7 Future-Proofing Goals for Contact Centers in the Year Ahead
Several technologies can make an agent's work experience more productive and meaningful in 2022.
December 30, 2021
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A variety of disasters, including the pandemic, resulted in large volumes of customers put on hold during tumultuous times. In fact, hold time increased by 34% and escalations were up 68%. What this stressful period has proven is that remote work and flexible staffing means contact centers stay prepared at scale, according to customer experience (CX) technology and services company TTEC. In addition, these times show that cloud-based contact centers can scale support capacity at a rapid pace.
In addition, 96% of workers said they preferred some form of remote work, either a hybrid position or a full-time stay-at-home one. To retain contact center employees in 2022, managers should continue to prioritize remote work, or risk losing staff to companies that do.
There may be reasons contact centers choose on-premises solutions. However, the shift to cloud-based operations is undeniably a trend. In fact, one study found that in 2021 three-quarters of contact centers moved to the cloud. Companies have cited a variety of benefits including being 83% more likely to have a formal process for assessing agent productivity. Contact center managers have said their teams use data and analytic tools more and that there’s less down time. How contact centers utilize the cloud will be something to watch in 2022.
Chatbots, a type of AI, aren’t a new tool but they are becoming more and more visible and favored by the public. Approximately 43% of U.S. shoppers prefer chatbots as a means of communication for purchasing goods online. For the contact center, chatbots are by no means a replacement for a human workforce. Rather, they take some burden off employees. An AI-powered virtual assistant can do things like help customers book appointments or collect payment information.
“Hey, Siri?” is a common refrain.
Speech interfaces may be used at home and in the car, but what about at the contact center? In 2022, watch for the adoption of this conversational AI technology to complement text-based chatbots. These advances will offer customers the opportunity to choose their preferred technology for communication.
Omnichannel communication provides an integrated customer experience across a range of channels including phone, mobile, desktop and in-person. Customers navigate with little effort from each touch point to make a purchase through the communication tool. Although the use of the omnichannel at contact centers has increased (8% in 2016 to 31% in 2019), many centers have yet to adopt it. If CX is dependent on how a brand is perceived, then a seamless user encounter can only improve the reputation and outcomes for business. In fact, businesses with channel engagement retained 89% of their customers. 2022 may be the year to optimize the omnichannel.
It’s projected that 59% of customers think personalization has a significant influence on what they buy. If that’s the case, personalizing CX can greatly improve customer loyalty. Contact centers can accomplish this by analyzing prior queries and service requests to determine customer behavior, thereby tailoring interactions. Also, 2022 may be the year to incorporate automation to handle mundane tasks. It frees up agents to handle one-on-one customer interactions, consequently improving the customer experience.
Contact center agents are busy. Answering a customer’s inquiries while handling other tasks is a feat in multitasking. Agents must keep customers engaged while inputting information from conversations. Capturing all the details of these conversations is nearly impossible and missing a critical fact can put what might have been a pleasant customer experience at risk.
In 2022, make real-time transcription a solution. The transcription can be used to identify key words and prompt searches for information related to the agent-customer conversation. In addition, it can provide translations for customers and agents who are not native speakers.
Contact center agents are busy. Answering a customer’s inquiries while handling other tasks is a feat in multitasking. Agents must keep customers engaged while inputting information from conversations. Capturing all the details of these conversations is nearly impossible and missing a critical fact can put what might have been a pleasant customer experience at risk.
In 2022, make real-time transcription a solution. The transcription can be used to identify key words and prompt searches for information related to the agent-customer conversation. In addition, it can provide translations for customers and agents who are not native speakers.
When the customer experience (CX) goes awry, it’s a contact center agent that feels the brunt. Author, businesswoman and influencer Kate Zabriskie sums up that kind of experience.
“The customer’s perception is your reality,” Zabriskie said.
However, consistent and innovative CX can make a positive impact for the agent, the workforce, and ultimately a contact center’s bottom line. For many of these businesses, 2022 is the year to make integral changes so that CX is optimal — whether it’s replacing a center’s technology or adopting new human resources policies.
We recently compiled a list of 20 top CCaaS providers offering products and services via channel partners. |
Channel Futures has compiled a trends list for the contact center in the year ahead (see slideshow above). Even as digital transformation and artificial intelligence (AI) make advances, the goal is still to improve the working experience of the agent. This has cascading effects for customers and the longevity of the center. The trends list showcases the policies and technologies needed to make 2022 the year of the agent.
Want to contact the author directly about this story? Have ideas for a follow-up article? Email Claudia Adrien or connect with her on LinkedIn. |
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