Lekane and Genesys Partner to Make the Contact Center More Mobile

By Susan J. Campbell

TMCnet Contributing Editor

 

A major breakthrough has been announced that is expected to extend the contact center. Genesys (News - Alert) Telecommunications Laboratories and Lekane have announced that Lekane has leveraged the Genesys suite to create a small, lightweight Java-based agent desktop that can confirm the presence and availability of field service personnel, while also enabling a centralized contact center to easily transfer customer inquiries when appropriate.

 

The significant element of this software is that it enables contractors, back office workers, and branch experts who many not be on a centralized system to tie into the main contact center, with virtually no significant investment in new telephony systems.

 

Lekane’s software is designed to enable a wide range of contractors, subcontractors and employees in the field to answer customer inquiries. TeliaSonera, a telecommunications company in Finland, has already begun one of the first implementations of the mobile contact center.

 

Using the solution, mobile employees can execute key customer service tasks while on the move. With a mobile device, remote workers or staff can become part of the contact center with wireless access to the Genesys contact center along with all customer data. Remote agents are able to preview on their mobile phone who is calling and why before connecting to the call. Once a call is complete, any new data the agent puts into the mobile device can be sent back to Genesys reporting for further business analysis.

 

"For Genesys this is the natural extension of our strategy to increase the flexibility of customer service for both businesses and customers. It extends the concept of the Dynamic contact center to the mobile arena and further extends customer service outside of the classic contact center," said Wes Hayden, president and CEO, Genesys, in a Wednesday statement.

 

"This flexibility will mean major cost reductions to businesses through optimizing the activity of staff who need to communicate with customers but are also often on the move. It will provide customers with speedier service and more likelihood of first call resolution through having the right expert available to deal with their request."

 

Great interest has been expressed in this application and TeliaSonera has successfully completed an installation with the network operators that maintain the 2G and 3G networks equipped with the solution. The operators are consistently on the move and also need to provide technical support to field maintenance staff. The new solution enables operators to be mobile while taking calls and making changes, creating an opportunity for cost reduction and improvement in service.

"In our previous setup a call might have needed to be processed by five people but now, with the Genesys and Lekane mobile solution, the call can be delivered directly to the right expert," said Mikko Raitio, Senior Corporate Manager at TeliaSonera, in Wednesday’s statement.

 

"It also improves the flexibility of working hours, for example during the weekends the backup shift can now be remotely handled from home. The project has created a myriad of ideas on how we can apply the mobile contact center in our customer service."

"Mobility and the expanded contact center provided by Genesys and Lekane makes customer service significantly more efficient -- the right people can be enabled to help the customer as efficiently as possible. There are no lost opportunities, as calls are offered to those who can add the best value to the interaction," contributed Aarne Yla-Rotiala, CEO of Lekane.

 

"This solution is suitable for all companies who have expert workers who are on the move but still need to be available to communicate with customers -- from insurance brokers to field technicians."

 

Considering how mobile our global society has become, the opportunities for such an application are practically endless. Such flexibility for the contact center worker has been in great demand for some time, yet the technology wasn’t quite there yet to enable complete mobility, while also tying into the system.

 

Such a solution is designed with customer service deliverables in mind. However, when addressing customers’ needs on the go, service levels can be questionable. Sure, such flexibility will facilitate faster response times, but how will that translate in customer to employee interactions? Certain controls will still need to be in place to ensure that the standards set forth by the organization continue to be met at all levels.

 

 

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