Employee wellbeing matters: treat your customers like your staff
Digital transformation, AI, data mining and the cloud drive efficiencies and improve customer engagement. An estimated 46% of customer interactions are already automated, with the trend toward automation having further accelerated during the pandemic.
However, as chatbots pick off the simpler queries, contact centre staff are taking the strain having to deal with more complex customer enquiries. This can take a toll on advisors’ mental and emotional wellbeing. Agent attrition is 15% (average) across UK call centers.
That annual attrition rate costs a 500-seat contact center approaching £1m to recruit and train advisors. Your people are your number one CX asset, so it’s vital you take care of them. As Virgin boss Richard Branson said: “The way you treat your employees is the way they will treat your customers.”
Turn CX innovation inwards to the call center
According to Herve Racine, Country Manager, Sabio France, Italy and Morocco, turning CX innovation inwards to the contact center can enable the same powerful technologies that deliver automation to also support advisors with their complex workloads. For example, by integrating multiple solutions, it’s possible to create a single, unified desktop that provides advisors with a view of customer touchpoints across all channels.
A unified desktop sits at the heart of a successful ‘human service’ approach. You may think delivering a unified desktop means adopting a range of new technologies. However, the likelihood is you already have many of the components you need and can take an iterative approach that, importantly, brings contact center advisors with you.
Iteration starts by seeing where you are now. How advanced is your CX? Use data to agree on what success looks like, identify a strategy, and build a blueprint for success. Organizations that use data-led decision-making will see the most successful transformational outcomes.
How can data support customer center advisors?
Imagine if your advisors know why customers are calling and how best to meet their needs. Mining real caller trends insight can give advisors a more granular view of each caller’s intent. It can also improve call routing and create a seamless journey between IVR automation and informed human advisors.
Yet, even the best advisors don’t have all the answers. So, use AI to support advisors in delivering better customer service. AI systems can give advisors contextual feedback in real-time, so they know the best actions to take, helping them deliver first-class CX.
How do you know if you’re getting it right?
No one knows better than your advisors. Regular pulse surveys can spot trends before motivation dips. Likewise, you should be asking customers to rate their experiences at every step, helping you spot issues and close the feedback loop.
Do both, and you’ll know if you have happy advisors and happier customers.
Sabio believes in combining automation with a human service approach. We’re tech-agnostic and work with a range of partners to find a solution that suits you – and your customers best.
To find out more about Sabio’s human services approach, download our e-book on Putting your people first.
