As we enter 2023, contact centers are preparing for the year ahead. The technology we use can make or break the ability to achieve our goals. From projections, scheduling, channel optimization, data management and delivering exceptional customer experience (CX) – just to name a few – technology can be used to relieve pressure and streamline administration and focus on strategy.
Let’s look at some call center technologies and platforms that will continue to impact contact centers in 2023.
Automation
Call center processes involve a high percentage of manual tasks. Robotic process automation (RPA) has the power to alleviate the burden and micromanagement of manual, repetitive processes; enabling contact centers to focus on providing better customer service while remaining compliant. With massive amounts of data generated every second, having the right technology in place can save organizations time, prevent missed opportunities and provide excellent ROI. In an era of perpetual information overload, call center automation and compliance become more valuable as data increases. An effective set of RPA tools can process high-volume data in real-time or on a set schedule of your choice (unattended RPA) and accomplish the tedious and duplicatable work that often bogs down employees. Applied in call center processes, automation simplifies procedures with rules based on policies – eliminating mistakes and reducing workload. RPA in call centers can initiate, route, respond or transfer inbound inquiries or customers based on rules, thereby providing customer service support to your front-line workers and administrators.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be applied both internally to workforce engagement management (WEM) and externally to CX, allowing you to optimize the management and development of your employees and view, model, and understand the customer experience. Combined with traditional engagement and omnichannel metrics, call center AI can optimize agents’ availability and decisions while streamlining inbound and outbound campaigns. AI predictive modeling used in combination with WEM and WFM solutions can optimize forecasting; and combined with RPA, can simplify your agent and supervisor processes. An AI platform that harnesses the data of CRM strategically can change the entire customer experience. By focusing on interactions and connections, look for AI technology to continually improve quality and service models using probability and priority across digital and voice channels. Used properly, it’s extremely possible for your business to maximize marketing objectives, maintain customer expectations and improve team performance by leveraging AI technology.
Gamification
Call center gamification technology provides outstanding ROI due to the speed, accuracy and volume of learning and engagement that can be accomplished. Call center processes and compliance requires accuracy in application and reporting and a strict adherence to regulations; gamification is perfectly suited for this purpose. As AI, RPA and omnichannel communications become more prevalent, mundane and lower-level tasks will diminish. Gamification training strategies in the contact center can be specifically designed to make sure your agents are prepared to deal with escalations and complications that these new processes just cannot handle. Your call center omnichannel strategy combined with gamification technology and techniques can ensure your business has the capacity to blend and seamlessly integrate inbound/outbound messaging and strategies with dynamic scripting and what-if training. Designing your training and continuing education to gamify will ensure your live agents, omnichannel, automation and AI technology platforms all sync up.
As new tools to improve the customer and employee experience develop, newer strategies emerge. Automation, AI, and gamification technologies unlock valuable information that exists across platforms and enable you to action key information and models relevant to CX. As customer behaviors change, look for these technologies to provide unlimited opportunities to refine and perfect your customer service and sales strategy.
