How the Contact Centre Industry Has Changed Over the Past Five Years

To celebrate Engineer’s Day 2019 in India, we had a conversation with Prashant Sharma, who was recently appointed Country Manager for Spearline’s Ahmedabad office in India.

Before we discuss the contact centre industry, tell us about your own professional background.

Recently, I moved to Ahmedabad to take up the opportunity to work as a Country Manager at Spearline. While it is early days, my primary job is to oversee the entire operations in Spearline’s India office while considering the expansion plan of three different departments here in India. I am responsible for the smooth operations of all departments here in India and will be the eyes and ears of top management for Indian operations.

How has the contact centre industry changed in the past 5 years?

The contact centre industry is a fast-paced and growing part of each and every business these days. It is the best platform for a company to interact with their end users on a regular basis. On top of that, it’s cost effective as well. In the past decade, as technology advanced, there have been many enhancements in contact centres globally, and the past five years in particular have seen dramatic changes. Organizations have prioritized their KPIs over the past few years, focusing more towards customer experience and satisfaction while lowering their cost too.

The Spearline platform supports contact centres by monitoring their global numbers to test for audio quality and connectivity. This leads to improved customer experience, lower costs and business growth for the industry. The cloud-based contact centre has taken over all the other previously used technologies. It is way cheaper and has a lot less downtime than any other resources available currently. As of 2018, more than 70%+ organizations have moved to a cloud-hosted contact center solution.

The Asia-Pacific region was initially the choice of major companies to set up their contact centres; however, in the past 5 years, it has been the fastest-growing market for contact centres, with India and the Philippines topping the list.

What sorts of issues do contact centres approach you with?

The major issue every contact centre is facing currently is customer satisfaction and proper interaction. Customers want to hear real voices rather than AI or robotic automation.

Prashant Sharma

Feedback from customers includes that it is highly unlikely that a customer will leave feedback for contact centres and their services. Which is a shame as it would certainly help them to improve and develop their skills.

As social media is widely used by every end user these days, contact centres are also focusing on using those platforms to enhance their key skills.

Overall, customer experience is a high priority for contact centres. Companies like Spearline are developing innovative technology to improve global communications by testing both the phone line connection and the quality of the call for the industry. This saves time, lowers costs and increases satisfaction for call centre customers and staff.

For further information, visit www.spearline.com

Author: Robyn Coppell