The pressure is on.
→ doing more with less
→ delivering against ever-increasing customer expectations
→ financial pressures
→ business goals
The weight on the shoulders of Contact Centres is getting heavier.
Organisations striving for success are specifically targeting customer service, expectations, and loyalty. In this dynamic scenario, the modern workplace contact centre isn’t just an add-on—it takes a central stage. When executed effectively, it becomes a key player in delivering substantial cost savings and ultimately, business success.
How do you start to plan for success in replacing your Contact Centre?
If we accept that replacing your Contact Centre isn’t just on your wishlist, it is a MUST, where do you start?
Let’s begin by stating that there are some fundamental considerations that should be at the core of any Contact Centre replacement:
- The landscape has shifted! How and when we communicate is completely different to the early days of Contact Centres. The expectations of both customers and agents now include omnichannel, social media and AI, and so any new Contact Centre strategy should move with the times to adopt and leverage these changes.
- You decide! Microsoft Teams and a certified Contact Centre provide the autonomy for you to administer and control communication methods. No longer reliant on IT for changes, you are empowered to shape how your customers interact with your business.
- Details matter! Change isn’t easy. Winning over users might take time but offer the right training and support as you deploy your new Contact Centre solution, and you may just find that the staunchest sceptics become the most ardent advocates for your new technology.
- Don’t be stuck in tradition! ”But we’ve always done it this way!” isn’t good enough – especially in the world of technology where advances in what can be achieved happen at an incredibly fast pace. An open mind will reap the rewards of change and innovation.
What are the key points to address to make the process smooth?
Thanks to Symity’s extensive experience of working closely with clients with our Microsoft Contact Centre partner Anywhere365, we know what works.
With strong commercial and technical acumen which has seen our customers realise real-world savings and improvements in their services, here are our top ten questions you should be asking to achieve a smooth Contact Centre deployment:
- What are the objectives of the Contact Centre? What functions will it serve – will it cover customer service, sales, technical support, or all the above?
- What is your existing infrastructure? Do an audit of where you are so you get a real understanding of what can be reused and what needs to be replaced or purchased.
- What are your staffing needs? How many agents do you need? Are there additional requirements for specialised roles such as supervisors or trainers.
- What platform should you choose? You need to make a choice based on your specific needs – should it be cloud-based? On premise? And what telephony connection models will you need?
- What is your budget? Be sure to include technology, staff, and other expenses when estimating the cost of the Contact Centre.
- What training and onboarding will be required? How will new agents be trained and onboarded? What ongoing training for existing staff will be necessary – adoption is everything when it comes to success!
- What testing and piloting will be needed? Avoid any bugs and potential issues by testing the system, piloting it with a small group of agents and possibly deploying on a phased basis.
- What about the go-live? Only when full testing has taken place and the Contact Centre is ready should it be launched and made available to customers – Symity provide Early Life Support (ELS) to ensure this stage goes well.
- What about monitoring and optimising? The new Contact Centre shouldn’t be a ‘once and done’ project. To stay on top of customer demands, employee satisfaction and business outcomes, continuously monitor performance and make adjustments to stay on track.
- Choose a partner that has the right level of skills and expertise in designing and deploying a modern Microsoft Teams certified Contact Centre solution.
What could be the outcome of modernising your Contact Centre?
By paying careful attention to specific areas within your contact solution, your business can reap the benefits of improved effectiveness and greater efficiency.
Monitor the metrics
Understanding how your Contact Centre is performing by monitoring key metrics is essential for delivering excellent levels of customer service. By monitoring Average Handling Time (AHT) and First Time Resolution (FTR), bottlenecks become visible, and changes can be implemented to ease them. This doesn’t just elevate customer satisfaction levels; it improves the employee experience too. It’s a win-win.
Keep it simple
Reduce delays in responding and increase efficiency by bringing all the different modes of customer communication that agents have to deal with (e.g., email, WhatsApp, Facebook, Webchat) into a single pane. You’ll benefit from improved management and measurement.
Keep it simple… again
Keep it simple, again, by Integrating disparate platforms with your Contact Centre. Arm agents with client details from CRMs, Knowledge Bases and other data pools and you’ll have a happier customer and a happier workforce.
Self-service essentials
Train your bots as an employee and enable customers to self-serve through automation of dialogues and communication that works. Free up agents for those more demanding and human-centric interactions.
Upskill and reskill
Reduce churn with a happier workforce that has 360° training. Onboarding with the right training then upskilling as agents become more experienced and feedback their own experience into the Contact Centre – which can then be fed back into the onboarding training.
Manage peaks and troughs
Demand changes. Understand employee and customer workflows using Workforce Management (WFM) tools will identify bottlenecks so that improvements can be made.
If you’re considering replacing your Contact Centre choose a trusted partner that employs a “can do” proactive approach and agile attitude, helping you see a true value in your investment in Microsoft technologies.
Book in a chat with our team today.
Chris Goodwill
Strategic Partner Manager and Solution Specialist
Symity