2019 Contact Center Trends

FROST & SULLIVAN
The call center software industry is undergoing significant technological, economic and social changes. As companies diversify and grow their contact centers and add remote agents and outsourcers, they transform their contact centers from a single-sourced environment to one that is multi-sourced and multi-site in nature.

Highlights
Large enterprise contact center executives manage highly complex
organizations that face tremendous internal challenges
Retaining Executive Leadership
Agent Hiring and Training
Performance Management
Coping with The Forces of Globalization
Forecasting and Scheduling
Career Development
Innovation
Disaster Recovery
Cloud Technology Choices
Government Regulations
Social Media Management
Voice of The Customer (Voc) Feedback
Continuous Employee Training/Coaching

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The Frost & Sullivan Contact Center/Digital Transformation team has listed here just a few of the major trends and challenges in the industry:
Extraordinary Consumer Expectations
In 2018 and into 2019, we believe that consumers are more empowered and knowledgeable than ever before. Expectations for excellent customer service, sales knowledge, and technical support will continue to soar. More and more customers are insisting that businesses anticipate their every need. Customers wish to be treated as a “segment of one,” with products, offers, and services delivered on their terms and preferred communications channel.
Customer Experience (CX) is King
Companies worldwide are putting significant effort and technology investments into improving the customer experience, in an Omnichannel environment. However many organizations are challenged to find the right solutions and partners-both from a technology and customer care outsourcing perspective.
Artificial intelligence and Artificial General Intelligence (AI/AGI)
This set of technologies build on machine learning by enabling machines to exhibit intelligent human-like behavior. We are seeing the breakthrough of market-relevant applications in artificial narrow intelligence (ANI).
Robotic Process Automation (RPA).
RPA agents can be used to increase security, for example, by performing the multiple logins that are sometimes required for other personnel to access multiple systems or applications, as well as monitor for exception handling.
Emerging Channels and Channel Integration
Customer interactions now typically begin on the web; interactions that have expanded to include those initiated through mobile applications. Meanwhile, text-based communication also has become very popular with customers. Both trends will accelerate given a younger generation that is more likely to “key-in” than talk. Customers expect companies to respond to them on the channels of their choice without repeating what was said or written via other channels.
The Shift Away from Transactional Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Centers are shifting their KPIs away from traditional KPIs like average Handle Time (AHT), abandon rate and Average Speed of Answer (ASA) – to those that align more closely with their business priorities, like Net Promoter Score (NPS), First Call Resolution (FCR) and Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) scores. Up for consideration are more advanced ways to use metrics like precision queues and attribute-based routing for Workforce Management (WFM) tactics to affect agent turnover by balancing occupancy and utilization. These tactics can help contact centers balance agent experience with customer experience.
Complexity at the Agent Desktop Level
The agent desktop is at the center of each contact center interaction and back office transaction. While it contains a treasure-trove of operational insight into areas of improvement, its complexity continues to present a chokehold on agent efficiency and customer satisfaction.
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