Back Office Optimization, The missing link to great customer service

Improving the Customer Experience can only be achieved by taking into account all processes that affect the outcome. Contact Centers handle a variety of work such as customer complaints, changing and updating customer account records, resolving payment disputes, and assisting with tracking service orders.  In addition, CSC’s often have many teams all handling different volumes of work.

Other departments within the business also have a direct impact on quality of service though they may not ever speak to a customer. These departments include legal, finance, order fulfillment and IT -  just to name a few. Each department typically has its own processes and measurements, making it difficult to measure overall performance.

The missing link has been Back Office Work Force Optimization. Back Office WFO provides the framework which allows employees to work as one team to achieve consistency and improve end to end performance.

Back Office WFO enables you to:

·         Reduce Back logs

·         Introduce consistent and improved management and business practices

·         Improve the Customer Experience

·         Ensure the right level of resources, with the right skills are in place to achieve optimal performance

Open Architectures

Why do some contact center vendors have proprietary architectures? Working with clients it is hard to believe that there are still integration challenges between vendors. Why is that? From a technological standpoint, integration is not impossibility. If vendors would open up their architectures and collaborate with each other, customers would be the winners. Instead what we have is a vendor centric point of view. One in which the vendor adamantly protects their platform. Vendors operate under the belief that if they open up their architecture they will lose their install base of customers to their competitors. The problem with this thinking is that many businesses elect a multi-vendor approach. What results in this scenario is a loss for all involved. The new platform is installed, issues arise and everyone points a finger at the other guy. Eventually, the problems are solved but my point is that these installations could be painless and the issues avoided altogether. If a vendor truly had his customers best interest in mind, they would open up their platforms to provide a customer centric business model.

The Source of Innovation

Yesterday I was listening in on a UC Product application refresher call when someone asked a question about the functionality being discussed. She pointed out that the way the application was configured and being sold today could be combined in a more effective way, thus increasing sales. Some of the folks on the call chimed in explaining the technological logic of the configuration and its challenges.  You are probably saying to yourself… so what? Here’s the So What: This astute observation by this woman proves that innovation is not always hatched in some room filled with engineers and mad scientist donning white cloaks!

More often than not, innovation comes from the bottom up. It comes from folks that are working with a product or service every day, spot an issue, and come up with an idea of how to improve the product. Her suggestion was noted but she should have received some recognition for being engaged and trying to help improve the product.

In the world of globalization and fierce global competition American companies are going to need to harness all the brain power that exists within their companies to compete. We need to foster an environment that rewards individuals who go above and beyond their job description!

Mobile Apps in the Contact Center

With the proliferation of mobile apps I don’t know why contact centers have not embraced them? Whether it’s a tablet or smartphone, mobile apps can help a contact center improve customer satisfaction, off load call volumes, augment existing self service offerings, and improve SLA metrics.

One Smartphone/Tablet mobile application I think every contact center should employ is a visual IVR. Most if not all of us have had the experience of trying to navigate a company’s IVR. Press 7 for X and press 8 for Y. The problem with the approach is that it is time consuming, sometimes a response requires a # or a * which doesn’t always get recognized, and navigating an IVR on a smartphone is even more challenging.

Why not implement a smartphone application which gives you a visual option you can simply click on to engage? For example a caller would have the following options on their device, View Accounts, Speak with Agent, Ask a general question, you get the idea. The visual menu is exactly the same as the IVR but all you have to do is click the option and you are connected.

Aspect Software, the company I am employed by, can and has developed many mobile applications for some the largest corporations in the US. If your organization hasn’t developed a mobile application strategy for its contact center, it is going to be at a competitive disadvantage. Existing customers and potential customers will migrate to companies that understand and employ technologies that make it easier to do business.

What America Needs

What America needs is for every American to become engaged in the political process and voice their opinion on what needs to be done to restore America to greatness! We have a national crisis in our country and we all have to act collectively now!

Politicians of today are not looking out for America’s best interests! Politicians are only concerned with satisfying their largest finance campaign contributors so that they remain in office. What politicians should be asking themselves every morning is, what policies should I be championing today to restore America to greatness?  One of the first policy changes we need is finance campaign reform laws so that big money, corporations, are not influencing policy and pushing forth agendas which are good for the corporation but bad for America. Taking money out of politics will enable both houses of government to create and pass good policies for America and Americans.

Tax policy is also in need of reform. With the nation’s debt at such a perilous level, we need to pass legislation which is fair but most importantly; we need a bold policy which will restore the world’s faith in our economy and puts America on a path to greatness.

What America needs is to invest in its people. If America does not invest its resources in Education we will not be at the forefront of technology and, we slip ever further into decline. If we do not lead the world in innovation, the newest technology or newest alternative energy we will no longer be able to maintain our position in this world. Our national security depends on America leading in entrepreneurship, technology and alternative energy.

What America needs now more than ever, is American’s coming together with resolve, an iron will to make the tough choices to restore this nation to greatness!! Tough times do not last, tough people do!