As we entered Q4 of a uniquely challenging year, our most-read posts in October reflected that contact center management are well into their annual planning and are looking ahead to 2021 and longer-term people and technology investments. Amid strategic-level decision-making, however, contact center leader took the time to appreciate and recognize frontline customer service staff with virtual Customer Service Week celebrations.
Customer Service Team Appreciation 2020
This has been a grueling year—a marathon of fear, uncertainty and constant course-corrections. Throughout it all, frontline customer service staff across industries have stepped up to help companies and brands maintain a positive, reassuring presence for their customers. Admittedly, at this point, company leaders, employees and customers are feeling the strain associated with a prolonged crisis. If ever there was a time for showing frontline staff the value that they provide to customers, to co-workers and to the company, this is it. And the month of October provides the perfect opportunity to do so.
Home, Sings Me of Sweet Things
My blog series co-author, Paul Stockford, and I both lobbied to lead this one off. Paul, thanks for letting me set the stage—plus I know you’ll bring our main points home with well-researched facts and data! You may not recognize the name Karla Bonoff at first, but you surely know her music. A prolific songwriter, her career was launched as she wrote three of the most memorable songs on Linda Ronstadt’s 1976 classic Hasten Down the Wind. These three songs—“Lose Again,” “If He’s Ever Near” and “Someone to Lay Down Beside Me”—established her as one of LA’s top songwriters.
How to Apply Predictive Analytics to Post-COVID Recovery, Part 1
We are now into the final quarter of a year that will surely be remembered as one of the most chaotic in history. Many of us would like nothing better than to simply fast forward to 2021 or beyond. But how to get there? As contact center leaders plan for the post-pandemic recovery—both short- and long-term—where can they turn for reliable insights for informed decision-making? The pandemic outbreak created volatile market conditions and unpredictable customer behavior. What impact do the unique circumstances that businesses experienced in 2020 have on the reliability of recent customer data and predictive models? How will it influence strategic planning for the post-pandemic contact center?
Five Key Decisions for Buying Contact Center Technology
In earlier writings, I’ve offered up guidelines for purchasing cloud technology that focus on pricing, service level agreements, and the statement of work. But what if you don’t know if you are ready to go to the cloud? Or what if you want to leverage what you’ve already got? Here are 5 key decisions to put you on the right path.
Hiring Work-at-Home Agents After the Coronavirus Crisis: What’s Next
Chances are you have pivoted toward remote agents, and maybe not by choice: Most organizations were forced into work-from-home situations. You scrambled and had little choice. The race will soon be on to either replace agents lost during the pandemic or restaff your team—whether they will be brick-and-mortar or virtual agents. Take advantage of the opportunity. Now’s your chance to do it right: Using virtual interviewing technology, you can save valuable time and begin to select who is the best fit.
