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Call Centre

Inisoft: Happy Agents = Happy Customers…

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Now more than ever, people are the most important asset in the contact centre. Technology has advanced to the point that most simple issues can be resolved digitally, without an employee’s involvement. However, this means that when a customer does need to speak with an agent, issues are highly complex, and customers are often more frustrated than ever. 

Download the Aberdeen Group’s report on “Agent Desktop Optimization: Three Strategies to Maximize Agent Productivity and Customer Experience” which highlights the importance of an agent desktop optimisation programme and how this not only empowers a contact centre agent but also the organisation. 
 

To download the Aberdeen Report, click here

Contact us at: info@inisoft.com

BA to ‘outsource more than 1,000 UK call centre jobs’…

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A spokesman for British Airways (BA) has confirmed that the airline is considering outsourcing its UK contact centre operations in a bid to reduce costs at its Manchester and Newcastle sites.

Branded “a slap in the face” to its employees by the trade union, Unite, BA – owned by International Airlines Group – has reportedly already asked outsourcing firms to assess the two call centre sites and bid for the jobs. Third-party firms have also been approached to submit proposals for potential cost-effective solutions to implement. 

It is thought that a downturn in the aviation industry has prompted BA to make these cuts to compete with the popularity of low-cost airlines.

Consultation with union representatives and staff members will take place before a final decision is made, and the BA spokesman claims that outsourcing these jobs would enable the use of the latest technology to further improve customer service.

Oliver Richardson, Unite national officer, said in a statement published on the union’s website: “This review is nothing short of a slap in the face for hardworking staff who have constantly adapted to changing markets, while continuing to deliver the highest level of customer service.

“A cloud of uncertainty now hangs over the heads of workers who fear that their jobs will be outsourced or offshored as a result of this exercise. Such a scenario would lead to poorer customer service and a more fragmented experience for passengers. 

“We urge IAG to resist the temptation to engage in a crude cost cutting exercise and repay its loyal workforce by keeping the customer service operations of our national carrier in–house.” 

GRS predicts five ‘rapid’ trends for call centres in 2017…

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Global Remote Services (GRS) has come up with five trends set to transform the call centre industry next year with the assistance of industry analyst Peter Ryan.

Acknowledging that Brexit and continued digitalisation will potentially bring many new opportunities to the sector, both parties claim:

  1. Self-serve will grow with chatbots, apps and mobile: By 2020, Gartner predicts customers will manage 85 per cent of the relationship without any human interaction. The rise of mobile, apps and chatbots will revolutionise how organisations communicate with customers. Companies need to be clever to capture customers browsing the web on their mobile phones.
  2. Data security will become a top priority: Contact centres and outsourcers will have a strong focus on preventing security breaches and data theft and ensuring safe and easy to use payment options.
  3. Location and languages spoken will become less important: Where your outsourcer or contact centre is based will become less important as a new business model around automation changes established concepts of nearshoring and offshoring.
  4. CEE Region will provide huge opportunity for UK companies: Post-Brexit is providing additional opportunities for outsourcing to Central and Eastern Europe as UK companies look for additional skills. T.Kearney Global Services Index 2016 found Romania and Poland increasing as top outsourcing destinations based on financial attractiveness, people skills and availability and business environment.
  5. Digital will take over from traditional voice: Millennials prefer digital interaction. Call centres will need to leverage more channels such as email, livechat and social media to service broader customer bases. According to the 2016 Global Contact Centre report, contact centres expect to be managing nine different channels within the next 12 months.

For more information about GRS, click here

Industry Spotlight: New original research produced by Kura and the CCA…

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Service executives are challenged on a daily basis with improving their customer service offerings. Through new, original research, Kura and the CCA asked the critical questions to understand where businesses are positioned today and their ambitions for the future.  
 
Our infographic displays some of the key highlights from this research. Interestingly, one in five respondents believe that their customer service advisors do not receive the correct level of training to sufficiently service customers during complex interactions. Moreover, 75% state multi-channel capabilities are an essential requirement for their organisation to succeed in the future.

Download our infographic and check out these highlights here 

Ventrica expands contact centre to meet omnichannel service demands…

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Continuing an ‘impressive growth period’, Ventrica will be introducing a new contact centre ‘penthouse suite’ due to the increased demand for its omnichannel customer service offerings. 

The Southend-on-Sea based outsourced centre will open a roof-top wing, 19,000 sq ft site in 2017, expanding its current workforce of 280 agents to 480 full and part-time staff within the next year, and plans for an additional site at another location is part of the company’s future strategy for the next 12-18 months. 

Dino Forte, managing director and founder of Ventrica said: “We have attracted a number of new high profile B2C and B2B brands this year who are part of a wider trend of organisations that are looking to outsource non-core services. The investment in our new penthouse suite is to meet both the increased demand from existing clients but also to accommodate our future expansion.  

“The whole area of customer experience and sales is becoming more complex and companies now recognise that using a specialist third party makes perfect sense, as they often do not have the expertise, capacity or infrastructure in-house.”  

Ventrica has been shortlisted twice in the upcoming European Contact Centre & Customer Service Awards 2016 (ECCCSA) in the categories of ‘Best Outsourcing Partnership’ and ‘Medium Contact Centre of the Year’, with winners to be announced at a ceremony held at the Hilton Park Lane Hotel in London on November 21.  

Capstone: Building sophisticated systems to provide maximum results…

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Capstone Intelligent Solutions specialise in contact centre optimisation across all channels including managing your workforce. Our solutions are designed to help your contact centres accelerate business impact, deliver consistent outcomes and innovate the customer and agent experience.

The Challenge

The technology sector is fast-paced, with many businesses expanding rapidly. Add to that, the complex nature of many technology companies’ product or service and providing customer support in this sector can be a challenge. The biggest challenge the organisations are facing today within the contact centre world is the transition from your ordinary voice channel to a multichannel/omnichannel environment. Managing the customer experience across multiple channels is a key challenge for contact centre managers, and our recent research flagged just how vital this experience is when it comes to converting customer experience into sales.

Given the number of ways that we use to communicate with one another these days, it’s not all that surprising that we have high expectations when it comes to dealing with companies across multiple channels, be it via instant chat, telephone, email or social media.

The solution

We build and support sophisticated communication systems that deliver results for our clients.  By creating fast and effective communications we increase your customer interaction, productivity and business performance. Capstone Intelligent Solutions acts as your single systems integrator.  We provide physical and virtual client support across three continents, meaning you have direct and local contact with a Capstone engineer at all times.

If you or your organisation are facing any challenges then, please do get in touch for a free consultation with one of our contact centre experts.          

 

Contact Bobby Rampal
e: bobby.rampal@capstoneconnects.com
w: www.capstoneconnects.com
t: +44 7568 108 131 / d: +44 203 727 3343 

Attending the Call Centre & Customer Services Summit? Here are our top tips for industry networking!

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If you’re coming to the next Call Centre & Customer Services Summit (or if you’ve been to one before) you’ll know just how many opportunities there are to network with your industry peers.

The networking areas are where, as industry suppliers or buyers, you can follow up on conversations you’ve had during the one-to-one meetings that form the core of the two days.

Or, you know, talk about the football.

Either way, business is more often than not about building relationships.

We create networking environments that are informal and free of any pressure – whether that’s during the plentiful coffee breaks, over the delicious lunches and gala dinner, or playing roulette as part of the evening entertainment.

To help you get the most out of these opportunities, we’ve pulled together a few top tips for becoming the consummate networker:

Always be yourself: You’re among friends at the Call Centre & Customer Services Summit, so there’s no need to feel nervous about walking into a big room of people. Our staff will be on hand to help with introductions and grease those social wheels (do come and say ‘hello’!), plus the evening entertainment lineup means fun and relaxation are the name of the game (did we mention the roulette?).

Have a think about what you want to achieve: Who’s in the room? Is there anyone you met earlier in the day that you’d like to follow up with? Whether you’re a supplier or a buyer, you’ve come to the Call Centre & Customer Services Summit with some specific goals in mind – the networking periods are a chance to help solidify those new partnerships.

Be curious: The Call Centre & Customer Services Summit seminars are a great place for developing your industry knowledge and learning new skills. And they always create points of discussion. So why not see what everyone else thought of the talks, or swap some ideas on the latest technological developments and trends in the industry? And if you’re new to the industry, there will be seasoned veterans ready and willing to impart their wisdom!

Don’t forget your business cards! You didn’t think we could get through a whole article about networking without mentioning business cards, did you? It’s an old chestnut, but one worth re-roasting. This author has forgotten his cards more times than he cares to remember – it happens. Always keep a few spread between your wallet/purse, pockets and bag – then you’ll be able to produce one when you most need it. But don’t blanket bomb – just because you have 100 cards to give out, it doesn’t mean you have to!

Always follow up: You’ve given your cards out, but hopefully you’ve picked some up too! So make sure that when you get back to the office you log into LinkedIn or fire off some emails to your new contacts while everything’s still fresh in the mind.

Follow the above tips and you won’t go far wrong. Just don’t spend too long in the bar at the end of Day One – you’ll need to be bright as a button for all the networking we have lined up on Day Two!

 

For more information on the Call Centre & Customer Services Summit, call Gayle Buckland on 01992 374063 or email g.buckland@formumevents.co.uk.

Or visit www.contactcentresummit.co.uk

Technology designed with your customers in mind…

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Seamless customer engagement begins and lasts with Netcall. Whether you are looking to refresh or replace your contact centre telephony or join up legacy systems and processes, we can work with you to enhance and personalise customer experience.

Netcall’s integrated customer experience (CX) platform seamlessly manages interactions from start to finish. Create a positive customer experience at every touch point to help retain customers, encourage repeat purchases and promote peer recommendations, whilst enjoying lower operating costs.

Supporting you to improve the customer journey. Get in touch find out more.

 

w: netcall.com/liberty

e: getintouch@netcall.com

t: 0330 333 6100

6 ‘major pain points’ identified in ContactBabel’s annual report…

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The 14th edition of ContactBabel‘s annual ‘UK Contact Centre Decision-Makers’ Guide’ has been released by the industry analyst firm, which focuses on the operations, performance, technology and HR aspects of UK contact centre operations.

Based on a random sample of the industry, a detailed questionnaire was presented to 216 contact centre directors and managers to complete between June and August 2016, and analysis of all collected responses was conducted in September.

Six ‘major pain points’ were identified throughout the report: strategic decisions; increasing profitability; improving quality and performance; HR management; maximising efficiency and agent optimisation; and new media and the customer of the future. Each ‘pain point’ is allocated its own section, and solutions to solving each issue – with analysis of the primary research data – are provided.   

 

Access the full report here 

‘Your call is valued’ most annoying queue time feature, Which? reveals…

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A new study of 2,260 Which? members found that being told ‘your call is valued’ was the most annoying feature when waiting in a queue for an operator to answer (47 per cent); followed by being directed to the company’s website (28 per cent) and apologies for all operators being busy (11 per cent).

Regarding sounds played over the phone whilst waiting, an engaged tone (29 per cent) topped the list; closely followed by rock music (22 per cent) and background music with no specific tune (21 per cent). Almost half (48 per cent) branded classical music as the most ‘soothing’. 

When members were asked about the most useful features to hear, 33 per cent cited being told how long you have to wait; 32 per cent said where you are in the queue; and 30 per cent stated the offer of being called back if you leave your number.

Richard Headland of Which? commented: “Waiting on hold is a waste of time, but some organisations make the experience needlessly annoying through objectionable messages and music. If these drive you round the bend, vote with your feet and take your custom elsewhere. The best companies know the value of answering your call quickly.”

The study did acknowledge companies that are ‘leading the way’ in improving customer experience, with members claiming that Aviva allows you to choose your hold music, Screwfix tells you your place in the queue and Amazon calls you for free after placing a request via their website.

In contrast, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) were singled out for criticism by some Which? members for not giving information on your place in the queue and being encouraged to visit their website.