Published on the 05/04/2016 | Written by Newsdesk
Confusion around operational responsibility impacts success of new digital contact channels…
In the rush to digitise everything in the push for more satisfying customer experiences, something is getting lost. The human touch.
That’s according to Dimension Data which, with the release of its most recent Global Contact Centre Benchmarking Report, notes that ‘while digital technology is fast transforming the global contact centre industry, advancements in customer experiences are being slowed by people, and not the technology itself’.
As a consequence, said DiData, ‘the pace of digital uptake isn’t reaching its potential, resulting in widening gaps between service delivery and customer expectations’.
It said organisations are unclear about who owns, oversees, and manages digital channels in contact centres, with an absence of management focus impacting the effectiveness of the design of digital solutions, and by consequence, how customers engage with businesses.
Cutting through the confusion, Rob Allman, DiData collaboration spokesperson said, “While telephone interactions in the contact centre are managed, tracked, and quality controlled, the same performance rigour isn’t always applied to digital channels. This can lead to an inconsistent and degraded customer experience across a brand or services company.”
Half of respondents to DiData’s survey said they track quality on digital channels compared to 89 percent on phone. Some 82 percent reported that they have processes to identify sales opportunities on phone compared with 60 percent on digital. Measurement of cost and time per interaction is also missing on the majority of digitally-assisted service channels, which suggests an absence of consistency in management approach.
Allman said new contact channels are being designed in isolation, and often without any involvement from the contact centre. “Our research reveals that 47 percent are excluded from, or are partially involved in the design phase of new technology solutions in contact centres, while 55 percent have little, or no involvement in solution approvals. In fact, 40 percent of organisations said their digital channel systems don’t meet existing business needs, and 19 percent are confident that their future requirements will be met.”
DiData said ‘digital’ is driving business transformation and reshaping the way companies do business, ‘which means that the role of the contact centre will become even more crucial to achieving an integrated customer experience strategy. It’s therefore important that IT and business function teams collaborate more closely and more strategically’.
“New digital technologies must be designed with how they’ll be consumed in mind,” added Joe Manuele, DiData group executive. “Organisations also need to understand the user experience and customers’ expectations if they want successful adoption of the technology and achieve the desired business outcomes.”
“The complexity of providing customers with a connected experience frequently spans multiple channels including Internet, web chat, social media, and phone. This requires greater capability and understanding of the customer journey when engaging with an organisation’s contact centre. To be effective, the technology solutions need design, ownership, and especially a human touch.”
A summary of the 2016 Global Contact Centre Benchmarking Report is available here.
