The constantly shifting industry landscape is nothing new but as change becomes rapid, customer care is the competitive edge for many companies, according to call centre industry specialist.

In a report by Teleopti product manager Jeremy Hamill-Keays, industry leaders are warned that analysing customer trends and data isn’t enough to guarantee revenue. As consumers become more fickle, loyalty is key to ensuring a consistent return.

A major factor in helping the customer is by helping the employees, suggests the report, which says that agent satisfaction and motivations has “the power to make or break customer loyalty,” as they represent the company’s front-line and direct contact with the public.

Warning that the very best customer experiences are still often best handled by a human being, automation can still go a long way to help, offering the opportunity for speed and efficiency, which is all many customers will be looking for.

Often the best course of action can be to use automation behind the scenes instead of front-facing, says Mr Hamill-Keays, as automated workforce management maintains the focus on the customers.

“Imagine the amount of time and effort spent on scheduling,” reads the report, “shift swaps and vacation requests through verbal or e-mail exchanges, the answering back and forth, the approvals, the pending approvals etc, and how that impacts the loss of focus in a +1,000 agent contact center.”