Contact Center Solutions Featured Article

November 28, 2007

Ventana Study Shows Disparate Systems Lead to Customer Discontent with Contact Centers

By Susan J. Campbell

TMCnet Contributing Editor

Contact centers throughout the world are trying to step-up their efforts in delivering high-quality customer service. In doing so, some are increasing agent training, implementing multiple communication channels, reducing wait times with technological applications, and other initiatives.

While many of these initiatives are having a positive impact, one area that needs special attention is often ignored. According to a recent Ventana Research study, “Enhancing the Customer Experience within a Contact Center Environment”, customer service is suffering due to agent processes.

This study, commissioned by Jacada (News - Alert) Ltd., points to long and complex calls due to agents spending too much time navigating around different systems as the main cause of poor customer service.

In fact, 98 percent of agents still have to trawl multiple screens to deal with a simple inquiry and 44 percent use three or more systems to handle one call. These agents often have to use entirely different monitors to access the systems they need.

The results of this research point to the benefits of the Unified Service Desktop. Such an application can dramatically improve the customer experience while reducing call times by as much as 50 percent.

This type of approach simplifies multiple applications into one usable screen that brings up relevant information so agents only have to enter data once. This application can also prompt the agent as to where the call should lead by capturing any required data that the agent may not have through of, helping to resolve issues quickly while also reducing after-call work for the agent.

"For almost every company, contact centers are the most important aspect of determining the customer experience," commented David Holmes, Executive Vice President of global marketing for Jacada, in a Wednesday statement.

"One bad experience with a call center and that customer could be put off for life. Yet this new research shows that many customers aren't receiving the levels of service they should.

A smarter desktop, however, means agents can spend more time listening to their callers, instead of focusing on the many screens of their computer system. Customers will be impressed that their issue is being resolved quickly, and agents will be happier knowing they will only need one application to do their job.”

The Unified Service Desktop solution ensures that the majority of calls are solved the first time. First-call resolution is a significant performance measure for contact centers as it means greater customer satisfaction and happier agents who tend to be more successful in their jobs.

A solution that saves time on calls effectively reduces costs. The center can also benefit from having the train the agent on only one desktop application. Such an arrangement can make the agent’s job much easier and the caller more satisfied, helping to create a satisfying experience for the agent. Satisfied agents are much more likely to stay with their jobs, reducing churn and positively impacting the bottom line.

Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMC (News - Alert) and has also written for eastbiz.com. To see more of her articles, please visit Susan J. Campbell’s columnist page.

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