Writing for ccf online (21/11/08) Gordon Loader, Senior Manager, Solutions Marketing EMEA Avaya a company whos software is currently used by Direct Call, stresses the need for call centres to be continuosly evolving with technology:

The face of customer service is changing.  Customers are more demanding and businesses now have an added pressure to deliver fast, effective service. Technology has fuelled the speed with which customers expect to interact with businesses—email, SMS and instant messaging (IM) are now not only acceptable, but commonplace.  However, while interaction speed has increased, tolerance levels are decreasing. 

Customers want good service and issues resolution and they want it now. Again, technology can play a supporting role. Voice recognition can not only identify customers, but also rate (dis)satisfaction with the service at the point of contact, providing call centre agents with real-time feedback on how best to handle their queries. These types of performance analytics enable businesses to be more agile and competitive improving their ability to deliver customized, effective services.

Customer’s definitions of availability are also changing. 24/7 service is no longer a luxury, but a requirement and many are willing to pay a premium for on-demand service. The impact to call centres is easy to see, but delivering this requires changes to the core of a business, going beyond technology, into policy, staffing and reach. Moving forward without adapting not only risks alienating clients, but is also a missed opportunity to increase revenue directly—big gambles in today’s economic climate. 


Of course, delivering this type of instant customer service is challenging. Fortuitously, how we work is also evolving. Businesses are no longer limited to staffing from a local team, but can fill roles from a wider geographical pool, adding diversity, skills and expertise to their service network. And with the advent of flexible working, the network can be extended to accommodate both business and employee needs. Superior work/life balance breeds loyalty, cuts staff attrition and turnover, increasing job satisfaction and performance. 

To achieve this level of flexibility and diversity technology must, again, play a role. Unified Communications (UC) extends the contact centre throughout the business to the benefit of the customer, the organization and its employees—to answer every question, solve every challenge. UC also extends the reach of the contact centre to new audiences by delivering service that meets the needs of all its customers. By recognizing and embracing these new forms of communication, and through the implementation of transformative technologies capable of serving these changing needs, the call centre too evolves. Unified Communication is here. The future is now.

Presented to the call centre blog by Brian Maclagan, Direct Call Account Manager.