• Key Contact Center Technology Capabilities Needed to Deliver Outstanding Customer Experiences

    Delivery of truly outstanding customer experience requires 5 distinct sets of functionality: dynamic, personalized dialog; adaptive workflow; unified customer context; consistent experience; and, deeper insight.  Each of these elements focuses on a different aspect of the interaction between you and your customer and brings a different value set. Focusing on any one of these elements will improve the customer experience, but it is the combination of these elements that will differentiate you from your competition. According to a recent Aberdeen Group report on improving multi-channel service, the top 4 goals for the next year are to:

    • Increase customer satisfaction (56% of respondents)
    • Increase revenue (46% of respondents)
    • Increase efficiency and improve processes, and ( 36% of respondents)
    • Increase loyalty and advocacy. (28% of respondents)

    Those all are tied to delivery of outstanding customer service. The top strategic initiative being worked on is empowering agents with better information. Getting the right information to the right person at the right moment is critical to providing outstanding service. That information needs to allow the interaction to be personalized. The agent needs to know who the customer is, what products and services they have purchased, what troubles they have reported, what their payment status is, how they like to communicate, and a myriad of other information. That information should be used to help guide a dynamic, adaptive dialog within a process-based workflow. All of this needs to happen within a unified agent desktop that provides instant access to information the agent needs to address concerns the customer raises during their interaction. This same rich dialog should be able to take place across every channel the customer chooses to use, including voice, web self service, and website-based chat.

    You need to be able to optimize the processes guiding the interactions. To do this, you need to collect every piece of information available about the interaction as it happens, every page turn, button click and piece of data entered. This information becomes the foundation to allow you to analyze not just the success of that individual interaction, but thousands of interactions to see how the process can be improved using techniques like dynamic real time comparison of different processes. The key is to have a platform that lets you collect the information you need to optimize the processes.

    An important side benefit of delivering outstanding service is that when you do, you can actually reduce your operational costs. Contact us to discuss how you can both improve your customer service and reduce your ongoing operational costs. We will discuss each of the five functional sets of capabilities in individual blog articles over the next several months.

    April 3, 2016 Blog Comments Off on Key Contact Center Technology Capabilities Needed to Deliver Outstanding Customer Experiences

    FCR and the Bottom Line of the Contact Center

    Only 43% of contact centers measure First Contact Resolution (FCR) according to research done by SQM Group.  But, how can this be? Measuring this metric is one of the most important in the contact center. It not only benefits customer service delivery but it also reduces the cost to service customers, a direct hit to any company’s bottom line. In short, improving FCR equals spending less while increasing repurchase from loyal customers.

    Improved Customer Satisfaction

    FCR directly correlates to customer satisfaction rates; for every 1% of FCR improvement, contact centers will see a 1% improvement in customer satisfaction rates (SQM Group). In comparison, customer satisfaction rates are nearly 50% lower if the customer needs to make a second call to resolve the same issue. We all understand the importance of customer satisfaction, and customer satisfaction rates can powerfully influence a contact center’s bottom line, both efficiency and revenue production.

    Improved Agent Experience

    I recently spoke with one of the top agents at an elite contact center outsourcer. As the agent explained his processes to me, he admitted that sometimes the technology he works with prevents him from delivering better customer service experiences.

    When we arrived at the subject of FCR, he explained that having to work with up to seven applications open on his desktop causes him to move more slowly and increases a customer’s impatience.

    Three Quick Ideas to Get Started

    1. Measure – You get what you inspect, not what you expect.  Do whatever you can to measure FCR and set targets.  It is the fastest way to uncover the barriers and get going on fixing the challenges.
    2. Unify the Desktop – An agent that doesn’t have to constantly worry about using multiple fractured back-end systems moves more quickly and is free to focus on the customer.  Our experience is that a unified agent desktop improves FCR by at least 10%.  Make sure the various windows are not crowded and facilitate easy location of information.
    3. Optimize the Dialog and Process – Even if your agents are using one or two systems, the actual dialog or processes they’re following might lead to low FCR.  Take a look at the best performers that you’re now measuring.  Use your systems to make sure that all of your agents, not just the best ones, are following the optimal dialog path and using the best processes to get to FCR.  Now, you’ll free up the agents time and attention to improve service and key metrics like FCR.

    RiverStar has some proven ideas here. Now that you know how FCR affects your bottom line, take solid steps to ensure that your customers’ issues are resolved, the first time they call.

    October 24, 2014 Blog Comments Off on FCR and the Bottom Line of the Contact Center

    Smart Agent Desktop, Smart Agents, A Smart Contact Center

    Contact center agents within the financial services industry showed that the average agent worked across 7 applications every day and more than 15 percent of agents worked across 12 or more, according to a recent Velociti Partners survey.

    Loading the agent desktop with multiple logons, application interfaces, and forcing infinite alt-tabs and clicks forces an agent to focus on confusing, intricate processes. However, an intuitive, unified agent desktop will streamline agent learning and productivity, and ultimately enable a smarter agent.

    A Smart Agent Desktop

    What makes an agent desktop smart? An intelligent, unified agent desktop delivers the right information at the right time in the process. The ideal desktop has an integrated backend that taps into various applications and databases, delivering relevant information throughout the customer dialogue. Every second counts in a customer service interaction. When an agent switches to a new application and has to log on, an average of 5-10 seconds are added to the call time.

    Here’s how it adds up. 1.2 seconds for mental preparation, 0.4 seconds for every time the agent has to switch from mouse to keyboard, 1.1 seconds to point to an object on screen, and .5 seconds to press and release a single key. (Based on the Keystroke-Level Model)

    If an agent has to utilize 3 different applications in a call, between 15 to 30 seconds of downtime will be added to the call, just for switching between applications! What could a company gain by shaving 30 seconds off their average handling time? Shorter agent training cycles? Happier customers? More profitability? A smart agent desktop converts wasted minutes into time spent making a sale, solving a customer problem, or completing an additional call.

    A Smart Agent

    With a smart desktop, agents receive the right information at the right time in the customer dialogue. If an agent is guided through the right process by a unified agent desktop, they are able to turn their attention solely to listening and interacting with the customer.

    A smart agent can focus on what the customer is asking or saying. And with the aid of a unified desktop, the agent will be able to focus on the customer’s tone and inflection, giving an agent greater insight into the customer. Agents who are forced to focus on finding answers and information can get distracted by clicks, keys, and multiple logons. An agent who is distracted by complicated (and unassisted) call processes can cause the agent to miss key cues or comments.

    Not only will an agent focus on the customer’s needs with a smart desktop, but an agent will also become more attuned to the customer dialogue, not the next step to take or what to say.

    A Smart Contact Center

    A contact center powered by smart agents and a smart desktop will be an efficient, productive, and successful contact center. Could you imagine increasing your first contact resolution rate by 25%? How about reducing your average handling time by 10%? What about doubling your conversion rate? Many contact centers have experienced these revolutionary improvements because of a unified agent desktop. Sometimes, the benefit comes down to the numbers.

    Running a contact center is a complex matter in the simplest of forms. Don’t add more layers of complexity by clouding the agent experience. A unified agent desktop interface is simpler, and a fraction of the cost of large scale software implementations.

    Read our agent desktop case studies to see real-life testimonials on how a smart desktop has improved efficiency metrics (e.g. average handle time, agent training time) and agent effectiveness (e.g. conversion rates, first call resolution). If you’d like to discuss ways to make your agent desktop smarter and more unified, please contact us here.

    September 10, 2014 Blog Comments Off on Smart Agent Desktop, Smart Agents, A Smart Contact Center

    Improving Agent Efficiency with a Single, Unified Agent Desktop

    How many application interfaces must your agents navigate in a typical customer interaction? If you said more than one, we’re not off to a good start.

    One recent call center survey claimed that the average number of applications for an agent to work with is 6 or 7, while 15% of agents work with over 12! For customer-facing processes, applications are the main tool that agents use to handle the call, resolve issues, and provide answers.

    In any company, applications supporting internal business processes are sprinkled around various departments – manufacturing, billing, scheduling, returns, customer service, and marketing, to name a few. Customers are expecting resolutions and answers when they call your company. Access to real-time customer data for the agent is critical to enabling more effective customer interactions.  Providing access to the myriad of internal systems doesn’t really help the agent solve the customer’s concern; it simply provides a source of data.  The agent must be trained on how to access each system, what data is available within each system, when each system is needed, and how to get to the specific information needed to address each possible request.

    Every time that an agent must exit one application and open a new one, it adds about 10-15 seconds to the call and makes them less able to do their job at all, much less deliver an outstanding customer experience. From the agent perspective, complex system and data searching can add stress to the interaction – more time is spent, customers want to get off the phone, and agent metrics are taking a beating.  Agents have to learn not just what information is available where and how to get access to it, but when and why they need it.  How they address customer concerns is dependent on what they have learned, with no guarantee of consistency across agents.

    The easier the process is for the agent, the more beneficial it is for you and your customer. Here are just a few reasons why agents should have a consolidated application experience:

    Improved Agent Training

    Think about the first time you had to learn to use an application, like your CRM application or ERP system. It takes a while to get familiar with the layout, to learn how to navigate to different areas of the application, and to feel confident using it. The same logic applies to agent training. The more applications the agent has to use, the more time it will take agents to become confident in using them, and the greater the stress on the agent, which also results in a higher probability of user-error.

    Improved Agent Experience

    Nothing is more tiring for an agent than getting bogged down by searching through multiple applications for the correct data while the customer is waiting for them to answer their question. When information is readily available in one application, agents are more productive, and they can focus on the customer, not the system.  If you’re trying to solve the constant high-turnover issue that plagues many call centers, simplifying an agent’s application experience can make a huge difference.

    Improved Average Handling Times

    Why? Because Agents spend less time clicking and tabbing through various applications. If agents are constantly switching screens and applications, call handle times rise and profitability goes down. Shaving off 10 – 15 seconds for each ‘alt tab’ application transition can translate to a significant reduction in the duration of each call. Thankfully, a consolidated desktop will eliminate that.

    Happier Customers

    Have you ever called customer service and had to wait while the agent put you on hold to find an answer? I know I have. More than likely, the agent is searching through various screens and applications to find the answer. It’s not necessary, and it’s not efficient.  Providing the information to the agent when they need it during the call can give customers an experience that exceeds their expectations, leaving them happier and more loyal.

    Does a Unified Agent Desktop Exist?

    According to the Gartner “What’s hot in CRM applications 2012” report, an intelligent agent desktop is the second hottest item in the customer service space.  Not only does a consolidated agent desktop exist, but they have been around for at least 10 years.  It starts with integrating applications into one user interface; it follows by seamlessly weaving application data into the business process-based workflow provided, and it results in an efficient interaction.  To see what the ideal unified agent desktop should look like, contact RiverStar today.

    May 8, 2014 Blog Comments Off on Improving Agent Efficiency with a Single, Unified Agent Desktop
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