A sector that employs around 1 in 25 of the UK’s working population
doesn’t change overnight, and has shrugged off the fear of offshoring, taken
the rise of digital channels in its stride, and now sees artificial
intelligence being touted as a threat to its very existence.
We don’t
agree.
After accounting for inflation, the real salary of a contact centre
agent is 9% lower than it was 15 years ago, yet they are expected to be able to
handle more complex queries, sophisticated technology and multiple channels,
all the time keeping a smile in their voice. We see AI as a useful tool for
helping these agents - making suggestions, reducing errors and taking away more
of the simpler queries – but have seen nothing to suggest the end of the
contact centre is nigh.
In large part, contact centres have moved from being process-oriented
machines where success was measured in short call durations and high occupancy
rates, to customer-focused operations where metrics such as first contact
resolution, customer satisfaction and NPS have become more valued as providing
a truer picture of how effectively the contact centre is serving their
customers.
Download this e-book to see how and why things have changed in the UK contact centre industry, and where they're headed next.
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