Omnichannel: Is It More About Technology, People or Process?

Many organisations are looking to change their customer interaction focus from ‘isolated transactions’ to long-term relationships to help improve the customer experience.

Moving from unconnected contact to integrated customer experience means ensuring continuous improvement for people, process and technology. Right first time query resolution becomes the primary goal for every department. As each team across front and back office participates in the workflow, they monitor and contribute to a 360° customer view across the entire organisation and all its channels.

A brand is defined by the customer’s experience. The experience is delivered by the employees (Shep Hyken)

Typically, technology is a trigger as it enables the change. However, successful change requires transformation of both people and processes.

Extensive change has the potential to disrupt and carries some risks; however, using a step-by-step approach is more likely to deliver a positive outcome. Staged changes have the added benefit of opening a balanced discussion on the next level of adjustment to people and processes.

Seek to find productive solutions in all three areas:

• Process: an in-depth review of your processes will highlight areas for change and will often provide savings as you remove ‘it’s the way it’s always been done’ and improve your understanding of what is fit for today’s purpose. You will identify and then can investigate the reasons for bottlenecks, which is likely to result in a removing unnecessary hurdles alongside a redesign.

• People: increasingly you may find five generations within your workforce each with different attitudes, ambitions and motivators. When you ‘take your people with you’ you help them to identify with your goals, understanding that they can deliver value within your plans. This motivates them to contribute and achieve. Support every agent to reach their maximum potential with agent guidance, quality and performance systems that empower rather than penalise.

• Technology: the rapid pace of technology change guarantees the next thing will be on the horizon sooner than you can consider it. Omnichannel focuses on the joining up of all your systems, on being able to report in real time, being proactive to customer needs and then being equipped and prepared to take on new channels (such as web RTC) in a synchronised way.

You were motivated to make the change to omnichannel, your goals were clear and you could see what success looks like. Use the continuous improvement mantra of ‘plan do check act’ to confirm if you are moving in the right direction and to ensure that every adjustment to process, people and technology will further your goals. Take special care to avoid project distractions in your quest to deliver an improved customer experience.

Our eGuide, “Multichannel Myths” explores this further, looking at whether you are effectively meeting your customer’s expectations, or for more information on omnichannel, visit netcall.com/omnichannel.