Be more productive. Save Costs. Improve Efficiency
Public and private executive boards can be heard chanting this mantra daily until their vocal chords resign (temporarily) in protest. From such abstract direction Unified Communications (UC) emerged. – Microsoft recognised the opportunity to achieve all three of these demands and created a UC platform that has continuously evolved and improved into the market leading product, Microsoft Teams.
Microsoft Teams provides an enterprise with Instant Messaging, Presence, Telephony, and Audio, Web and Video Conferencing whilst integrating all these features into Microsoft products such as SharePoint, Outlook, Exchange and Office365.
With the advent of Microsoft Teams the Contact Centre space has vastly evolved too, with certified products which integrate seamlessly with Microsoft Teams and other products in the stack.
Sounds ace. What’s the catch?
Albeit Microsoft Teams certified Contact Centres are undeniably brilliant, they won’t achieve everything an organisation desires on its own. An enterprise MUST embrace some fundamental principles if it wishes to be successful with Microsoft Teams and a new Contact Centre platform and achieve the three golden goals stated at the start of this post. And, to be honest, some of these principles are hugely different to the way enterprises are used to working.
- Things have changed! – It’s a brave new world out there, people are communicating, faster, more frequently and in more diverse ways than ever before. Social media and AI has raised expectations for customers and team members alike. Enterprises have an opportunity to embrace this and engage with technology users in ways that, in years gone by, would’ve had no place in the work environment.
- You are the decision maker! – There is one person positioned to know how you communicate best (and it’s not your IT department). Microsoft Teams and a certified Contact Centre give you the opportunity to determine how you communicate. You no longer call IT to make changes to a modern Contact Centre, you are now empowered to be able to administer and control how your customers communicate with your organisation.
- The little things make a big difference! – Positively or negatively, things like headsets instead of handsets, embracing social media and AI and using video are all things that at first feel strange. However, users have to be open to different ways of working to get the best out of all that Microsoft Teams and integrated Contact Centre solutions offers. It can take a while to win some users round, but the hardest ones to win round are usually (eventually) the technologys’ biggest advocates.
- Remember!! – Just because you’ve always done something one way, it doesn’t mean it’s the best way. Microsoft Teams and the range of Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) are flexible enough that if you don’t want to change your working practices you don’t have to. But I am happy to guarantee right now that if you open up to Microsoft Teams with embedded Contact Centre functionality it WILL help you improve the little things that make a big difference.
- Positivity wins the day! – Microsoft Teams combined with a Contact Centre can be fun! It adds new dimensions to enterprise communications within your business and with external customers. Handling multiple dialogues across different platforms such as social media or developing chatbot functionality all add to the joy of improved customer service. These things bring value to the way you work, whether that’s in-time savings, making your organisation communications and information more accessible and meaningful or just encouraging more interaction between your contact centre agents and customers. A Microsoft Teams certified Contact Centre WILL improve your organisation!
So how do I get the most from a Microsoft certified Contact Centre?
The main way to get the most from a Microsoft Teams certified Contact Centre is through familiarity. Attend training and adoption if your organisation runs it (which they should), share your experiences and above all else, don’t be scared and try out new things! You can’t break Microsoft Teams from your desktop and spending time exploring a modern Microsoft Contact Centre solution will uncover new ways of working.
AND FINALLY…
Ask yourself “Can a Microsoft certified Contact Centre help?” – “How can I make the experience for customers better?” When you perform one of the thousands of tasks that we all do, each and every day, can an integrated contact centre drive efficiencies and cost savings? Be open and positive about the technology and you will be surprised how many times the answer is: “Actually… Yes, it can!”
To find out more how Symity can help you with your contact centre adoption, get in touch.
Chris Dunn
Unified Communications Director
Symity