Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
HoloLens 2 Mixed Reality Project Aims to Improve Call Center Scheduling & Performance
A new mixed reality (MR) project developed for Japanese coffee machine maker De’Longhi Japan Corp. utilizes Microsoft’s (News - Alert) HoloLens 2 augmented reality (AR) headset to create an exciting new way for call center agents to interact with and troubleshoot for their customers. BellSystem24, a call center consultant, has put together a solution that uses the headsets to display virtual product models to better enable call center agents to assist their customers.
The MR offering, known as the Call Center Work Style Innovation Project, uses 3D technology from DataMesh to render the product models, which are delivered through the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. The solution has the potential to transform the call center industry and dramatically improve customer service. It is based on the premise that while most call centers are able to provide tangible products for their agents to study and work with for troubleshooting, it simply isn’t realistic to do so for an increasingly remote and distributed workforce.
The trial with De’Longhi is centered around the fact that the company’s coffee machines are complex, and call center agents often provide phone support and troubleshooting without actually looking at or touching the machines. This makes it exceedingly difficult to provide proper support, particularly for remote agents. The MR solution enables remote employees to interact with virtual versions of the products using the HoloLens 2. The offering includes animations designed to help agents understand all the moving parts of each product. And because the hologram data is stored on Azure, it may be accessed by multiple agents, from any location.
One of the goals of the project is to help global companies like De’Longhi better manage a distributed workforce of call center agents. The solution enables employers to provide more flexible scheduling for their agents, one of the key pain points in call center management and turnover rates, as well as remote work accommodations. The result will be to attract and retain better call center talent and improve customer service and overall call center operations.
“The working-age population working at the call center is declining year by year,” said Ichiro Tsuge, president of BellSystem24. “New technologies will be introduced to reduce time and space constraints and make it easier for operators to work.”
The company has applied for a patent for the solution, and plans to help De’Longhi expand the number of employees, products and locations using the technology as it moves forward. Upon completion of the De’Longhi trial, Microsoft and DataMesh plan to develop a business model for the complete MR solution by the end of 2021.