Understanding the Implications of Contact Center Automation for Tomorrow
As traditional call centers transition away from older systems, there's an increasing pressure to meet the consumer-centric demands of modern customer service.
With customers now expecting swifter and more streamlined experiences, automating contact centers is a pressing requirement. Consequently, the model of contact center as a service (CCaaS) has seen a surge in popularity. Embracing automation and innovation is key to delivering improved, efficient, and prompt support.
This piece delves into the essence of automation and its implications for contact centers in the near future. Dive in!
Emerging Automation Paradigms in Contact Centers
According to UiPath’s 2022 report, automation ranks high among executive priorities. Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are exploring ways to effectively leverage technology across enterprises. With the surge in contact center automation, a plethora of tools and solutions have come to the forefront.
Here's a look at the top three automation shifts in the realm of contact centers:
1. Streamlining with Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
RPA offers businesses an avenue to optimize tedious processes, bypassing repetitive tasks and amplifying operational efficiency. Data from Precedence Research predicts the RPA sector to touch nearly $24 billion by 2030. A study by Deloitte indicates that about 80% of firms are already harnessing the power of RPA.
Such robotic solutions can be invaluable for contact centers. They facilitate quick responses to basic client inquiries, while human agents tackle more intricate challenges. Moreover, RPA tools aggregate customer data from diverse sources, offering agents a holistic view of the customer.
2. Harnessing Artificial Intelligence Effectively
Despite the escalating investments, the UiPath report suggests that the ROI for contact center automation is still behind the curve, largely due to the steep learning curve associated with new technologies.
For many organizations, introducing a novel AI system can span over a month. Moreover, some AI solutions remain dormant.
UiPath advocates for automation centers of excellence (CoEs) to bridge these gaps. CoEs should foster teamwork, spotlighting areas where potent AI models lie unused. The report also recommends CoEs to harness cutting-edge automation tools, accelerating the deployment and administration of AI-rich processes.
3. Transitioning to a Human-Digital Collaborative Space
The convergence of live and virtual agents might define the standard work environment within half a decade. However, mere investment in tools isn't sufficient. Both IT and HR departments must champion this change and ensure employee adoption.
The roles and responsibilities of certain employees may undergo transformations. Integrating them into this collaborative framework demands time and effort. Moreover, as highlighted by a recent Deloitte analysis, societal apprehensions persist, sometimes hindering the full embrace of robotics and automation.
Exploring Future Techniques in Contact Center Automation
Contact center automation is about using tools to perform repetitive tasks that would otherwise require human intervention. A significant majority, over 80% of companies, are utilizing automation to manage tasks that are both mundane and time-consuming. The ultimate objective is to boost efficiency and elevate the customer experience.
For example, businesses are now implementing automatic speech recognition (ASR) to augment interactive voice response (IVR) systems. This lets users access self-service options for tasks like checking balances. Additionally, ASR ensures a customer is authenticated before they're connected to an agent.
Below, we'll dive deeper into these futuristic automation approaches.
1. Predictive Automation
Contact centers are hubs for enormous data sets, including details about clients, products, and inbound requests. These data points are essential for both forecasting and analytics.
CCaaS is now paving the way for predictive automation, which dives deep into existing data to recognize and anticipate trends. This type of automation equips contact centers with the means to decode their data and extract practical insights. For instance, it can determine the optimal moments for off-phone activities, removing the manual chore of strategizing for superior data outcomes.
2. Sales-Centric Automation
Tailored to streamline sales and marketing functions, this technique is designed to hasten buying cycles and spike conversion rates. Tasks like campaign executions, customer onboarding, and post-sale communication can be seamlessly automated.
Moreover, this automation can deliver a unique and tailored experience to prospects. It might, for instance, dispatch email promotions based on a user’s shopping habits or browsing activities.
3. Interaction-Driven Automation
This automation type leverages CCaaS tools, chatbots being a prime example. Essentially, it covers all customer self-service facets. An AI-fueled IVR stands as a prime representation of this automation in contact centers.
Such advanced tools gather insights about a client's intent, prepping the customer service personnel about the caller's requirements even before a conversation begins. For instance, using an AI-enhanced IVR or a digital customer service knowledge base can provide agents a richer context about a customer based on previous interactions or purchase history.
4. Streamlining Workflows through Automation
Contact center representatives juggle a multitude of tasks, from handling various communication channels to customer interactions and data entry. These tasks are not immune to human errors.
Workflow automation offers a remedy, allowing agents to delegate repetitive tasks to AI. Whether it's basic tasks like data entry or more intricate ones like prospect follow-ups, automation ensures agents can divert their energies to more critical functions.
5. Automating Post-Call Tasks
After-call tasks, known as after-call work (ACW), is a pivotal part of the contact process. If not handled meticulously, there's a risk of inaccurate data making its way into the CRM.
Take the example of encoding disposition codes. Agents might opt for the easiest choice rather than the most accurate one. Robotic process automation (RPA) stands as a potential solution, tackling the majority of ACW, ensuring data precision, and promoting efficiency.
By keeping tabs on the actions of agents and the platforms they access, AI can map out their digital paths during an interaction. This can lead to the automatic generation of ACW summaries. Agents then only need to verify this data, which not only simplifies their role but also reduces time spent per call.
The preliminary phases of call dispositions can further be automated using speech analytics to discern a caller’s objective. Integrating disposition codes with IVR is another innovative method, allowing callers to input the codes independently.
Upcoming Features in Contact Center Automation
The automation sector is expanding rapidly, with the workflow automation market projected to reach nearly $79 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 23.4%.
Below are some promising automation tools for contact centers that seamlessly blend AI and human interaction:
Customer Support Automation This feature channels customers directly to the appropriate system using voice assistants or chatbots. It facilitates quicker resolutions by removing manual processes and allowing customers to self-serve with minimal human intervention. Such automation not only enhances efficiency by handling routine queries but also boosts metrics like customer satisfaction and average response time.
AI-Powered Decision Making Experienced team members instruct AI on which tasks to automate and which require human touch. By doing this, the system utilizes the collective expertise of the workforce, enhancing operations while preserving the quality of traditional interactions. The valuable insights from employees enable AI to refine its responses.
Compliance Assistance for Agents To ensure compliance with standards, AI aids agents by providing real-time information. This tool aids in following guidelines and offers agents guidance in real-time, merging the strengths of human intuition with the computational prowess of technology.
Smart Scheduling Optimal staff scheduling can be cumbersome, but with automated scheduling powered by AI, the process becomes efficient, ensuring balanced workloads for all representatives.
Voice Technology Innovations Various speech technologies enhance bot-human interactions, such as:
Recognizing user speech
Generating custom audio replies
Handling interruptions during bot responses These advancements ensure smooth communication between users and the system.
Benefits of Contact Center Automation
Enhanced Customer Experience Valuing customers' time is crucial. Automation allows immediate engagement, swiftly addressing issues like password resets or statement queries. When human intervention is required, smart routing ensures customers connect with the right agent promptly.
Operational Efficiency Reducing the average handling time (AHT) is a major advantage of automation. Implementing automation in phases can lead to significant reductions in AHT.
Revenue Growth Balancing service quality and cost is essential. AI-driven automation offers enhanced customer satisfaction without escalating costs, enabling businesses to tap new digital avenues without incurring additional expenses.
Employee Morale Boost Automation isn't about replacing human agents. Most contact centers report that virtual support enhances job satisfaction. Agents prefer handling intricate issues over mundane tasks, and automation facilitates this.
In Conclusion From sales to internal processes, automation is reshaping the landscape of contact centers. Progressive companies are embracing automation to elevate customer interactions.
Atento, a premier customer service outsourcing firm, specializes in assisting businesses in automating their customer service operations, enhancing efficiency, and cutting costs. Reach out to our experts to explore how we can assist you.
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