We all know that contact centers require a thoughtful balance of People, Process and Technology. The technology in a contact center, ideally, should support and enhance the other two components (People and Process).
When it comes to technology, vendors are always pushing the next big thing. They can make it sound like everyone else has all of the new capabilities. But do they really?
In this Town Hall discussion, we discussed how to separate the vendor hype from what is happening in the real world. Attendees answered poll questions about their current problems, the technologies they use today, and what they are planning to implement in the next 2 to 3 years.
A great discussion for anyone who wants to know what others are actually doing, so you can answer the question, “Is my contact center behind?”
We started with a poll about the problems people are facing with their current technology.
The biggest problems that the group is facing are:
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Limitations of existing systems
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Increasing customer expectations
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Personalization is difficult/lack of real time data
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Too much time spent on documentation
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No predictive tools
In the middle of the pack, fewer people were facing these issues:
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IT can’t stay current
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No omni-channel support
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No proactive tools
The categories that ranked the lowest in the list of potential problems were:
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No multi-channel capability
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Caller authentication takes too long
Next, we looked at the technologies people are using currently. Not unexpectedly, current capabilities in use by the majority of the group included:
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Multi-Channel
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Call Recording and Speech Analytics
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Workforce Scheduling and Adherence
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Quality Monitoring and Assurance
Less common were:
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Omni-Channel
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Proactive Notifications
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Chatbots
Interestingly, 38% of the responders indicated that they are currently using Artificial Intelligence.
Finally, we asked about what people are planning to add in the near future.
In the next 24 months, the top priority is Artificial Intelligence. Next in line, there was a 5-way tie for the following capabilities: Omni Channel, Speech Analytics (word or sentiment recognition), Proactive Notifications, Chat Bots, and Intelligent routing to match best agent for each call. The lowest priority was Self-service for Routing Inquiries
And slightly further out, in the projects in the next 36 months include:
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Automated Authentication
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Agent Assist
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Chatbots
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This was a tie between Sentiment Analysis and Proactive Call Routing
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Automated Compliance Monitoring
Melissa Swartz is founder of leading independent consulting firm focusing on business communications technology projects, transition to cloud, VOIP, Unified Communications, UCaaS, CCaaS, and Contact Center technology acquisition and implementation. Veteran consultants with experience to guide clients through complex projects and transition to cloud.
