2020-21 UK Contact Centre Decision-Makers’ Guide

ContactBabel recently launched The 2020-21 UK Contact Centre Decision-Makers’ Guide, based on surveys with 233 UK organizations and 1,000+ interviews with UK consumers.

The findings of ContactBabel’s research are reported by vertical market and contact centre size, so organizations can compare their contact centre performance and plans with similar organizations.

Covering all aspects of performance, technology, HR and strategy, the report shows how the UK contact centre industry is coping with extremely challenging times, and what it’s planning for the future.

At a whopping 400+ pages, the report contains a wealth of detailed information that spans multiple sectors and business services, from finance to manufacturing, media to utilities, and much more.

Public and private sector organizations are represented, providing a comprehensive view of the customer service landscape across the UK.

Given RingCentral’s role in helping organizations shape the future of work, our particular area of current interest was remote working and the connected enterprise.

It’s clear how much of a role remote work has played in our lives this year and, despite the hope for distancing regulations to eventually be relaxed, the remote work ‘experiment’ of 2020 has changed the way we will work for years to come.

It’s therefore imperative for organizations to find ways to get the best out of the remote working opportunity. For example: flexible scheduling, follow-the-sun support, access to talent unbound by geographic location, and of course better work-life balance for employees.

To do this, businesses need to change their approach to workforce engagement and measurement of productivity: keeping teams engaged and connected while remote working is essential to thriving in the new era of work.

The RingCentral-sponsored chapter “Remote working and the connected enterprise” contains information that can help organizations benchmark their current situation and activities in their sector, creating a base from which to plan future engagements.

Highlights include:

• 69% of UK contact centres now use at least one cloud-based application
• The average cost of an inbound call is £4.55, 77% more than webchat
• Webchat usage has risen by 58% over the past year
• 74% of UK contact centre agents are still based at home
• 42% of contact centres reported a drop in service level
• 92% of businesses say AI will be important to their contact centre

The rapid rise in senior customer experience professionals comes as a result of businesses acting on the understanding that their customer contact is key to their business’s overall success.

To download RingCentral’s chapter – “Remote working and the connected enterprise” – click here 

Author: Robyn Coppell