There's a Lot Going on With Contact Centers

Contact centers are not point solutions. Instead, contact centers require a broad range of functionality.

Some contact center solutions are multifunctional. And all contact center solutions need to integrate with other business systems of one kind or another. 

The larger and more complex a contact center operation is, the greater the need for more functionality and integration and interaction.

At the front end, contact centers leverage IVR and call distribution solutions. Some contact center operations also elect to use callback solutions. That way, customers don’t have to wait in queue, and agents can call them back when things slow down a little.

Once agents and customers make the connection, screenpops and dashboards can help the customer service workers access the customer account and other information they need to find answers quickly. Those agent front ends need to tap into existing CRM and other systems to allow for that.

We call these environments contact centers instead of call centers today because they enable more than just telephone-based interactions. Multichannel customer service platforms enable businesses to work with customers using an array of communication types. And omnichannel solutions go a step further by allowing for continuity between and consistency of customer service among those channels. 

Customer service solutions also cover platforms that help manage the inner workings of these environments. That includes human capital management.

Contact centers need to recruit, hire, on board, and training agents. They also need to figure out how many and what type of agents they need to employ at any particular time. Workforce management systems can help them do such forecasting and scheduling – and to do it in both scientific and creative ways.

Advanced contact center solutions can also allow for performance monitoring and quality assurance. That includes recording solutions, systems that can analyze speech in real time, and more.

Edited by Maurice Nagle