Insight: Top 7 customer service trends for contact centres

The past few years have been a whirlwind for contact centre managers and their teams. The pressure to deliver faster and more personalised service has never been greater. Emerging technologies such as automation and artificial intelligence (AI) have revolutionised operations. Then there was the global pandemic that saw remote and hybrid work change from a maybe to a must almost overnight.

As 2023 rolls on, here are seven contact centre trends all executives and managers should be across in their quest to improve customer experience, increase efficiencies and reduce costs.

AI and automation – studies show that 93% of contact centres agree technology is very important for creating a better customer experience and AI software is leading the way in doing just that. Initially used to automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks, AI technology has become the gold standard for reducing costs and improving accuracy within contact centres. From routing callers to the right human agents to using natural language processing to understand customer intent, demand for AI tools and solutions is only going to increase in contact centres.

Omnichannel support – contact centres are all about enhancing customer satisfaction, which is why omnichannel communication will be high on the priority list in 2023. By offering seamless experience across all touchpoints – from mobile and desktop to social media apps – customers can avoid repeating their enquiries or issues with multiple representatives and have their matters dealt with faster and more accurately.

Behavioural testing – with contact centre agents facing unique challenges in their roles, more companies will invest in strategies that help identify the right personalities from the outset. For example, on-demand talent platform flexhive by Hudson employs a multi-layered candidate review process that assesses behavioural traits and increases the quality of hires that have less inclination to churn. This includes exclusively use of Sapia, the world’s first AI smart interviewer, to match applicants to being either Customer Problem Solvers, Critical Thinkers, Active Team Collaborators or Resilient Operators.

Onboarding and training – the days of welcoming new contact centre staff with a handshake and ‘good luck’ are gone. Quality onboarding and training is a critical piece of the CX pie and today’s managers will look to leverage digital tools such as gamified learning and AI-driven practice scenarios to produce better performers. Personalised learning styles for different agents will also increasingly become part of the onboarding and training conversation to meet the individual strengths and weaknesses of recruits.

 Remote workforces – a Harvard Business Review study found the COVID crisis caused hold times in some contact centres to soar by 34% and escalations rise by 68%. Needless to say, managers want to be better prepared when the next crisis strikes and that includes the ability to scale staff numbers up or down via remote staffing. Expect more centres to employ agents beyond their own four walls to ensure they have the flexibility to quickly recruit and deploy staff in times of distress and easily scale down when the pressure eases. Getting the right ‘workforce mix’ will also be crucial in 2023, be it catering for the rise of remote work or thinking differently about temporary and permanent staffing models to effectively manage costs and resources. Centres are trending towards a preference for permanency and should not be afraid to engage with staffing partners to assist with demand-based resourcing.

Emotional intelligence – the ability to recognise and regulate emotions, be it your own or others, is an asset in any sector, let alone contact centres where anticipating questions, educating customers, building rapport and providing emotional support are all in a day’s work. Look for a greater emphasis on emotional intelligence in agents, with recruitment tools such as the previously mentioned Sapia able to help identify the best people to improve customer experience and reduce churn.

Data privacy – few things are more important for contact centres than security and data privacy but the modern environment is making it tougher than ever to tick the box. Studies have found 70% of contact centres consider the issue among their top challenges, with data breaches capable of putting profits, reputations and long-time survival at risk. The next 12 months will see even more investment in contact centre technologies to ensure compliance, security and data privacy, with tools such as call recording software and voice biometrics helping reduce the risk of a breach.

Summary

As contact centres continue to undergo rapid changes, it is essential that managers and their staff change with them. It is not only about being aware of trends that are driving the sector but taking proactive steps to embrace them and ensure the best combination of cutting-edge technology and empathetic agents to deliver customer service excellence.

Learn how the organisation behind Australia’s largest lottery games formed a valuable partnership with an external provider to improve productivity and boost morale among its service centre workforce.