While many people claimed that we as a country should have been able to predict 9-11 before it happened, the reality is that most of us could not and did not and therefore, it happened and in many ways, we were unprepared.

As a result, since that time companies have implemented contingency plans to ensure consistent customer service even if operations are interrupted. The problem is that while some of these companies are trying to plan for another such attack, their efforts are falling short. What’s more, they are failing to adequately prepare for more probable events, such as power outages and disasters caused by weather.

A recent report from DMG Consulting found that contact centers are struggling in this area. In fact, only 36.7 percent of companies are confident that they can operate without a serious impact on the quality of service and customer experience during a disaster. 

The main problem is that the majority of contact centers do not have a disaster recovery (DR) and business continuity (BC) plan, or they are not keeping the plan they do have up to date. DMG Consulting found that only 4.7 percent of companies test their DR and BC plans on a monthly basis. In reality, 95.3 percent of contact centers are at risk of a complete meltdown in an emergency situation.

This report also found that contact centers put a significant amount of trust in their current processes. So much so that only 45.6 percent of companies test or monitor their contact center’s routing and queuing capabilities. Of these companies, only 39.8 percent test or monitor monthly.

Those companies that are failing to monitor and test are left open to unexpected failures that can be avoidable. Some of these failures may not even be caused by outside factors; they could be caused by a new or enhanced solution that has been implemented into the infrastructure. Only 49.7 percent are confident that new capabilities are thoroughly tested and will not disturb their operation.

These numbers are much higher than they should be, indicating that contact centers of all sizes and serving all industries throughout the world are not taking the appropriate actions to minimize the impact that disasters or system changes can have on their environments.

To ensure consistent service is delivered to the customer to develop optimal experiences with each and every interaction, the contact center must implement proper planning, investments in disaster recovery, business continuity and ongoing internal testing and monitoring.

Only with these elements and focused diligence can the contact center ensure that it can deliver ongoing quality service no matter what happens internally or externally.