The contact centre has transformed over the course of the pandemic. Businesses had no choice. They had to adapt and invest in the contact centre or risk losing touch with their customers. Organisations now recognise the importance and impact a properly equipped, well-funded contact centre can make to customer experience. But, as we come out the other side of the pandemic, will organisations learn the lessons of lockdown and continue to invest in the contact centre, or will they allow it to revert to pre-pandemic practices?
The voice of your brand
Most consumers have been frustrated with the customer service they have received when trying to resolve an issue. Whether dealing with a bank, utility company or retailer, consumers have all experienced poor service. The chances are they then then told people about this. Similarly, most people would have heard their friends telling them about brands that have treated them badly. This has a major impact on businesses. In fact, recent research showed that a third of customers would ditch a company after just one poor experience. This highlights just how important it is for brands to get it right at every touchpoint of the customer journey. Just one slip up or poor experience could result in customers leaving you in droves.
However, customers are willing to reward companies who get customer service right. A massive 86% of consumers said they would be willing to pay more for great customer service. Experience has overtaken price and product as the key brand differentiator. Delivering great customer service can give businesses a competitive edge that they need to compete in today’s economy, but how many are getting it right?
Somewhat optimistically, 80% of brands believe they are delivering great customer experience. However, only 8% of customers feel like they receive great customer service. The disconnect and these differing views should serve as a stark wake-up call. The pandemic meant that many businesses have made significant improvements to their customer service operations, but given the evidence, this does not always translate to a better customer experience.
Upgrading tech doesn’t upgrade service
The global pandemic forced many contact centres to become truly digital. Contact centre agents suddenly became home workers after years of being tied to a desk and phone. Cloud technology has made it possible for a contact centre to operate remotely, freeing agents from the office. Indeed, home working certainly has some advantages for contact centres.
This model of working reduces operating costs while increasing employee satisfaction. The flexibility opens up better opportunities for companies to find qualified employees, and can help with retention by giving staff the freedom to work from where they choose.
However, in the home office there can also be numerous distractions that are different to those in an office such as the doorbell, the neighbour’s renovation work, noisy pets and general family life that disrupt the agent’s concentration. This can also increase stress levels and impact the customer experience.
To address these challenges, devices and technology such as headsets with good audio quality, which suppress background noise, are a fundamental prerequisite for communicating with customers and delivering a superior experience. But this is often overlooked. Simply having the capabilities to operate a remote contact centre does not guarantee agent or customer satisfaction. With attrition rates increasing, businesses need to consider other factors alongside simply upgrading technology, and to provide the right tools, training and support to empower, develop and protect contact centre agents.
A people-centric approach
To empower staff, managers should show their trust and give them the flexibility to work remotely and to solve problems with autonomy. Data and analytics are giving managers new ways to monitor customer satisfactions on calls, to track performance and help manage staff, not just from a job performance perspective but also in terms of their well-being. By proactively using data and insights, managers can make informed decisions and troubleshoot problems. This gives agents independence while providing managers with the reassurance that they have visibility of any issues, such as poor audio quality on calls or disruptive background noise.
To maintain or improve standards managers must invest time in staff development. This includes comprehensive onboarding that covers everything from company culture, to training on how to best use the technology available. Additionally, coaching of soft skills is key in helping agents to manage difficult situations with customers and to develop empathy in sensitive situations. When a customer has a complex issue they tend to prefer speaking to a person as opposed to a greater reliance on chatbots to deal with simple problems. Training and mentoring can play an integral part in helping staff understand the solutions to many issues, but it is also crucial that staff are equipped with knowledge management tools to further support them when dealing with tricky situations.
Making the most of tech investments
Professional workers need professional equipment to do a professional job. Professional headsets offer users active and passive noise cancellation, as well as noise-cancelling microphones, which vastly improve the audio quality of a call. The benefits are clear; users will experience significant noise reduction; the agent and caller can hear each other better and communicate clearly with crisp, clear sound. Thanks to advanced microphone technology, the agent also hears themselves as they would in a quiet environment, therefore adapting to speak more quietly. Because of this, the call feels more personal, improving the experience for both agent and customer.
High-quality professional headsets increase call quality and improve customer satisfaction. This helps agents to be productive and to ultimately feel valued. A professional headset also allows software to work effectively. The better the audio quality, the more accurate analytics will be, providing insights and measurement on sound quality, conversation flow and audio exposure. This enables managers to take data-driven action, supporting agents to be productive and deliver a consistently good customer service as the “voice of the brand,” even if working from home.
Futureproofing for success
Businesses are investing in new technology which allows for a smarter, more flexible and professional contact centre. Homeworking presents challenges for companies, but by investing in the right tools and technology these challenges can become opportunities. By pairing world-class hardware, such as professional headsets, with intelligent software and supporting staff, contact centres can become a hub for customer service excellence, while fostering employee’s well-being and development.