How Contact Centres Can Compete in a Post-Pandemic World

Patty Yan of RingCentral shares her vision of the future of the contact centre industry.

Despite predictions that 50% of UK workers would be working remote by the end of this year, the sudden shift to working from home caught many businesses off-guard.

Although some companies have gradually increased their investment in cloud-based solutions for remote teams, the contact centre is lagging behind.

Most teams have struggled to embrace secure and reliable tech for teams to work from home.

Many of the leading contact centres throughout the UK have huge investments in custom on-premises technology. This means the shift to cloud can get complicated in some situations. Despite this, even as we emerge from COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for remote working will grow.

In the months ahead, teams can expect new challenges and issues to address.

If contact centres want to remain competitive and profitable in the post-pandemic world, they need a new strategy. Reverting back to old methods won’t be enough.

Making the Shift to a New World

The COVID-19 upheaval has been particularly tough for contact centres to deal with. Larger enterprises relying on on-premises infrastructure had no way to evolve.

What many customer service operations have experienced over the last few months has proven that contact centres must embrace the cloud for business continuity.

Recently, helplines have jammed and websites been overwhelmed by a new level of demand from consumers. Contact centres will need to adapt if they want to survive.

The cloud could be the only viable solution for contact centres having to deal with changes in budget. As the economy struggles to recover after the pandemic, budgets will be tight. Adopting cloud tools offers businesses the freedom to evolve quickly while saving cash.

Consolidating services under a single vendor with CCaaS reduces the number of bills teams need to deal with. Cloud technology also means businesses are responsible for less maintenance on their end. Vendors can provide the support that teams need through a simplified and consolidated stack.

Unlocking a New Era of Flexibility

Adopting a cloud contact centre means a business can embrace the new world of work and get more for its money. With a cloud stack, you can access omnichannel tools for engagement without spending a fortune on expensive software and hardware.

In this way, meeting customer expectations becomes easier and more affordable.

Omnichannel solutions that combine tools in one unified platform also boost team efficiency. Contact centres can serve their clients without spreading agents too thin. Meanwhile, the cloud opens the door to remote and flexible working practices, which means greater work/life balance for teams.

Thanks to internet-based access to operational tools, staff are able work from anywhere, which means local infrastructure damage and other issues won’t prevent productivity. Cloud contact centre providers deliver reliability, no matter the circumstances.

The cloud also means that today’s businesses can add new functionality to the stack whenever they choose. Advanced features like skills-based routing and sentiment analysis are already available.

Real-time reporting and insights mean customer engagement teams are more informed and responsive. The opportunities for growth are endless.

Of course, navigating and succeeding in the post-pandemic landscape will rely on visionary strategy and empathetic leadership, but when it comes to tools, cloud technology offers contact centres that much-needed support to take performance to the next level.

Author: Robyn Coppell