2019 Contact Center Trends

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.