Contact centers need a flexible and secure infrastructure to support remote access to support home agents, “on the go” leaders, outsourcers, business continuity, and branches and retail outlets. Fortunately, enhancements in core technology and network connectivity, along with the proliferation of cloud systems, create a simplified approach to remote access to contact center systems. For… Read More »
If you talk about omnichannel or optimizing customer experiences, you have to talk about the role of the smartphone. It is becoming THE ubiquitous and predominant tool for both self-service and assisted service. Don’t believe me? Then let me share just a few of the hard facts about them. Pew Research Center says 77% of… Read More »
Technology procurement is a mission-critical task for a contact center. If you score the right enabling technology with the right vendor partner, your center can be on the path to greater agent productivity, improved customer experience, and heightened insights into operational performance. Make the wrong choice, and you risk a painful implementation, suboptimal performance, and… Read More »
Omnichannel is everywhere – vendor marketing, analyst articles, conference sessions, client wish lists. While touted as a new concept, it doesn’t seem all that different from the multimedia routing and reporting (MMRR) that have been around for years and have been so difficult to achieve. So it’s fair to ask: What’s really new? Omnichannel seeks… Read More »
Contact centers have matured in their operational requirements and sophistication, as evidenced on a few fronts. Siloed multichannel, multimedia offerings are giving way to the quest for seamless, integrated, omnichannel service delivery. Managers join folks on the front-line in the quest for better desktop applications and knowledge sources. Managers are placing increased emphasis on performance… Read More »
In spite of the fact that nearly every “call center” is now a “contact center,” we observe little substance to the discussion – much less action – around multi-channel Workforce Management (WFM). With “omnichannel” one of the most frequently heard buzz words in our industry, we decided it was time to look at planning, forecasting,… Read More »
I just returned from Dallas where I mingled with new and old friends at ICMI’s Contact Center Demo & Conference. I relish interacting with contact center professionals during the half-day and one-hour seminars that I teach. And, of course, I like to check out the latest vendor offerings. My sessions on technology selection and implementation… Read More »
Both Human Resources and the Contact Center play a key role in optimizing the “talent acquisition” process. HR has broad responsibility and perspective to support enterprise-wide needs, and its pursuit of technology generally aligns with that charter. But the Contact Center often struggles to get value from HR’s enterprise-wide tools and services, or seeks its… Read More »
Every contact center looks for ways to be more effective and efficient in handling customer contacts. Process improvement is a high impact opportunity. Yet we see few centers focus attention on the agent desktop, a common hindrance to smooth processes and a ripe target to enable dramatic changes. Given the potential payback, agent desktop optimization… Read More »
The cloud is a strong contender for contact center technology today, and the market hype makes it look as simple as buying a mobile phone app! While it may look “fast and easy” on the surface, centers of any size or complexity need to do more than just turn on some software licenses and hope… Read More »