Today’s contact centre workforce wants the flexibility to be able to work from anywhere, with easy-to-use technology. On the business side, providing this flexibility opens access to a wider talent pool and boosts retention. However, it relies on furnishing users with the tools they need to work remotely from any internet-connected device. To do this seamlessly, your contact centre solution…
Since its first release in 2017, Microsoft Teams has enabled businesses to shift successfully from on-site to remote working. And now we are looking at the new post-pandemic normal of hybrid working: a combination of on-site and remote. For the first time, contact centre agents can be both remote and connected to the whole business, wherever they are. Customer journeys are becoming…
In 1992 BT ran an experiment in Inverness – inventively named “the Inverness Experiment”. Eleven valiant volunteers from our contact centres (then called operator services) worked from home for a year. Far from unearthing a monster, the experiment was a success. Customer satisfaction went up, and so did employee satisfaction. However, in those days there was no broadband or WiFi,…
As the contact centre industry evolves, there’s an increasing focus on collaboration and agility. As well as empowering agents to deliver a better, more joined-up experience. For this reason, many contact centres are turning to Microsoft Teams. Relying on its combination of productivity tools, workplace chat, video meetings, shared file storage, and application integration designed to deliver a powerful collaboration…
Whatever industry you are in, great customer service leads to success. And with more and more routine customer queries now handled through self-service and chatbots, this increases the importance of your agents dealing with the remaining, more complex questions. So how do you go engage with and empower customer service agents? That’s the theme of The UK Inner Circle Guide…
It’s been another year of transformation for the contact centre industry. The pandemic continues to impact every aspect of people’s lives, forcing companies to adapt to new customer behaviours and changing working models. To help prepare for the year ahead, we’re therefore highlighting some of the key trends to watch out for through a review of our top 10 CX…
Over the past 20 years customer service strategy and management has transformed. When contact centres were first established, most companies treated them as a cost centre. That meant the primary strategic aim was to run them as efficiently as possible. This changed as businesses (and management) realised the importance of customer service and customer experience to winning and retaining customers….
Your people are your greatest asset, and this is particularly true when it comes to the contact centre. Your agents are the frontline representatives of your company and brand and are central to delivering the service and experience that attracts and retains customers. That means that investing in ensuring their wellbeing is vital to your business. The pandemic and lockdowns…
Pandemic lockdowns forced many companies to quickly switch their customer service teams to work remotely, with very little advanced warning. While most organisations managed the transition and were able to stay operational, many only achieved this through workarounds such as cutting their hours of service, reducing the number of different contact channels, and increasing their SLAs. Now, as we move…