This article by Shona Harper (pictured right) considers the important strategic changes that are taking place within the contact centre industry at present and discusses the ways in which these are affecting your business. It suggests the implications of these changes are considerable, especially in terms of skill development. Training programmes have not kept pace with the changing needs of the industry because of both demand and supply side limiting factors. Finally, the author calls for a new kind of accountable training; one which will ensure the delivery of optimal value from your customer interactions.
Change is not new to those of us working in the contact centre industry. Over recent years we've seen enormous expansion within the sector, rapid advances in call centre technology, changes in recruitment methods such as psychometric testing and even a change in the terminology we use to express the call centre – enter the contact centre and customer interaction centre. But what might be described as the greatest revolution of them all is often overlooked. Maybe it's simply taken for granted. But we do this at our peril, because to do so is to ignore the implications of such change.
So what is this revolution? The contact centre is now an important strategic, rather than tactical, resource to organisations. Gone are the days where a call centre was set up to reduce operating costs through the physical centralisation of customer contact points for example. Or used merely as a distribution channel. Today, the contact centre is vital to the success of all our major organisations. Its contribution to wider organisational objectives are beyond doubt. Its employees are among the most – if not the most – important in the organisation as a whole.
If asked to write down your organisation's most important asset, what would you put? Buildings, employees, technology..? First every time, I'd put customers at the top of my asset sheet. They are my most precious assets. Without customers, there is no company. Within the contact centre, it is our role to nurture and manage individual customer relationships. It is perhaps not surprising therefore that a successful call centre and a successful organisation are synonymous. Consider the following statement by the Henley Centre.
If businesses continue to ignore the clear demands from their customers for the use of the telephone, and fail to put customer care interaction and response at the heart of the organisation, using today's technologies, then there is no guarantee that they will survive into the 21st century.
(Telecultures Futures)
The importance of the contact centre is unequivocal. So what are the changes which have brought about the rise of the strategic call centre? How many of them are affecting the way you do business or current thinking within your organisation?
The importance of 1:1 and relationship marketing with individual consumers. Business success is based on finding new ways to have direct communication with your customers, extracting optimum value from the customer interface and strengthening & nurturing customer relationships.
Recognition that consumers are ever more demanding, intolerant, self-assured in terms of their rights and role in the relationship with you. Consumers do vote with their feet! Consider the following research, again from the Henley Centre:
65% of consumers are prepared to take action , in the form of a lawsuit, protest or boycott against a company they perceive has wronged them
84% expect companies they use regularly to listen to their opinions about quality of service
79% expect not to be treated as a stranger by a company they use regularly
71% expect companies to reward their regular use (loyalty)
From 'Planning for Consumer Change 2000'.
Operating in increasingly homogenised markets, where competition and product differentiation are along the lines of customer service and loyalty
Business is won or lost on the basis of contact centre performance
Customers are 5 times more likely to leave because of poor service than because of product quality or cost
68% of customers stop doing business if they receive poor service
50-75% of customers who have their complaints solved quickly return and buy again
(Robert Bly, Secrets of Successful Telephone Selling)
Customer retention as well as acquisition is increasingly important to your business
Consumer expectations are ever increasing leading to more and more complex transactions being handled at the customer interface
Customer Relationship Management is a new business philosophy within your organisation.
It must be argued that the CRM approach is essential to all customer-focused organisations that wish to remain successful in the twenty-first century -(Butler Group eCRM Management Guide)
Changes in society mean that consumers are leading busier and more stressful lives. Leisure time is especially valuable with consumers looking towards organisations to provide convenience and make their lives easier
Access to new technologies enabling more effective customer contact strategies and database marketing. New technology receiving mixed press from customers and media.
Recognition that the contact centre is a revenue generator not a cost centre
The implications of such resounding changes are significant. On the whole, call centres have been quick to embrace these changes through revised business strategies, CRM project implementations and the investment in new enabling technology. An estimated $2.5 billion has been spent by UK call centres alone on CRM software (datamonitor). Whilst there have been some good (and bad) examples of work in these areas, the best business strategy, the right kind of technology and the latest organisational philosophy, will not alone deliver the sort of interaction we want with our customers. Why? Because we are missing the all-important 4th ingredient – people and skill development. Nurturing, managing and learning from customers requires people. Not just any people but highly skilled people. Ask yourself honestly – do your advisors have the appropriate skills to nurture your customer relationships and extract optimum value from these relationships? Are they empowered enough to do so?
To help you answer this question objectively, it's helpful to translate those factors which are leading to the rise of the strategic call centre into what it means for those actually working at the customer interface. We need advisors who can
Strengthen relationships with customers
Recognise customers as individuals and treat accordingly (Pareto)
Increase the value of customer contacts through use of data
Manage Life Time value of customers
Reward loyalty and focus on retention as well as acquisition
Surpass customer expectations rather than meet them
Portray brand values over the telephone
In other words, we need skill development, which can meet the needs of a modern and changing industry. This requires a fresh approach to training – a new breed of training containing a greater breadth of industry knowledge. One which acts as a bridge between academic and industry research and skill development. It is no longer enough for advisors to be skilled in communication techniques and those traditional skills associated with the call centre. They need new skills. Skills which equip them with an understanding of the value of why they do what they do. This basic premise applies to most things in our working life. Understanding why we do something and its importance in a wider sense, affects the way in which we do it as well as our feeling of self worth. To achieve our organisational objectives, we now require training, which is drawn from a much wider spectrum of disciplines. These include:
Direct marketing/1:1 marketing
CRM
Data protection
Understanding and surpassing customer expectations
Principles of the contact centre
Stress management
Team working
Even traditional call centre training modules such as telesales or managing angry callers, takes on a different perspective when viewed through the context of direct marketing and CRM.
The previously slow uptake of this kind of training is attributable to both demand and supply side factors. In the past, training like this wasn't available either in one comprehensive package or meaningfully applied to the appropriate level - those working at the customer interface. It is available now. On the demand side, training is often the first item to be sliced from the budget and is perceived as a cost to the business rather than an investment delivering value and financial returns. Accountable training can do just that of course, as well as reducing operational costs. The need for accountable training is also important. That is, making sure material is carefully applied to the individual's job role and continuing to measure training effectiveness long after its delivery, once the advisors have left the classroom. Too much training is evaluated at the point of consumption. This is only one part of the training equation when you consider that the real value of training is what it makes us do differently (and of value) when back in our job role.
The rise of the strategic modern contact centre is probably the most important development to date in the evolution of the industry. It's a chance to throw off the shackles of negative perception attributed to us in the past. But to do this, we need to fully understand and embrace these changes and develop our people accordingly. Revised business strategies and investment in enabling technology is only part of the answer. Without the right skills - new skills - you will not be able to develop your customer relationships at the customer interface in line with your marketing & organisational objectives. Now answer the questions honestly. Are your advisors equipped with the right skills to nurture and grow 1:1 customer relationships? Do they know the value of their role and purpose in terms of the wider organisation? Trick question - answer this either way and the need for a new kind of training becomes clear.
About the Author
Shona Harper is director of Contact Centre Professional Ltd, a new and exciting company which has developed a series of accredited call centre training programmes, designed to meet the needs of a changing and demanding industry. She is also an experienced call centre and marketing consultant.
Other useful links relevant to this feature article:
'Improve The Performance of Your Contact Center' - Book
Understanding and Combating Call Center Employee Turnover - Article
Retaining and Motivating Call Centre Agents - Article
Published: Thursday, August 8, 2002
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