3 days ago
Why a confidence-inspiring contact centre is one of your organisation's greatest assets
In today's times, Australian customers want to deal with businesses whose service is swift, seamless and safe, ANZ vice president, Paul Rilstone, and CXTT Principal and Transformation Specialist, Michael Clark write.
Are you one of the millions of Australians who's had the unwelcome news that your personal data has been compromised and is in the hands of a cyber-criminal or several?
The accessing of customer records containing names, dates of birth, email addresses, phone numbers and other sensitive data has become an all-too-frequent event, as sophisticated actors continue to seek out weak spots in companies' IT defences.
Increasingly, these clever, unscrupulous individuals aren't only using their technical expertise to gain an 'in'. They're adopting social engineering strategies; attempting to manipulate and deceive employees, via phishing, multi-factor authentication and email bombing gambits.
Those working in contact centres, engaging with customers and members of the public day in, day out, are squarely in the firing line.
A matter of trust
However it occurs, a cyber incident erodes customer trust. If a business has the misfortune to experience one, rebuilding that trust is critical.
That's where the contact centre has a vital role to play.
Rapid digitisation means they've become the beating heart of many organisations – their primary interface with the world and a one-stop-shop for service delivery.
Offering responsive, seamless and reliable service is critical, and in the wake of a crisis never more so.
Organisations that do this well tend to find it easier to restore trust and rebuild their brands.
Conversely, those that fall short, by making it difficult or painful for customers to engage with them, are laying themselves open to ongoing questions about the quality of their offering and operations.
Improving your contact centre operations with AI
In today's times, getting it right means making smart decisions about how AI should be incorporated into your contact centre.
Deploying AI and automation technology can give your customers the power to self-serve their way through run-of-the-mill processes, and provide answers and resolutions to many of their more straightforward queries and issues.
That's a win-win when it works well: no more hanging on the line makes for a better experience for customers and can deliver a sizeable efficiency dividend for your business too.
The human touch
But not all problems can or should be managed by AI. However sophisticated and intuitive it may become – and it continues to evolve and improve at bewildering speed – there will always be complex calls, emails and messages that require human scrutiny and judgment.
Striking the optimal balance between what to automate and what to leave in human hands is no easy matter. In the rush to transform their contact centre operations, many companies are making the mistake of addressing the challenge with piecemeal solutions.
Rather than re-imagining what stand-out customer service and experience look like and then using this game-changing technology to help them deliver it, they're replicating many of the same old processes, using AI, rather than human agents, to engage with their customers. All too often, the result is clunky, disjointed and unsatisfactory.
Enlisting expert assistance
That's why it pays to work with specialists who understand contact centre best practice and how AI technology can enable your organisation to achieve it.
They'll map your workflows and processes and develop customer journeys where automated processes expedite and augment the work of your human agents. This will enable you to eliminate the duplication and double handing of data and orchestrate actions across all your critical systems.
It's a smart way of ensuring the time and resources you're expending lead to high quality customer experiences that enhance your brand.
Setting your organisation up for a stronger future
In 2025, customers' trust is hard won and easily lost. Operating a responsive contact centre that offers personalised, seamless service can help you gain and retain it.
If maintaining mind and market share matter to your organisation, it's well worth investing in the resources you need to get it right.
