The Calabrio User Group (CUG) takes place next week in Nashville, Tenn. A true highlight of the event will be keynote speaker Greg Levin, who is widely known in the contact center industry as an author, analyst and humorist. Greg adds a healthy dose of levity and antics to the industry via his uproarious Off Center blog

We can hardly wait! In preparation for the event, I spent a few minutes with Greg talking about his perspectives on the industry in general. Here’s what Greg had to say: 

Q: How have you seen contact centers change in the past 5 years?

Greg: For one, the contact center now receives much more respect from the rest of the company and the business world in general. What used to be viewed as a mere back-office operation is now highly valued for the critical customer data and insight it gathers daily (and shares with key departments) to greatly enhance customer loyalty and revenue. No longer do contact center managers and staff get beaten up and have their lunch money stolen by big mean bullies in Marketing, Sales or other departments. If you work in a contact center and still do endure such bullying, let me know and I’ll take care of it. I’m tough like that.

Another big and very positive change in our industry is the increased use of home agents. After years and years of contact centers just tinkering around and testing the home agent waters, many are finally fully embracing this powerful staffing model, which studies have shown to improve agent recruiting, retention and performance, as well as decrease facility costs and enhance staffing flexibility. Add in the obvious “green” benefits the home agent model affords, and it’s easy to see why more and more companies are kicking their agents out of the contact center. 

And of course, no conversation about big changes would be complete without mentioning the emergence of social media and its impact – both real and imagined – on customer care. Just when contact centers were starting to get a handle on the phones, email, chat and web self-service, social media comes barreling in and forces managers to return to therapy.  

Q: What are a couple of the biggest challenges facing contact centers now?

Greg: One of the biggest challenges contact centers face now is one that they have always faced: Keeping agents in place and inspired. While with ICMI from 1994-2010, I was involved in several research studies and reader surveys in which we asked managers to list their biggest concerns and challenges. Agent turnover and burnout always topped the list. Fostering agent engagement and retention is especially critical in today’s crazy competitive business climate, where top-notch service and support is often the differentiating factor – the thing that determines what company a customer sides with.

I’ve already alluded to what I see as the other major challenge in today’s contact center: Managing the multichannel madness. Have you ever tried accurately forecasting and scheduling for phone, email, chat and social media contacts – and ensuring that customers receive consistent, efficient and effective service regardless of which of those channels they choose? Scary. It’s why I merely analyze and write about contact centers rather than actually RUN one!

Q: You’re a humorist in a unique industry. Can we use a little more comic relief in the world of customer service?

Greg: Absolutely. Just look at what we’ve got: An industry full of managers being pressed by execs to constantly do more with less; agents being measured on a multitude of performance metrics while sitting in a cubicle that’s the same square footage as their body; and the entire center having to handle a seemingly endless stream of calls and other contact types from highly demanding customers who are often abusive even though they know that you know where they live. If that’s not an industry begging for comic relief, I don’t know what is.

Managing a contact center is no laughing matter. But if you want to survive in this business, laughing matters. Humor defuses. Humor relieves. Humor inspires. And if we can’t laugh at ourselves, who can we laugh at – besides the guys over in IT.

Q: What can Calabrio User Group Summit attendees look forward to hearing about during your keynote? What are the takeaways you want to leave with them?

Greg: Anybody who dares attend my keynote will hear me manically go on about a whole bunch of key practices and tactics for keeping agents motivated and engaged, including real-world examples of contact centers that have embraced those practices and tactics with great results.

Attendees won’t be permitted to leave the room until I feel confident they will return to their contact center to do what I talk about in my presentation, namely: 

- Implement fair and feasible performance objectives that enable agents to focus on the customer rather than the queue;

- Empower agents to use their collective skills and experience to continuously improve the contact center and the customer experience;

- Reward and recognize agents in meaningful ways;

- Invest in agents’ physical and emotional wellbeing; and, last but not least…

- Let agents work naked (from home).

 

Kristen

2011

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