In the previous Industry Insight in this series, it was discussed how the mutual but distinctly separate interests of customers and management could be addressed through the dynamic contact centre. In this column, the key attributes of the dynamic contact centre will take centre stage.
It is important to note the dynamic contact centre is not another technology fad, but rather a genuine vendor response to customer requirements. Companies that implement these 10 capabilities will soon enjoy significant competitive advantage.
Many organisations are struggling to contend with the seemingly contradictory requirements of efficiency as management requires, and world-class service, which is what customers expect.
As with any new technology offering, there will be a great deal of confusion - some of it being created by vendors - as to just what the dynamic contact centre is.
Here are the 10 capabilities to look for if a vendor tells the company he can offer a dynamic contact centre:
1. Customer-centric routing: This is the ability to route any interaction to the right resource with the right information, regardless of location. It forms the very backbone of the dynamic contact centre.
2. Workforce management and optimisation: Effectively managing resources is right up there as a priority with the dynamic contact centre. Workforce management and optimisation give managers control over their operations: traffic volumes, skills levels and availability, resourcing, and performance management.
3. Business process routing: In most companies, the front office and back office are managed separately, with the result that customer interactions are uneven. Business process routing integrates back-office activities with contact centre activities to improve customer service and overall productivity. This is instrumental in delivering first-call resolution, decreasing hold times, and driving customer satisfaction.
4. Real-time recommendation: The best contact centres mix sales and service with a combined focus to give the customer the best of both worlds. This capability empowers agents by anticipating customer needs at the ideal time, and makes the right products available to customers as and when they might need them.
5. Consolidation and virtualisation of resources: This allows management to unify disparate technologies and contact centre resources through a common software platform.
The best contact centres mix sales and service with a combined focus to give the customer the best of both worlds.
Peter Flanagan is director of Intelleca.
6. Proactive contact management: Being proactive is the essence of the dynamic contact centre. It means anticipating customer needs, reaching out to them before they expect it, and creating unexpected value for customers.
7. Reporting and analytics: Contact centres generate huge volumes of data, which should be analysed and reported on so as to improve customer service and provide insight into operations. Reporting and analytics allow management to assess the health of their contact centre by providing both historical and real-time views.
8. Branch, remote and expert integration: This allows the organisation to use specialised resources outside of the contact centre, and manage interactions based on business strategies and objectives. For instance, instead of a caller waiting five minutes for a contact centre agent, and then being routed to a domain expert, or to a branch, the dynamic contact centre can anticipate needs, reducing wait times and enhancing the overall customer experience.
9. Internet and multimedia integration: This permits the integration of voice and non-voice interactions with a consistent experience and outcome. Customers should have the right to choose their channel of interaction, and the dynamic contact centre permits just that.
10. Integrated self-service: Such a capability provides a superior customer experience while reducing handling times and service delivery costs. The dynamic contact centre uses touch-tone or speech applications to identify and resolve customer requests and transfer complex calls to the right resource.
Any company can begin to incorporate dynamic contact centre capabilities into their operations, regardless of their level of maturity or sophistication. The key to implementing a dynamic contact centre is based on assessing a contact centre's state and maturity. An existing contact centre can gradually incorporate one or more capabilities to gradually evolve into a dynamic contact centre.
* In the next Industry Insight in this series, find out how these capabilities can be orchestrated so as to combine their power and enhance both customer service and return on investment.
* Peter Flanagan is director of Intelleca.
Share