Contact centers have been investing in sophisticated, omnichannel technologies for well over a decade. The shift to the cloud has also been happening over time and accelerated significantly in early 2020. Our own research found that 90% of contact centers said they were aggressively investing in new channels, automation and analytics tools — while 68% of cloud migrations happened in 2020.

Cloud-smart contact centers are leading the way

Just one year on and cloud-smart contact centers are rapidly reaping the rewards of new technology. For example, fully cloud-based contact centers are nearly twice as likely to have adopted social channels, chatbots and business intelligence (BI) platforms. They also claim their cloud solutions enable more strategic, smarter business decisions, while 70% say they are enhancing the use of analytics. This was reflected in our second blog in this series – ‘3 Ways to win the technology tug-of-war’– where we explored how analytics can help contact centers to uncover bottlenecks in agent and customer satisfaction while serving to underpin more effective team scheduling and forecasting.

On the other hand, contact centers that have yet to discover the merits of a cloud-first strategy are being left behind, with two in three on-premise contact centers feeling limited by their current solutions.

When less is definitely more

Contact center leaders tend to use technology to overcome service issues and enable forward-thinking CX strategies. Technology is used to connect data silos and bridge knowledge gaps to deliver faster yet more personalized and predictive service experiences. However, given that the rapid implementation of technology can be the root cause of many problems, does adding yet more systems create further complexity?

3 smart ways to resolve complexity

The key to success lies in seeking out technologies that resolve, rather than increase complexity. Aim for solutions that are:

1. Easy – gone are the days of painful, not to mention expensive, rip-and-replace solutions, slow learning curves and long return on investment (ROI) paths. Modern contact center technology platforms are purpose-built to be easy to implement, learn and use. Seek out solutions that offer pre-built integrations with all your existing core systems and technologies. The best vendors provide robust support and guidance throughout the implementation phase and beyond. This includes essential staff training, whether in-person or online, to accommodate today’s increasingly hybrid workplace. Meanwhile, the technology itself must be intuitive to use. It should have the tools and functionality that make it easy for all users including agents, managers and business leaders – to quickly see the information they need to take meaningful action.
2. Personalized – modern technology is built from the ground up with the customer’s needs and journey in mind. This includes features such as AI-enhanced, highly automated workflows and capabilities that are designed to drive operational efficiency while enhancing and accelerating the customer experience. At the same time, they provide functionality to engage agents and improve their experience too.
3. Smart – expect modern contact center technology to come with truly embedded analytics capabilities – not just bolt-on tools. They should deliver customer-centric data insights seamlessly within workflows, enabling decision-making and allowing agents to add the essential human element to digital interactions that customers crave.

Leading technology platforms are built to be omnichannel both from the customer and internal enterprise perspective. Remember to invest in solutions that are capable of extracting any data stream from anywhere within the organization. Use business intelligence (BI) to drive decisions well beyond the confines of the contact center. The smartest solutions pull together powerful customer and BI data into reporting tools that bring information to life through highly visual, intuitive outputs. This makes data more meaningful for all users whatever their role or contribution to the overall business.

For more ideas and inspiration on how to overcome complexity in your contact center and meet today’s double-edged customer expectations of increased automation and personal service, download our latest report: “Embracing double-edged customer expectations: Navigating the complexities of rising demands and digital-first customer experiences.”