What was top of mind this month for Pipeline blog readers? Not surprisingly, many were interested in looking ahead to learn which near- and long-term trends will have the most impact on customer care and service delivery. Along those same lines, the other top posts in September were those that emphasized strategies, tech and tools for improving the agent experience in an increasingly hectic work environment.
Contact Center Executive Outlook on 2020 and Beyond
Across industries, research reports are predicting that businesses can expect more change in the next five years than in the last 50. That certainly seems true enough in the contact center world where the pace of change has been accelerating exponentially—often with dizzying effects for the three key elements of the contact center operations framework: people, process and technology.
Eight Days a Week: The Always-On Contact Center
In February 1965, The Beatles released a song called “Eight Days a Week” as a single to the U.S. market before it appeared on the album Beatles VI. It became the band’s seventh No. 1 single in the U.S. in just over a year. The inspiration for the song came from a conversation Paul McCartney was having with a chauffeur who was driving him to John Lennon’s house.
Turnover… But Not the Good Kind
The word “turnover” can make either your mouth water or your head hurt. Blueberry turnovers are one of my favorite sweets in the summer… freshly picked wild blueberries wrapped up in puff pastry and baked to a flaky golden brown. Yum yum! However, I realize that if you are reading this article, you are not here to share food favorites or recipes! The “turnover” causing contact center leaders headaches is the loss of talent, particularly the frontline agent.
Making Employee Experience a Priority in a Customer-Centric World
When it comes to your favorite mobile or self-service experience, what apps… platforms… or companies come to mind? A few of my favorite apps are Waze, Turbo Tax, Fandango, Delta and USAA—apps that quickly and easily help me navigate and manage through the critical, complex and day-to-day, ankle-biter tasks of everyday life. Thinking about your favorite apps, what factors make using them an enjoyable experience? Chances are traits like easy and quick access to the right information and convenient, must-have guidance are a couple of them. Of course, it doesn’t hurt when apps are also fast, dynamic, intuitive and designed well.
Take Self-Service Up Another Notch
If you’re like me, you may waffle between excitement and cynicism over self-service (SS). Over the years, there has been a lot of hype over SS, but that enthusiasm has been tempered by equal measures of disappointment when reality falls short of promise. Yet I remain hopeful that astute deployment of new technology may tip the scales in favor of excitement.
