Contact centers running on legacy technology? Time for a wake-up call!

When digitally transformed, customer service tasks such as accessing customer information or escalating queries (especially when disparate legacy systems cannot be integrated into a single platform) can be sped up, improved, and scaled up economically. Also:

• While legacy contact system infrastructure hinders effective data sharing, a digitalized environment encourages collaboration and information-sharing. This integration of data into the workflows of multiple teams can improve efficiency and customer service insights to guide staff and management continually for better performance.
• Many modern contact centers already come equipped with omnichannel capabilities, and more recently, AI can improve the approach even more. Such transformed contact centers seamlessly integrate different forms of communication — phone calls, emails, live chats, social media discussions, instant messaging chats, and video — into a single interface. Take the Help Desk, a classic contact center use case. With AI, entire workflows can be automated, from ticket management to reporting capabilities. Customers who submit a request can receive their generated ticket via their preferred mode of communication, and will automatically be routed to the most qualified agent for better service.
• Modernizing contact centers also benefits its employees to get more done with less time and effort. With workforces being more dispersed, AI can provide the necessary support and tools to make collaboration effortless.
• Modernized contact centers powered by AI can even transform post-call interactions. Going back to the help desk example, following a customer interaction, there is typically a series of tasks involved in the “post-call wrap-up” including summarizing the conversation and identifying any follow-up actions required, such as sending confirmation emails or updating customer records with relevant changes. This is where the incorporation of the latest generative AI technology can streamline a call center agent’s day-to-day tasks and reduction of repetitive work. This not only boosts speed and accuracy in handling customer interactions, but also indirectly increases agent morale. The return on investment gives AI a strong business case as employees now have more time to focus on complex interactions that require a more delicate human touch.
• Deployment and scheduling can also be improved with the intelligent capabilities of a modern contact center, where leaders can manage their teams via a single dashboard, thanks to workforce management features that can intelligently optimize the performance and efficiency of support teams. With this bird’s eye view, contact center managers can ensure that the right number of agents with the right skills are deployed at the right times. This has advantages on two levels: first, agents’ workloads are managed efficiently, boosting employee satisfaction. Second, team leaders can better predict call volume and call handling time based on historical data with AI and machine learning capabilities, helping managers forecast staffing levels more effectively.