Contact Centers are under more pressure than ever. Challenges continue to impact telecommunication organizations due to rising customer expectations. In addition, there’s an increase in the complexity and range of difficulties call center agents face in 2023.
The Long Impact of Covid-19
The long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic can be seen across international contact centers. Recruitment and staffing issues have only been exacerbated by the global shutdown, as highlighted by ‘The Great Resignation’. This has increased the pressure on enterprise-level organizations operating in the telco sector in various ways. Both staff retention and recruitment has been made more difficult than ever.
Customer experience (CX) has always represented somewhat of a battleground for the telco industry. However, this has taken on even greater importance as consumer behavior and attitudes have transformed over the past two years.
As a result, the adoption of conversational AI (CAI) has been prioritized by forward-thinking organizations. These companies understand the impact that such technology can have for reducing Average Handling Times (AHT). It can also improve other KPIs such as Net Promotor Scores (NPS), conversion rates, transfer quotas and automation.
A growing number of use cases, such as that of Swisscom, can now be seen across the telecom sector. On this, Teneo has demonstrated the dramatic improvements that CAI can have on CX. However, few distinctive use cases have been built around Employee Experience (EX) in the industry. These highlight the importance of creating greater balance between customer and employee satisfaction.
Balancing the scales of CX and EX
Typically, customer success teams and product team are situated in head offices. They receive large budgets to invest in technology that allows the brand to connect with its customers via digital channels. This is why a number of telecommunication leaders use OpenQuestion to build highly complex solutions and deploy them across their contact centers. Customers connect with an intelligent voicebot and have their problems solved much faster and efficiently.
However, EX is yet to hold as much sway when it comes to the use of conversational AI. The benefits are so clear for the customer facing element. On the other hand, the benefits offered to internal employees are often overlooked. Use cases are not designed to with employees in mind as a primary beneficiary. If they were, the impact could be significant for a large contact centre.
Engaged and satisfied call-center employees are; 8.5x more likely to stay than leave within a year, 4x more likely to stay than dissatisfied colleagues, 16x more likely to refer friends to their company and 3.3x more likely to feel extremely empowered to resolve customer issues.
Mckinsey
In the same report, the issue of poor EX impacts contact center employees more than any other vertical.
“The levels of satisfaction varied across industries. For example, banking, securities, and financial services had the highest proportion of respondents who are extremely satisfied at 52 percent. These are followed by travel, transport, and logistics at 44 percent. Then, nonhealthcare insurance at 35 percent (which also had the lowest overall percentage of dissatisfied employees). Meanwhile, telecommunications and technology earned the lowest marks, with just 25 percent.”
Putting the Focus on EX
The requirement for the telco industry is clear. Put a stronger focus on EX and the benefits will be felt across an organization.
For conversational AI deployment, it’s crucial to involve employees and managers in designing conversational flows. Contact center agents, being at the forefront of customer engagement, best understand common questions and answers.
Incorporating diverse employees into a project and bridging CX and EX teams can amplify the impact both internally and externally. Additionally, allowing agents to offer input lets them participate in strategic decisions, boosting employee satisfaction.
“Our study revealed that factors beyond just wages or job stress significantly influence employee satisfaction and retention. Companies should enhance controllable factors to empower employees. Activities like regular and effective huddles, extended training, socializing opportunities, and purposeful supervision are beneficial. Together, they can promote a sense of belonging and boost agent retention.”
For modern contact centers in the telco sector, emphasizing both EX and CX is crucial to maximize the benefits of adopted technologies. The true power of CAI emerges when considering both internal and external stakeholders.