Look Forward Not Back: 4 Ways to Future-Proof Your Contact Centre Related Articles What Will the Contact Centre of the Future Look Like? 14 Forward-Thinking Ideas From the Domestic & General Contact Centre Contact Centre Best Practices, a Look Back and Ahead How to GDPR-Proof Your Customer Satisfaction Surveys © jozefmicic - Adobe Stock - 183317608 866 Filed under - Industry Insights, Calabrio Ed Creasey of Calabrio discusses how contact centres can use technology to meet the needs of their virtual workforce and customers in the “new normal”. The pandemic is reshaping the world of work, with social distancing and local restrictions now known as the “new normal”. In contact centres, more employees than ever are working remotely while customer expectations have risen to their highest levels since internet connectivity and the smartphone revolution first transformed our lives. In fact, when Calabrio interviewed over 300 contact centre professionals at the beginning of the current health emergency, 51% of respondents said they believe the customer service experience (CX) will impact brand loyalty even more than prior to the pandemic. Looking more closely at the survey results, 57% of contact centre leaders in the UK predict that “increased empathy” will be a part of customer expectations of the future. In the US changes in customer expectations were even higher, with 69% citing emotional empathy and 68% a need to be heard. However, one thing is for sure, “heightened customer expectations” are here to stay, with UK contact centre professionals claiming customers now want “quicker response times” (93%) and “human agent availability over bots” (68%) – according to the Calabrio study. 4 Ways to Maximize and Future-Proof Your Contact Centre Calabrio’s latest Evolving World of Work report revealed that more than half of contact centres have maintained quality management (QM) levels while one-third have actually increased their QM evaluations during the pandemic. According to the Calabrio research, 44% of operations are using predictive analytics and automation to enhance interaction evaluation. To thrive in this “new normal” world contact centres will need technology that matches the requirements of their virtual workforce and in turn their customers. Therefore, it is time to review: Ed Creasey Workforce flexibility – Invest in remote-working solutions, including video conferencing tools, because the many organizations which have moved to homeworking during the pandemic have no intention of going back. Having enjoyed the benefits of enhanced employee satisfaction and productivity along with reduced office and facilities costs, companies plan to maintain a long-term flexible work environment. Blended workforce management (WFM) and workforce engagement management (WEM) – Likewise, as more organizations recognize the chain that links workforce engagement management with employee satisfaction, performance and CX, investment in the latest workforce engagement (WEM) solutions is the way to go. They are the perfect motivational tools for contact centres looking to engage with their virtual teams to maintain productivity and recognize employee engagement as a two-way street. Omnichannel CX – Expectations around omnichannel service have significantly risen during the pandemic. Contact centres will need to invest in multiple communication channels and focus on building an omnichannel infrastructure (which also includes video conferencing tools) to meet and exceed customer requirements. A blend of self-service and human interactions – Over this year, we have seen increased spend on self-service tools. Brands know they need to find the right balance between cost optimization and CX. Customers want convenient self-service options, but they’re also looking for the empathy, personalization and complex support only humans can provide. It all boils down to customers wanting “human agent availability over bots”. For more insights and inspiration on how to future-proof your contact centre operations to meet the needs of customers in this “new normal” world, download the full results of Calabrio’s latest survey entitled: “The State of the Contact Centre: Embracing the Evolving World of Work“. For more information about Calabrio - visit the Calabrio Website About Calabrio Calabrio is the customer experience intelligence company that empowers organisations to enrich human interactions. Through AI-driven analytics, Calabrio uncovers customer behaviour and sentiment, and derives compelling insights from the contact centre. Read other posts by Calabrio Call Centre Helper is not responsible for the content of these guest blog posts. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of Call Centre Helper. Author: Calabrio Published On: 5th Nov 2020 - Last modified: 30th Nov 2020 Read more about - Industry Insights, Calabrio Recommended Articles What Will the Contact Centre of the Future Look Like? 14 Forward-Thinking Ideas From the Domestic & General Contact Centre Contact Centre Best Practices, a Look Back and Ahead How to GDPR-Proof Your Customer Satisfaction Surveys Related Reports Report: State of the Contact Centre 2023 Contact Centre Reports, Surveys and White Papers Get the latest exciting call centre reports, specialist whitepapers and interesting case-studies. Choose the content that you want to receive. Contact Centre Reports, Surveys and White Papers Invites to exclusive Webinars & Events Weekly Newsletter