Touch-tone tree systems, voice recognition call directing, self-service Web sites; all of these things have contributed to making the call center more efficient and productive. They have also enhanced the experience for the customer by shortening wait times. Increasingly, consumers are able to get their questions answered and problems solved without the need to talk to a live agent. Given this trend, are live agents counting the days to extension? Not at all.

 

Each of the previously mentioned options is helpful in navigating the system to either complete a function that resolves an issue or to get to the proper live agent. However, each of these options cannot satisfy all requests. In the end, the lack of a live agent can lead to frustration and potentially loss of a customer.

 

In order to produce the most efficient and productive call experience, a good balance between self-service options and the live agents needs to be achieved. With the implementation of self-service options, agents became more available to assist the customer when an issue needed attention. These solutions also relieved the agent of some of the stress-related aspects of the job and created a better work environment, thus decreasing agent attrition.

 

Live agents can also deliver the personal touch that cannot be duplicated or even emulated by the best self-service solutions on the market. Most are well equipped to not only answer questions and properly direct the caller, they are also trained to handle the frustrated individual and turn him or her into a satisfied caller.

 

Though there can be more cost involved with live agents when compared to technical solutions, that cost can be absorbed through higher customer retention. The cost of replacing a dissatisfied customer far exceeds that of the experienced agent that can foster customer relationships.

 

Live call center agents can also serve as one of the best resources for customer feedback to be implemented into corporate CRM systems. And while a customer may not be willing to hang on the line to answer a survey question from a voice prompt, they are likely to answer an agent’s questions while waiting for information to be found, especially if they feel like the agent is working in their best interest.

 

While technology continues to offer more options to improve call center functions, it is highly unlikely that any solution will be able to replace live agents. The expertise, personal touch and ability to win over even the toughest caller are things that the best technology solutions cannot match.

Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMC and has also written for eastbiz.com. To see more of her articles, please visit Susan J. Campbell’s columnist page.