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Streamlining your contact center communication can be solved by using proper technology.

An inefficient contact center with inefficient communication produces a multitude of problems:

  • Low customer satisfaction scores.
  • More time waiting on-hold.
  • Higher Employee turnover for customer service staff.
  • Frustrated customers.
  • Decreased customer retention.
  • Lost Sales Opportunities.
  • Lower profits.

Many of these inefficiencies stem from faulty processes, being understaffed, lack of technology, or using the wrong technology.

When it comes to choosing the right technology, the one piece that shouldn’t be overlooked for contact centers is a unified communications solution equipped with VoIP.

What are Unified Communications?

Unified communications, or UC, provide and combine multiple enterprise communications channels such as voice, video, personal and team messaging, voicemail, and content sharing.

An all-in-one solution that can meet some or all of the features of UC can be a monumental step in solving contact center inefficacies.


Ready to Unify your Communications? Click here and schedule a demo with Aline Phone Systems and see how!


Streamline and Improve Customer Experience (CX).

No one likes being passed around to multiple customer service representatives. What’s even more upsetting for the customer is having to repeat themselves several times. In fact, 33% of customers are most frustrated when they have to repeat themselves to multiple reps. This can quickly lead to dissatisfied customers and leave a business with a poor reputation for customer service.

If contact centers adopted an omnichannel strategy for their phone system, customer satisfaction rates could soar.

If a call is being transferred from one agent to another, the customer having to repeat themselves multiple times can be eliminated. The supervised transfer feature from VoIP technology allows for both the customer and agent to be transferred to another agent.

This transfer brings warmth to the customer experience. Both agents can discuss what the customer needs and the customer can be introduced by one agent to the other.

Live chat can also be used to give another agent notice regarding the customers’ needs before transferring. Chats can be sent to an individual or an entire team.

Customer Experience between customers and owners

Working Remotely

During the COVID-19 pandemic, communication tools that are streamlined and flexible enough to be used remotely are critical. The wrong tools can leave employees inefficient and customers reeling.

Viewable employee availability is a major advantage to ensure that inbound calls can be efficiently transferred between employees when needed.  Live chat can also substitute face-to-face communication. Employees can quickly communicate with each other no matter where they may be located.

When businesses initially allowed employees to work remotely, the companies that succeeded in a smooth transition were the ones already set-up to work from anywhere. A Cloud-based VoIP system made this possible. Companies that were still using landlines found the transition to remote work difficult. Employees having to use their personal cell phones or relying on call forwarding created an operational headache.

Chatbots

Chatbots take the burden of common questions off customer service employees. This can allow employees to devote more time to higher priority tasks or bigger accounts.

Chatbots like Zendesk’s are powered by artificial intelligence and are easy to train. They also work day or night which means that they can assist customers 24/7.

While chatbots may never entirely replace customer service staff, they could trigger company growth. By reducing the size of customer service employees, resources could then be allocated to other departments such as sales.

Processes

Asides from technology, contact centers much have clear and concise processes documented. Documentation of processes that is continuously up-to-date can eliminate confusion regarding the job responsibilities of each department and more.

If employees are unsure as to who handles specific tasks, this will create internal frustration amongst employees. Customers will sense this and view it as incompetence and therefore lack confidence in your company’s ability to deliver.

Tools such as Zendek or Zoho Desk can help. These three solutions offer a knowledge center in which internal documentation can be edited and viewed by employees. In fact, some of these applications can even integrate with VoIP phone systems like Aline.

process mapping using sticky notes

Scheduling

Common struggle contact centers face is employee scheduling. You need to be fully staffed otherwise incoming callers will abandon calls if they’re on hold for too long or employees will become overwhelmed. Understaffing can result in employee turnover.

Scheduling software can help to create healthy communication and transparency between management and employees. Employees can see who is on a shift with them and who is not. Plus, it’s easy for managers to plan ahead for when employees are on vacation or out of the office. No one likes the unpleasant surprise of finding out that the call center is understaffed for the day!

Tracking

Anything that is done inside the contact center should be tracked. From helping a customer in documenting tasks that are completed to solve a customer’s problem. This allows managers to pinpoint process inefficiencies or employee knowledge gaps.

When everything is recorded in writing, there is a physical record of the communication that occurred. This allows everyone to be in the loop and avoid miscommunication and confusion.

From here, process improvement to be tackled quickly and employees to be trained where needed. Contact center tracking is the communication everyone needs to be successful daily.

Summary/Conclusion:

Contact center technology continues to advance in the new decade. That’s why it’s important for contact centers to consider their processes and adopt technology that streamlines communication in order to remain competitive. Specifically:

  • Adopting UC solutions to increase efficiency and promote a positive customer experience (CX).
  • Using solutions that can be accessed from anywhere. With remote work becoming more normalized due to COVID-19, contact centers will need solutions that can adapt in times of peace and crisis.
  • Liberating customer service reps with chatbots. This allows reps to focus on more important tasks or focus resources in other departments like sales.
  • Documenting processes ensures all staff members are aware of the workflow in and between departments.
  • Scheduling software creates transparency between management and staff. When schedules are communicated, this allows everyone to see who’s working and prepare for busier days ahead.
  • Tracking all communication that occurs internally to solve a problem ensures that all employees are in the loop on current and past customer situations.

Let’s streamline your contact center’s communication today! Click here and schedule a demo with Aline Phone Systems and see how!