When we talk about digitising the customer experience, it’s usually in the context of creating seamless self-serve journeys so customers don’t have to call in.
But some people still need to call you: not everyone can self-serve, and not all problems can be solved via chat, email or messaging. So it makes sense to have a contact centre experience that’s as seamless as your digital one. And that means embracing technology.
Here are 3 ways you can use technology to support agents, give them a better work environment and deliver an exceptional customer experience.
Give agents tools to provide more efficient support
Agents are under a lot of pressure to meet productivity KPIs, and the right tools can help them deliver results while reducing their stress. But they need to be the right tools.
Before investing, speak to agents to understand what’s frustrating about current systems. That way, you can hone in on what to replace with slicker solutions, and what deployments will make the most difference to day-to-day work.
When implementing new technology, make sure you consider integration. These days, customers can get in touch through so many channels, including social, email, phone and live chat. If you want the new tools to truly improve contact centre efficiency, you need to make sure they fully integrate across all your channels.
Tools like Engage Hub’s AI-powered Agent enable seamless, multi-channel communication. They ensure agents can access and update all relevant customer data (such as call outcomes, contact history, and consent preferences) in real-time, from one place. Features like in-built PCI compliance mean agents can support vulnerable customers and securely take IVR credit card payments. All this eliminates the frustration around customers having to repeat themselves or be transferred between departments. And that means agents are armed to resolve issues faster.
With Engage Hub Agent, you can also gain customer satisfaction insight through personalised post-call surveys, making it easier to identify bottlenecks and drive continuous improvement.
Automate mundane tasks
Contact centre staff are notoriously busy, and that’s more true than ever thanks to backlogs from the pandemic. One of the best ways to support agents is to remove routine, manual tasks from their workload, freeing them to focus on really helping customers.
Automated tools like Conversational IVR and Cross-channel Chatbots, which are AI-powered and use Natural Language Processing (NLP), make self-service easier – even for people who prefer to ring up. You can also put initial voice calls into automated workflows that help people move seamlessly between channels, offering maximum convenience without requiring input from humans in different departments.
Therefore, by digitising your first line of voice support for routine queries, you help customers get the resolution they need quicker – and allow agents to spend more time on the complex issues they’re really needed for.
Implement predictive call handling
Managing contact centre demand is one of the toughest operational challenges, but when done right, it can dramatically improve both customer and employee experiences.
By using predictive call handling to anticipate customer intent, you can route people to the right place faster. This involves solutions such as offering personalised IVR menu options, encouraging self-service and providing alternative contact methods where appropriate to save people from queuing.
This personalisation means customers get to their destination faster, which means smaller backlogs and less burden on agents.
Motivate agents with the right technology
Technology has the power to dramatically improve call centre efficiency. But more importantly, it has the power to make life easier for your agents. When life’s easier, agents are more motivated and more productive. And when your agents are motivated and productive, your customers are happier.
Want to know more about how to maximise your team’s valuable time while boosting customer satisfaction? Get in touch today.
For more insights, download our brand-new guide, “From Self-service to Assisted Service” today.
