Managers: Keep Tabs on these Trends for 2017

There were plenty of changes made to the way call centers were run throughout 2016. Now that we’re halfway through 2017, the changes haven’t stopped and it looks like there’s going to be even more to come. So, what trends should your call center keep an eye on in order to make sure that you’re staying ahead of the latest and greatest technology? Let’s take a look.

In a recent article, Mitel (News - Alert) compiled a list of the top nine most important call center trends to look out for in 2017. Here are some of the more noteworthy trends listed:

Better contact center analytics. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: analytics are a key part of any contact center operation. Managers aren’t superheroes—although they may try—and it’s difficult for them to keep track of every single agent’s progress. How are a few managers supposed to provide personalized, valuable feedback to hundreds of agents without analytics? With better analytics, data—such as call and screen recordings, chats, SMS messages and so on—can be turned into useful feedback for agents to learn and grow from.

Omnichannel everything. At this point in the game, if you’re not omnichannel, what are you doing? As 2017 goes on, more and more businesses are recognizing that they can’t restrict customers to one form of communication. A customer journey may begin on one channel but end on another depending on where their preferences and searching takes them. Using an omnichannel approach unifies all available channels, making it easier for customers to communicate with agents and, in turn, easier for agents to help resolve issues.

Remote agents. Working in the office five days a week is quickly becoming a habit of the past, especially in the contact center. All agents really need to work is a laptop and an Internet connection so they should be able to work from almost anywhere. Remote work not only gives agents more flexibility in their work hours, but also benefits companies by lowering costs and allowing them to stay open longer during the day.

As Mitel points out, there are plenty of other trends to keep an eye on as we continue through the second half of 2017. There’s still plenty of time to make changes that will benefit your organization, so be sure to try out some of these policies soon.