So many times heading into a new year we talk about what to expect, and usually, by April those expectations are blown up and forgotten about. Being in the communications world as long as we have here at InflowCX, we know that the pace of change has never been more dynamic than it is right now.
So instead of us laying out expectations sure to go wrong, we instead decided to come out with our list of things that are not going away anytime soon, or ever for that matter! COVID-19 has caused frustration for all of us, and the good news is that it has also caused innovation at a rapid pace in our industry. Many of the things on our list are a product of that innovation and versatility companies never knew they had.
Working From Anywhere Is Here To Stay. Hybrid Is The Name Of The Game
Companies are starting to really understand the financial impact having their employees work from anywhere can have. Not having the overhead cost of office space, coupled with the advances in security with cloud technology means this is a viable option that agile companies have realized for years. Companies that never thought it was possible were forced to make it happen, and to their surprise, it has worked extremely well.
What we have found to be true is that while employees can (in most cases) work from anywhere, they still enjoy the in-person presence of their colleagues. So if you are struggling with the hybrid office, now is the time to shore up those concerns and make your company plug and play from anywhere for your employees. Having the right cloud solution in place for your contact center or business communications is no longer an option, it is a must-have.
Don’t Expect Agent Experience In The Contact Center To Stop Evolving
Companies across the industry know that agent retention is such a key area of focus that millions of dollars are being invested in agent enablement. It is certainly time that the all-stars of our industry get well-deserved assistance from technology. Anyone who was in the call center in the ’90s or 2000s knows how hard of a road it has been getting to this point!
With innovations like agent assist from Five9 that truly brings together a perfect balance of AI and in-person intelligence to enable agents to focus on the customer at the most important touchpoints of the interaction.
Workforce Management means less stress at peak times on the agents. IVR and self-service customer management mean your agents are handling the more complex issues which they want to be doing and you want them doing as well. The mundane repetitive tasks have been replaced by AI in the contact center so that your most talented agents can do what they do best, delighting customers and retaining them for the long term.
The innovations in quality assurance have helped transform the mindset that QA is micromanaging the agents. Automating the punch list of items an agent should cover has allowed QA to focus on developing the agents, and helping them uncover opportunities for business development and adding services. The agents and QA leaders are better for it because that has always been a friction point in almost every contact center, now there is collaboration.
The Contact Center Wars Are Real And Have Just Started
The traditional rows of cubicles are not necessary because of the aforementioned working from anywhere. The evolution of the contact center is exactly that, ever-changing and evolving with the times.
After seeing little to no innovation up until 2010, the pace of innovation is impressive and only speeding up. With players like Zoom, Microsoft, and now even Salesforce poised to enter the arena we can expect some major investment in advancements. The good news is that while history has proven all that enter will not stay, the entire contact center community will benefit from this competition.
When large behemoths like these compete, we all win. With a race to enhance the customer experience in the contact center, so will the customer and the agents as well. Enhanced features, reporting, data, AI, integrations and so much more are on the horizon. While we can’t predict exactly what is to come, we do know that they are not going anywhere and neither is the competition.
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We can’t predict the future, no one can. However, when you subscribe to our newsletter we can guarantee you will be up to date on all things contact center and unified communications! We aren’t Nostradamus, however, we are pretty good at being reporters as it happens and we evolve right with the times!
