The contact centre sector is booming – but challenges facing the industry mean C-Suites should consider hiring a Contact Centre Consultant to secure their plans for growth.
The future is looking bright for the contact centre sector; the industry boasts over 6,200 centres in the UK and employs over 4% of the country’s working population with these figures expected to grow even further in the months ahead.
While offering genuine opportunities for sizeable growth, there are several emerging challenges that could hamper progress including average call durations rising to the highest figure ever recorded and the need for true omnichannel experiences for customers; the latter in particular requires urgent action as 74% of contact centres will offer unified experiences by 2018.
Reaping the Rewards
To address such issues, savvy contact centre managers are increasingly turning to Contact Centre Consultants (CCC) and their specialist skillsets, market knowledge and unbiased position to guarantee their contact centre operations remain ahead of the curve – and the competition:
1. Protecting budgets
CCCs understand that developing and executing a successful growth strategy takes not only time, money and resources but most importantly, expertise. Many companies are tempted to undertake the process in-house, hoping to make substantial savings but in reality, this approach typically incurs higher costs, extends development times and over-stretches staff. Because of their experience however, CCCs are able to sidestep common pitfalls and instead, draw up a roadmap to rollout success that will save money and increase ROI. Ultimately, it also means the client can allow any in-house talent to stay more focused on what they do best – their day-to-day roles.
2. Removing agendas
CCCs are able to utilise the whole market of suppliers to source and procure the services and products required for the rollout of any new contact centre process. Because of this database, CCCs can negotiate on the client’s behalf, ensuring the best prices are secured on what is actually required for the task, not what a salesman (with their own vested interests) is selling that month to hit sales targets.
3. Overcoming obstacles
CCCs recognise that customers are increasingly interacting with business via digital touchpoints; according to the 2016 Global Contact Centre report, contact centres will be running nine different channels by the end of 2017. To effectively deal with this trend, CCCs can identify the most appropriate technologies and touchpoints to drive up customer engagement and retention rates. Critically, the consultant can also strip away the hyperbole that often swamps the digital space and offer real-world pragmatic guidance on the channels that will best suit the individual needs of the client’s operations.
4. Promoting transparency
CCCs ensure that clients always have a 360-degree view of their projects via scheduled reporting and access to Key Performance Indicators, guaranteeing a fully audited process that ensures all governance requirements are met. This approach also enables clients to track every area of the rollout through out the process via one reliable and quantifiable source, instead of dealing with updates on an ad-hoc and potentially incoherent basis that can cripple project implementation.
When combined, these four ‘pillars’ of service offered by Contact Centre Consultants mean that a client’s strategy will be fully optimised to ensure a successful rollout. Importantly, the consultant can aid the client secure their contact centre operations in the present – while guaranteeing they’re fit to face the future of an increasingly diverse and competitive sector.