The Global Association for Contact Center Best Practices & Networking

In your opinion, what has been the greatest challenge the contact center industry has faced in the last 12 months?
I believe the greatest challenge the outsourced contact center industry has faced in the last 12 months was keeping up with amount of work being outsourced. The economy remained fickled in 2011 and it seems that more and more businesses explored the outsourcing of more and more of their contact center processes. Our company, as an example, has significantly grown in the previous twelve-months with new lines of business that weren't necessarily outsourced (at all) in 2010.


Why do you believe has this been a challenge?
I believe this has been a challenge because the lines of business I am referring to have been historically viewed as the 'holiest of holies' that an outsourcer would never have been considered to perform. The client's tolerance for the learning curve is significantly reduced, if not eliminated, even though it's inevitable.


In 2012, what do you think will be the top priorities in the contact center industry for:
I believe the top priorities in 2012 will be very different from the ones in 2011;

a) Contact Center Directors
Contact Center Directors may find themselves looking to boost EBITDA through reductions in opex

b) Company Executives
Company Executives may find themselves combining job accountabilities as they question the logic behind particular job funcitons

c) IT Directors and Human Resources Directors
IT & Human Resource Directors may find themselves in a more active role within the leadership team, executing the tactics to achieve the corporate strategy


What technology do you believe will have the biggest impact on the industry over the next 12 months?
I believe that the technology that has the biggest potential to make a long-lasting impace on the contact center industry is in the voice recognition area. By 'voice recognition' I don't mean speech-to-text, I am referring to the new technologies that can identify and measure stress levels in people's speech patterns.

This technology has been in development (and in some instances in production) for years now, but it still has not yet reached the maturity required to enter the mainstream, and I believe that once it does the industry will be on the verge of a quantum leap.


Do you feel the service you personally get as a customer is better or worse than it was a year ago?
The service that I personally receive has become noticeably worse. An example that sticks out in my mind is my last interaction with Citylink (the company who owns/manages the toll roads in Victoria, Australia). Citylink had sent me an errant invoice for a charge I shouldn't have had to pay - when I phoned their contact center I anticipated the call would take only a few minutes (the issue was very cut-and-dry) but the Citylink customer service representative managed to keep me on the phone for over 45 minutes and did not resolve my concern before the call ended.

The one thing she did that irritated me to no end was her constant interrupting me when I was trying to verbalise a question or clarify a point she had just made. All in all, a terrible customer experience that I don't believe will be soon topped.


How do you intend to improve your contact center in 2012?
The plan to improve in 2012 is very straight forward and simple: execute on the basics & continue to build the bench.


What contact center technology or other innovation excites you the most as an Executive in the contact center industry?
As mentioned before, I believe the voice recognition technology will revolutionise the way we conduct business and how we measure customer experience(s).


What has been the most important contact center related conversation topic in 2011 and what are your views on this?
This is a fantastic question because there have been so many great conversation topics in 2011, but the one that sticks out in my head the most is the rise of 'employee engagement'. I can't think of anything else that is more important in managing people (or anything that has sky-rocketed to the foreground of most industry conversations). 2011 was the 'Year of Engagement' at my organisation where we took several initiatives to the next level with some very positive results.


Lastly, what do you think 2012 holds for the industry?
I believe 2012 will be a great year for the contact center industry. I believe it will be a year filled with growth and consolidation, meaning those organisations who have laid the foundation will most likely set their sites on growing their customer base while others will focus all of their attention on consolidating their available resources to address the more fundamental aspects of their center. All in all I believe 2012 will be a great year for the industry.

About Gabriel Fulton:
Gabriel is responsible for over 2.5 million minutes of telephone transactions per month while maintaining world-class quality standards. Gabriel continues to lead the way in achieving OCIS’ Vision of being the Outsourcer of Choice. Gabriel’s extremely process-oriented approach, along with his vast experience in the areas of customer service and sales operations, makes him a leader in his field. Gabriel holds multiple certifications with COPC, ASQ and Six Sigma.

About OCIS Group:
OCIS Group (Australia, Fiji and New Zealand) was founded in 2004. As a sales focussed outsourcer specialising in B2C and B2B sales the privately-owned group has organically grown from 10 seats to over 700. Our client base includes Australian Stock Exchange listed companies and government agencies across Oceania.