In previous Industry Insights in this series, we looked at what it takes to craft a dynamic contact centre. From the early work we've done in South Africa, we can confirm that the dynamic contact centre has gone far, from being a theoretical construct to something that delivers breakthrough customer service and that can revolutionise internal processes.
With these insights, let's use an imaginary time machine and fast-forward three years to a time when the dynamic contact centre is well bedded down and fully operational.
The dynamic contact centre is so far removed from the common contact centre experience today that it takes something of a leap of imagination to visualise it.
Happiness is...
It is characterised by happiness: customers are happy, agents are happy, and, best of all, management is happy, as the bottom line is positively impacted.
If a company has successfully implemented a dynamic contact centre, it will surge ahead of the competition. This happens because it is delivering a superior customer experience. Imagine, for instance, a 73% drop in average call time from first contact to reaching the desired destination: from 75 seconds to 20.
The dynamic contact centre provides a superior customer experience in four main domains:
* Competence: Callers are rapidly guided to an agent with the right skills profile to fulfil their requirement. If call times are too long - and this can still happen - the caller is offered a convenient call-back option. The most amazing thing will happen: customers will actually look forward to calling the contact centre.
* Personalisation: Customers simply hate getting through to a different agent every time they call. With the dynamic contact centre, wherever possible, customers are routed to the agent they've dealt with in the past. And as all of a customer's details and contact history are on hand, there is no need for a caller to repeat himself; and if a different agent answers, they at least have a similar skills set and the customer history available.
* Proactiveness: Imagine an airline calls to advise a person that his flight has been cancelled, rather than him finding out after he has travelled to the airport. Or a cellular company calls to discuss a deviation in traditional call patterns, indicating possible abuse or theft. Both of these are entirely possible with the dynamic contact centre, which provides companies with the capability to contact customers to notify them of important issues, or to provide additional assistance.
* Convenience: Why should a person have to contact a company at a time or through a channel that suits them, rather than the individual? The dynamic contact centre allows customers to make contact at a time convenient to the customer, and through multiple channels: telephone, fax, e-mail and Web chat, to mention four. Customers can easily choose and access any of these channels, and which ever they choose, they enjoy a consistent, high-quality service experience.
* Boost agent productivity and satisfaction: Agents are the cornerstone, and the greatest cost component, of any contact centre. The dynamic contact centre delivers agent nirvana: agent boredom and frustration are minimised and they are fully utilised based on their specific capabilities.
The dynamic contact centre allows customers to make contact at a time convenient to the customer, and through multiple channels
Peter Flanagan is director of Intelleca.
Agents in the dynamic contact centre are empowered: knowledgeable, fully trained and conversant with the latest internal and external information. They are able to solve customer issues while meeting business goals.
They can do this because they are surrounded with all the tools of the trade. For instance, when a customer calls in, the agent is presented with their data and history. The agent also has all the technology required to ensure first-contact resolution and the smoothest, most pleasurable customer experience.
And, as we all know, a happy, satisfied agent leads to a happy customer; and it has a profound impact on operational efficiencies, which feeds through to the bottom line.
It also has a directly positive impact on agent attrition and absenteeism, as contented agents are less likely to leave or stay away from work.
* In the next Industry Insight in this series, I'll look at how the dynamic contact centre saves money and helps boost revenue.
* Peter Flanagan is director of Intelleca.
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