7 Technological Innovations That Are Changing the Future of Call Centers

By: CJ Silva

When people think of the typical call center, certain things come to mind: waiting hours on hold, endless verification questions, and getting transferred at least half a dozen times. On the service end, one might envision rows of frantic agents taking call after call in an overcrowded, incessantly ringing room with angry customers in their ear all day long. Thanks to the trends and innovations of the digital age, however, these once common frustrations are becoming a thing of the past.

Today, call center and customer service technology is evolving faster than ever, and here are seven game-changers to keep an eye on for the near future.

1. Cloud technology

In 2014, call center who have adopted cloud technology have seen their businesses soar exponentially. Because of cloud technology’s ability to store and organize data far more efficiently than any other method on the market today, it is a trend than virtually every tech expert believes will become the universal standard for call centers within the present decade. The advantages of operating with cloud technology are proving to well worth the conversion despite the changes required for CRMs, marketing channels, and the influx of caller data.

2. Social media metrics

With social media presence becoming more of a key component of customer service than ever before, call centers are starting to turn their attention to giants such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ for tracking customer satisfaction and usage. Now that social media has gained more of a hold on the B2C communication dynamic, many experts are advising call centers to incorporate social media-specific metrics to their operation systems. These specialized metrics include “resolution ratio,” the amount of issues resolved over social media versus privately; and “sentiment analysis,” the ratio of positive reviews to negative reviews of the customer service.

3. Web chat

Not only has live chatting on the web proven convenient and fast for customers, but trends have shown that this form of communication has played a role in filtering customer issues based on their level of complexity. The ease and simplicity of web chatting tends to attract customers looking for immediate answers to short, direct questions, reserving the phone lines for more complicated or personal issues, such as finances and security problems.

4. Increased Mobility

Mobility has by far been the biggest focus for anything that has to do with technology in the past decade, and now that focus is spearheading innovations within call centers. It used to be that customer service was performed in one primary location, but with the growing demand for flexibility and versatility in today’s fast-paced working culture. Now, call centers have the ability to expand their operations beyond the operations room with the help of apps that enable employees to record calls, receive product pictures and videos, and communicate with customers from any location.

5. Voice biometrics

According to Kenneth Hitches, Founding Director of Sabio, “It’s estimated that traditional identification and verification takes up around a fifth of overall contact center talk time.” This equates to a lot of wasted time and wasted business opportunities for call centers at the hands of the caller security systems in place. While enforcing proper security measures is important for any business or organization, it can be done more quickly and effectively through voice biometrics technology. By analyzing a person’s voice over the phone, voice biometrics software can accurately verify the identity of the respective customer and skip over the mandatory “20 Questions” game that sometimes deters customers from calling in the first place.

6. Multichannel technology

Since every customer’s needs are unique, call centers are scrambling to adopt multi channel software to better service their customers and cut back on time spent re-routing calls and digging for information. Multichannel technology can operate on a variety of platforms, including SMS messaging, email, and web chat, and many multi channel software programs are operational on cloud systems, so business owners and employees can queue customer interactions seamlessly and efficiently.

7. Self-service through omnichannels

As customer service operations branch grow across multiple platforms, more power is being put in the hands of the customer when it comes to contacting and interacting with call centers for assistance. This is where omni channel technology is making leaps and bounds into the future of call centers. By stretching their service capabilities across platforms, from text messages to video chats anytime and anywhere, omni technology allows customers to choose their medium of communication for a more comfortable and customized experience.

With these seven call center trend on the rise, customer service will likely be completely revolutionized for both ends of the phone line (or video chat, for that matter) within the next decade. Also, call center software companies are making conversion and implementation of these technological innovations easier than ever before, so businesses can simplify their B2C operations and keep up with growing customer demands. Remember, technology is one of the greatest investments a business can make, especially when it’s geared toward customer satisfaction and convenience.

CJ Silva is VP of Operations at KOVA Corporation.

Rewards and Challenges of Customer Service

By Diane Morneau:

Customer Service has its ups and downs, its rewards and challenges. For the performer, it is often an altruist quest to help and improve the customer experience, whether this customer is internal or external. Inspired by the popular snakes and ladders board game, I share 15 tips for the service performer for a sustained delivery.
 


                       

Diane Morneau, M.Sc.
Manager of Communications, Offerings and Knowledge Development IBM 

Diane worked for several computer manufacturers, in pre- and post-sales’ positions, supporting technological progress and adoption. People-oriented and actively engaged, she assumed teaching, coaching, management and marketing roles. Achieving customer success through teaming, transferring knowledge and finding creative solutions to challenges are her true motivators.

Follow Diane on Twitter and LinkedIn.

7 Steps to Customer Recovery

By: CJ Silva

Customer recovery.  Nobody in business wants to hear those words, though everybody needs to have those tools in their personal skill set belt.  By acting quickly and being confident in your decisions, you can turn a customer nightmare into a customer dream come true.  Here are seven vital steps in the process of customer recovery.

Listening is Vital

At a call center, it’s vital that you listen to what the customer is saying.  They perceive that there’s a problem with your service and it’s up to you to piece together what the problem is and resolve it.  Sometimes, clients will be so stressed that they’re not focusing on solutions, they’re focusing on making sure that you understand.

Put Yourself in the Customer’s Shoes

Empathy is a key trait for any call center worker.  The ability to look at where a customer is coming from and see why they are upset helps to shape the solution for the problem.  With that empathy, the customer is able to see that there is a human side to the company.

Take Responsibility for Your Actions

When a situation occurs, it’s necessary to take responsibility for your actions.  You personally might not have made a mistake, but the customer is talking with you, so you are now the face of the company.  There is nothing which will serve to infuriate your customers more than to say that it’s not your responsibility.

Apologize

It’s difficult, but apologizing means that you need to admit that something went wrong in the first place.  Don’t offer excuses through the course of the interaction, apologize for the fact that it did happen and see how the issue can be resolved.  Anything less is short-changing your customer.

Find a solution together

If the solution to the problem is not immediately forthcoming, talk with the customer to discover a solution together.  What can you, as the representative of the company, do to make it right?  Sometimes, the solution that the customer arrives at is much more lenient than the internal one that you came up with.   By using callcenter recording software, you’ll be able to help others within the organization arrive at similar great solutions.

Follow through

This is one of the most important steps in the process.  Make sure that you’re able to follow through on whatever customer recovery measure that you’ve decided on, then follow through.  Your customers will appreciate your honesty and commitment to their satisfaction. 

Validation and feedback

Make sure that the solution that you came up with together is the right solution for them.  They need to feel that the problem has been taken care of, and that you’ll do everything in your power to make sure that it doesn’t happen again. Your goal is to get complete satisfaction, and you should stop at nothing less.

While you might not want to be known for your customer recovery skills, they are still useful tools to have in your personal skillset.  By establishing a procedure beforehand, you’ll be able to display confidence to your irate customers and quickly calm them down.  The sooner you calm them down, the better chance you have of turning them into brand advocates.

 
CJ Silva is VP of Operations at KOVA Corporation.

Looking for some magic to motivate the troops?

By: Diane Morneau

Even before considering gamification tooling, managers have at their reach  inexpensive magic to motivate the troops:  exploiting collective passions. With a presentation software, we can associate a project to a trending topic - a sports event, a rising Internet game, a TV show, etc. - and create an ambiance for a project. People get mobilized and connect with each other in a collective passion. Why not spice up a project through the thematic?! Let me share some examples.

We are currently running Olympics to support a global enablement effort. We thought a little competition would be stimulating for this time sensitive delivery - we have 4 continents in the race. As the number of staff differs between locations, the targets are expressed in percentages of the local team, not to create Davids and Goliaths. Using multicolored graphics to report regularly on progress, interest picked very rapidly. Relevance of choice is important. The Olympics model was ideal for this two phase project: the preliminaries focused on the practice while the competitions are focused on the delivery. With the appropriate choice, the model helps the planning and the running of the project: things fall in place more easily.

In the next example, we wanted to enable everyone with knowledge that a few acquired through dealing with critical situations. We wanted the postmortem findings to reach contributors across the globe. Rather than deliver the lessons “dry”, we organized Jeopardy games. We used the data from the post mortems to feed the questions for the game. The games helped reinforce and spread the learning. While two teams faced each other competing for a day off, the game-show format extended the fun and learning to the entire audience.

The thematic can also be used for the sole purpose of creating interesting reporting. A few years back, I used the then-trending "Tiny Tower" game to model the reporting of a five phases re-engineering effort. We built a storyboard scene of a six stories building: the lobby where all participants appeared, one floor per phase and the roof. The participants were Bit-characters dressed in their country flag. During the project, we followed the bitizens progress through the floors, all the way to the much coveted roof. Each country wanting their bitizens up on the roof first, this lead to friendly peer pressure and alliances.

Rewards are most often Corporate provided - merchandise points, time off, or other items alike. Variety helps. In a world where Open badging is picking up in popularity, virtual rewards are increasingly given consideration and may be of interest. In my previous role, I lead a team of account managers who have great autonomy to find ways to personalize their service to bring value to their customers. To celebrate success and inspire others in their actions, I started each team meeting with a Superman slide where bullets highlighted accomplishments to which the contributors would speak. This was the most appreciated part of the meeting. I extended the metaphor by rewarding quarterly a top contributor with a collector comic’s book.

There are a myriad of events with global visibility that managers can choose from. Knowing your team members and their interests outside of work may help set the mood for the magic, else, the wisdom of the crowd can help identify trending topics. Even temporary, this little extra can go a long way to support the team members in developing their relationship and in their project delivery. Create and enjoy the moment!


Diane Morneau, M.Sc.
Manager of Communications, Offerings and Knowledge Development IBM 

Diane worked for several computer manufacturers, in pre- and post-sales’ positions, supporting technological progress and adoption. People-oriented and actively engaged, she assumed teaching, coaching, management and marketing roles. Achieving customer success through teaming, transferring knowledge and finding creative solutions to challenges are her true motivators.

Follow Diane on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Intraday Automation: Modernizing the Contact Center

By Kyle Antcliff

Contact center directors and the analysts who cover issues and trends relevant to the contact center and customer service are aware of the need to modernize and make contact center operations more efficient. So why does it seem that too often business unit leaders, including in marketing, IT and up to the c-Suite and board of directors, do not make the connection between the level of customer service the contact center provides and revenue growth? The answer can be as simple as the traditional role of the contact center has been to only field customer questions after marketing has launched its campaign and generated leads. However, not only have customer interactions become more complex, the contact center now collects volumes of information that can be invaluable to the marketing department during the planning stages of a campaign. Implementing the approach of intraday automation into contact center operations automates monitoring and uses the data to trigger a host of real-time workforce adjustments in response to changing conditions. The result is a real-time workforce that is more productive and delivers a better customer experience vis-a-vis competitors.

Customers expect to be able to interact with the frontline in a store, on the phone, in an online chat window, via email, and across social media platforms expecting immediate help with their questions. Trying to manually oversee interactions across all these channels and raise or lower staffing levels to meet customer demand wastes time, money and is prone to errors. In other words, the frontline has fallen behind the times. The entire operation of contact centers remain reactive and understaffed with undertrained operators. Not surprisingly, according to the Temkin Group, only six percent of companies rate themselves as customer service leaders.

In addition to preventing the frontline from providing excellent customer service, these taxing pressures breed unsatisfied employees, which raises attrition and increases the operating costs as new employees are constantly vetted and trained to replace the steady stream of employees who leave. The contact center needs a new normal that optimizes operations and frontline responders.

Forrester reports that 77 percent of US online adults say that valuing their time is the most important thing a company can do to provide them with good online customer service (Forrester), so it is critical to focus on improving an agent’s performance, service delivery and efficiency.

Intraday automation technology delivers a means of turning the mountains of data that come in at high-speeds into real-time workforce adjustments.  

Forward-thinking companies once trying to outrun challenges in the contact center can now overcome them and observe the following upsides via intraday automation: 

·         Optimization: Today’s manual monitoring and reactive process impacts costs, agent morale and engagement, and the customer experience. With Intraday Automation, frontline workforces respond in real-time to optimization opportunities. For instance, periods of lower or higher call volume, imbalance across interaction channels, overstaffing, understaffing, and individual adherence issues.  A more agile frontline workforce can adjust throughout the day to deliver a more consistent customer experience.

·         Training: In most contact centers, training and coaching are the first things pulled from an agent’s schedule.  With intraday automation, training is accomplished in response to a dip in customer volume.  In this new mode, a portion of unproductive idle time gets converted into usable time for training, coaching or even back office work.  Agents are prompted to work on assignments but redirected back to customers should demand come back to forecasted levels.  Insurance provider The General used intraday automation and turned what was unproductive idle time into two and a half hours of training time per agent per month without adding headcount or having to manually schedule it.

·         Reduced costs: Overall, businesses face the risk of losing staff and lowered profits in the long-term. A more agile frontline workforce can adjust throughout the day to deliver a dramatically better and more consistent customer experience, at a lower cost. By acting smarter they can allot their financial resources more efficiently through staffing, training, and decreasing agent turnover.

Before intraday automation, contact centers were incapable of responding to the influx of data. As contact centers begin to manage multiple interaction channels, including chat and social, the proliferation of data only increases. For the first time, Intraday Automation enables contact centers to take advantage of the many optimization opportunities that exist throughout the day.

For businesses, the results directly affect business success by creating a sustained, improved level of customer experience, while saving time and money.  

Kyle is a thought leader on how a real-time workforce delivers a better customer experience. Before joining Intradiem, Kyle was Chief Operating Officer at TALENThire (workforce management) where he led the company’s growth and recognition as a Georgia Top 40 Technology Company. Prior to TALENThire, Kyle served as Vice-President International for Marketworks (eCommerce) where he played a key role in the Company's 65% annual growth and acquisition. Kyle graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems and holds an MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

Change is Good! Successfully Navigating Change in Your Center

By: Sean Hawkins

Change is inevitable! If you don’t manage it, it will manage you, and the results can be disastrous!  So, what are some ways to successfully navigate change?  This was the key agenda item discussed by contact center thought leaders Sarah Reed, Gerry Barber, Larry Eiser, Brad Cleveland at Contact Center Expo & Conference 2015. 

What made this session meaningful, besides receiving wisdom from a great panel, was the use of actual case studies.  The panelists were able to describe in detail the methodologies used to bring about change while avoiding some of the primary pain points associated with the change process.

The panel discussed the following four phases to change that must be managed:

• Denial
• Resistance
• Commitment
• Exploration

Each presents a unique set of behavioral challenges that will hinder effective change.  Emphasis was placed on how to reconcile these behaviors, right the ship, and bring a transformation that is meaningful.  A sentiment shared among the entire panel was to understand change is not a swift process. As Brad stated, “you can’t turn the ship around overnight, but you can start the turn overnight”. This is done by admitting and accepting there is a problem.

Through each step in the cycle of change, the audience was presented with the actual steps the speakers undertook to guide the people and processes.  Examples of the behaviors displayed, and thoughts expressed in each phase were discussed along with some best practices to correctly manage them.

1. Some particularly noteworthy comments:
2. Inspire and coach during change
3. Change is journey, not a destination
4. Establish your baseline and your vision
5. Get the right people “on board”
6. Effective communication with all stakeholders is a must
7. Celebrate the journey and each milestone

This group of thought leaders gave relevant content that has been tested and utilized throughout their careers. For those going through change, the process became less daunting as a result of this informative session.  Many in the crowd expressed the pleasure in attending and look forward to returning to their respective contact centers with a renewed outlook.

This article originally appeared on ICMI.

Sean is a Contact Center manager with over 15 years of experience. He has a terrific pulse on incorporating innovation into the contact center. He's implemented social, outsourcing partners, new technology, and new products, while maintaining an award-winning contact center.
His contact center is a past winner of the ICMI "Global Call Center of the Year" award for Small to Medium-Sized Centers.
Follow on Twitter @SeanBHawkins

How To Deliver A Top-Shelf Customer Service Experience

By: CJ Silva

The customer is always right.  Anyone who’s been in business or worked at a call center knows that the truth can be very, very different.  The secret of successful customer service rests in the customer never being told that, yet being educated about your company’s goals and visions in the process.  Many customers who need help are frustrated because whatever they bought isn't working to their expectations and it's often difficult to channel that frustration into something productive. With a little work and forethought, you can manage to reduce, or even remove, that frustration.

Get to Know Your Customers
The first step in anything is to know what you're getting yourself into. When it comes to customer service, that means getting to know about your customers. How old do they tend to be? Where do they live? What are the most important facets of their lifestyles? Are they mostly students? Families with children? Do you cater to a particular hobby? All of these things may be important in establishing a comprehensive sense of your customer base.

Involvement in social sites is key. Today, just about everyone is on Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, or any of the other popular social sites. Your company should be there, too. It's not only a great way to interact with your customers directly, it's a way to get to know them.

In a brick-and-mortar store, one way to make customers feel like you care about them is to address them by name when they arrive. You can do something similar even if your business is wholly online by using the information you've learned to personalize your interactions with your customers. When you care about your customers, and understand their needs, that immediately raises the quality of the customer’s experience.

Customer Participation Brings Them Back for More
Using either social sites, or your own website, ask your customers questions. Set up surveys to ask them how they think you're doing. Not all of them will rate your customer service or have ideas about how to improve, but many of them will, and some of their advice is well worth your time.

Consider a place for customer reviews. It's very likely that most people who go to a website to buy something read any available reviews before they make a final decision. Good reviews can make a sale for you better than any ad copy ever will.

Take the time to read all constructive reviews, even (or maybe especially) the ones that aren't so flattering. If you have the opportunity, see if you can find out what went wrong with the poor reviews by contacting those reviewers personally.  Reward them by offering some incentive and talking with them personally.  In fact, reward your customers for being customers, no matter how they have viewed the experience with you.  That interaction can turn even the most jaded ex-customers into brand evangelists.

Offer a Better Web Experience
It goes without saying that your website should be functional. Strictly functional, however, is not a great customer experience. Your site needs to inspire the senses. People respond to appeals to the senses, so if your site is appealing, it will enhance the customer experience.

Another old saying applies here: "A picture is worth a thousand words".  This is especially true when it comes to the limited space available on a webpage. There's only so much space to display what you want your customer to see, so it's important to make that space count. You may not find pictures of your product particular interesting, but most people like to see what they're getting before they take the plunge and buy it.

If you're going to make your website graphically engaging, perhaps even with multiple images per product or different views of what you're offering, you have to make sure your website is up to the challenge. The last thing you want is for customers to move to another website because it takes several minutes for the pictures to pop up.

Do not forget mobile users. Your content should be viewable on any platform, whether laptop computer, desktop computer, mobile phone, or tablet. There are millions of people who use a phone as their primary access to the internet. Take advantage of that by making your website mobile-friendly. As long as your site is able to load in a few seconds, customers will stay to browse, and when they want to browse your site, that is also a clear sign of a good customer experience.

Staff Matters, Too
A company that is more than one owner is going to need to train staff to better handle customer service. The quality customer experience is directly linked to the person who answers the phone when they call. Taking time out for customer service training is essential, but it doesn't stop there. Offer incentives to representatives who leave the customers feeling better than before they called.

When it comes to top-shelf customer service experience, take some time to think about how you would like to be treated as a customer.  Think about the last purchase that you made and what you’d like your call centers and customer service reps to say if you had to call them.  There is where you can set your own company apart from the rest.

 CJ Silva is VP of Operations at KOVA Corporation.