The Ancient Greek Philosopher Heraclitus tells us: “The only thing certain is change.” I went down a little rabbit hole reading about that quote and loved the drumbeat of how we all need to adapt to change, because it is coming at us all the time, whether we like it or not. And that is… Read More »
The “state-of-the-market” is exciting; make thoughtful decisions to reap the rewards I bet you are interested in the “state-of-the-market” of contact center technology and eager to see what it can do for your center. You may probe vendor websites or attend webinars to get a handle on what’s new and interesting. You may read analyst… Read More »
Once you’ve decided which technologies you’d like to pursue for your contact center, you’ll need to establish the parameters and timeframe for your selection process. You may want to check out a post from a few years back that is still relevant, entitled How to Streamline the Vendor Selection Process. That blog discusses variations in… Read More »
When you want to implement new contact center technology capabilities – not just “lift and shift” your existing way of doing things – it takes time to design, configure, integrate, test, and roll them into production. You may also consider a phased or “MVP” (Minimum Viable Product) implementation. This post provides a list of best… Read More »
I’ve been asked by Contact Center Pipeline to lend my voice to an article on contact center trends for 2024. I wouldn’t dare write about it without talking about Artificial Intelligence (AI). But here’s the $64,000 question: Will it be the breakthrough that contact centers are hoping for, or another technology that falls short of… Read More »
My last post took an analytical perspective on the state of credit union contact centers based on our proprietary Efficiency and Effectiveness Evolution (E3) Spectrums® tool. We also keep our fingers on the CU pulse through interactions with leaders and assessment project work that delivers direct input from frontline staff through surveys. In CU contact… Read More »
In recent years, we have had the pleasure of being immersed in the credit union industry. We’ve fielded comprehensive benchmarking surveys that cover contact center operations, metrics, technology, and resiliency. We’ve facilitated advisory group meetings and roundtables in which CU contact center leaders discuss significant accomplishments, challenges, and plans. And we’ve worked with many CUs… Read More »
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Bots are no longer just market hype. They are real, and clients are planning for, and implementing, them. They hold the promise of “deflecting” volume through self-service as well as improving user interfaces that boost authentication and optimize routing. If you take off your contact center hat and wear your “customer… Read More »
Strategic Contact conducts many assessment and roadmap projects each year. Support functions represent one element that we evaluate according to the following model: We assess whether the center addresses each function and, if so, by whom and how well. Almost without exception, we uncover gaps that lead to recommendations to fulfill these essential roles. In… Read More »
We’ve just published results from our Seventh Annual Contact Center Challenges and Priorities Survey. As with prior years, it was a short survey that asked two simple questions of contact center professionals: What are your biggest challenges today? What are your top priorities for the new year? We’ve been throwing in a bonus question the… Read More »