reducing turnover rates.
Tech Adoptions In Action
One of our clients, a Canadian telecom giant, recently saw an opportunity to boost revenues while minimizing operational expenses by implementing tech tools and solutions in their contact centers to streamline agent interactions with customers. Punctuating this was a desire to make the actions measurable, quantifiable and trackable in real time.
Their specific solution was a tailored AI platform to enhance efficiencies and provide insights-driven optimizations: task automations for agents and front-line leaders, and improved performance reporting overall. Their results were as follows:
• A 20% cost reduction for team leader support staff.
• An 89% increase in agent retention.
• An 87% increase in cross-selling activity by agents.
Best Practices For Tech Adoption
Companies new to adopting technology should start by evaluating their needs, handling changes carefully and choosing scalable solutions. Challenges, which might include disruptions to existing processes, can be minimized with strong change management. When it comes to choosing a tool, picking a solution provider requires thorough research into their track record and scalability.
In addition, to gain support for the adoption of a new tool, you must have effective communication. Emphasize the tool’s benefits and involve stakeholders early. Trying out pilot programs can help you demonstrate advantages before fully adopting a new tool.
The era of customers seeking mere answers to queries has evolved; they now demand companies preemptively address their needs and serve solutions. Organizations must rise to the occasion by adopting advanced technology to not only meet but exceed customer expectations to cultivate brand loyalty and ensure long-term success in today’s competitive market landscape. Embracing innovation in customer service is no longer an option. It’s a necessity for organizations striving to stay ahead and provide unparalleled experiences to their customers.
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