Contact Center Solutions Featured Article

As contact centers around the world have morphed into multi-channel customer interaction centers, the required capabilities of all contact center agents have increased. Recent research conducted by callcentres.net has explored contact centers in Asia to grasp an understanding of how they are integrating multiple channels.

 

The Asian contact centers surveyed reported that on average, 44 percent of agents were equipped to handle multiple channels, including voice, e-mail, fax, SMS and Web chat. One specific area of concentration was that of enterprise chat, defined as the real-time interactive online problem resolution between the agent and the customer where Web pages or information can be directly pushed to the customer.

 

Of the Asian contact centers surveyed for this report, 69 percent agreed that customer service would significantly improve if all agents could handle all interaction channels. Less than half, or 44 percent of respondents agreed that enterprise chat has the potential to greatly improve call resolution times in the contact center.

 

The potential for enterprise chat to greatly increase operational efficiency in the contact center was realized by only 36 percent of respondents. As such, only 34 percent will consider implementing enterprise chat within the next 18 months.

 

The industry seems to be split on its ability to handle multiple channels. When asked whether or not their call center was able to effectively manage the volume of e-mail that arrives at their contact center within an eight-hour turnaround, 53 percent responded that their contact center was able to meet this benchmark. Roughly 22 percent agreed that they could not meet the eight-hour turnaround and the remaining respondents were unsure or remained neutral on the issue.

 

As VoIP is making tremendous headway in the call center industry worldwide, respondents were also asked what their plans were for VoIP implementation in the future. Put to them is such a way that VoIP will be a core component of their Web strategy over the next 18 months, 51 percent of contact center respondents agreed.  

 

Overall, the Asian contact center industry is working towards becoming a multi-channel industry. More than 80 percent of contact center managers view multi-channel integration as an important part of their strategy.

 

A majority of contact center managers in Asia believe that agent capability in handling multiple channels will be a significant driver in increasing customer service deliverables. As more and more consumers are demanding these additional channels, contact and call centers throughout the world must be aptly equipped to respond to ensure long-term success.