COVID 19 could be termed as a blessing in disguise for contact center software employees. It levels the playing field for remote agents since now, in a manner of speaking, everyone in a call center is a remote agent. This means the contact center software you use must be up to the task of facilitating seamless collaboration and service delivery. If the current situation is anything to go by then remote working could well be the new norm, with offices being manned by a skeleton crew. It is not a passing phase.
The contactless conundrum
In a way, remote working is good for contact centers. They can save space and reduce infrastructure and IT equipment costs by making remote work from home the standard practice. However, the conundrum is how to recreate the same collaborative office atmosphere online. Efficiency, quality of service, and fast resolution depend on agents and supervisors being able to collaborate. With the right call center software, this need not be an issue. Typically, solutions that facilitate remote collaboration include:
Video and audio conferencing and chat, public and private
Access to CRM from the remote agent’s desktop computer or mobile phone
Facility for supervisors and managers to view or listen in to ongoing conversations and barge in if necessary
Share documents, send and receive email or text
View and access social media channels through a unified console
There are different ways of distances dissolve. For instance, a standard route for call agents in different locations to collaborate is to link through conferencing and keep it alive throughout the day while they interact with customers on other channels. It is easy enough to switch in customers to the conference or jump over to the conference to find answers to a tricky question.
Another way is to keep a common Facebook page active for team collaboration. A third way is to keep active a common Whatsapp number viewable through Whatsapp web.
The incoming call goes to the right agent, regardless of location through smart call distributor and skill mapping and yet, the agent can seek assistance from supervisors or other agents if necessary.
In short, with capable omnichannel contact center software, you will not find distance collaboration to be an insurmountable issue.
Contactless remote working is even better
Think of a typical call center. It has employees working in one or several shifts. You pay for electricity and other costs. You can only draw from a pool of local talent, which, good as it is, could be restrictive in terms of language capabilities.
Go contactless and remote with the right contact center software and you can have global talent with diverse skills and language capabilities to serve even more customers.
It is shooting to birds with a single bullet: cost reductions and increased clientele.
Plus, you will be providing work and income to someone who is in need of a job, such as older people who will not find jobs easily or work from home mums.
Engage agents in various regions to give a native and localized customer experience.
Your employees stay safe and avoid the risk of contracting Corona, which is a possibility when they commute to work. They also save time spent on travel.
The omnichannel contact center software with WebRTC, audio-video chat, CRM integration, automatic call distributor, and skill-based mapping unifies all agents regardless of locations and provides a smooth, very safe, and secure platform. Hodusoft’s call center solution is exactly what fits the bill to make remote working a joy.
Sourced from: Hodusoft. View the original article here.
