How to unlock the Hidden Power of Contact Centres

Business leaders have an ever-growing list of responsibilities and challenges to navigate. The cost-of-doing-business crisis, supply chain issues, geopolitical unrest and environmental concerns remain genuine causes of concern for all leaders. At the same time, customers remain under their own pressures, with the cost-of-living crisis continuing to bite, yet unaffecting their expectations of the brands they interact with.

Given this, business leaders must carefully navigate these macro challenges without compromising customer service. An efficient customer experience (CX) is so often the difference between customer satisfaction and customers detracting to other brands altogether. It’s not surprising to find that businesses are beginning to take serious note of its potential – with Forrester research revealing that 64% of CX leaders expect to have larger budgets in 2024 for CX initiatives. With a host of pressures facing businesses at present, it’s integral that customer service and CX is done right. And it all starts within the Contact Centre.

Contact Centres: The heartbeat of modern brand loyalty

Modern-day customers want an engaging, seamless customer experience when interacting with a brand. Contact Centres are often the first touchpoint for customers seeking support or solutions and its agents the “voice” of the brand. Put simply, the interaction between agent and customer can shape the overall brand perception. An agent's ability to resolve issues quickly and effectively reflects directly on the brand's competence and care. By prioritising the performance of its Contact Centre operation, businesses can foster stronger relationships, enhance customer loyalty, safeguard their brand reputation and ultimately drive revenue growth.

As organisations prioritise this delivery of service excellence, brands too should start to move towards elevating the status of Contact Centre agents to that akin with other professions. Why? Because every day, agents walk the tightrope of acting as the ear to every customer interaction, but also acting as the voice of the brand. This means that from their inception within a business, agents have a solid understanding of a brand’s customer base – what they want, and how well the brand does in delivering it. This birdseye view of the business means agents have enormous potential to enact positive change throughout the wider business.

Making the role of the Contact Centre agent a viable new career path

Contact Centre agents clearly play a pivotal role in not only the experience of the customer, but also to a business's bottom line. However, their potential is often underutilised due to a lack of recognition and career development opportunities. It is high time that a career in the Contact Centre is seen as a respectable and long-term career. Indeed, many of IPI’s direct clients kicked off their careers in the Contact Centre before working their way up the career ladder into leadership positions.

But how can the industry nurture the talent, and transform these roles into fulfilling careers? Businesses must invest in agents' growth and well-being, as they would for any other department. Providing clear career paths and opportunities can transform how agents view their roles as vital.

Investing in agent training is one such way to strengthen the relationship between an agent and a brand, and therefore the experience of the customer. On a macro level, you can also open agents’ eyes to other areas of the business and wider career opportunities that clearly value the expertise that they have accumulated within their customer service roles.

Untapping the potential within

As the CEO of a company that works with organisations to empower their Contact Centre agents, every day I witness the impact of creating environments where agents are valued, actively engaged and given the correct tools to do their job better. From adopting technology – like chatbots to free up agent time to focus on addressing customer concerns – to better engaging staff through tools such as gamification, there is value to be had in optimising the Contact Centre and unlocking the value of the agents within, agents who work day-in, day-out to be the eyes and ears of a brand, to communicate directly with customers to foster loyalty and resolve issues with compassion and efficiency.

Poor customer experience can undo so much hard work for businesses when it comes to managing customer retention. In order to address this, businesses need to treat Contact Centres as the epicentre of their business to ensure the delivery of exceptional CX. The UK business sector in general can achieve this by empowering Contact Centre agents and offering career advancement opportunities and competitive salaries. In doing so, organisations can attract top talent and cultivate a workforce dedicated to delivering exceptional service that drives long-term organisational success.