Verint Systems (News - Alert) Inc., a provider of analytic software-based solutions for workforce-enterprise optimization and security, has announced the results from a customer survey conducted at Witness Systems’ (News - Alert) annual user conference last month. Verint and Witness Systems recently combined in an effort to create a global provider of workforce and enterprise optimization solutions to provide organizations with powerful new visibility into the effectiveness of the enterprise customer service value chain.

 

“Witness Systems' annual user conference was attended by more than 300 global customers, demonstrating the company's leadership and commitment to understanding customers' business priorities," said Dan Bodner, president and CEO of Verint Systems, in a Monday statement. "These survey results support our belief that the customer experience remains a key priority in today's contact center and enterprise operations."

 

According to the results of the survey, as customer service has become an increasingly important differentiator for enterprises, contact center managers and executives are rising to the challenge by proactively implementing technology and processes, such as surveys to capture customer feedback, speech analytics for mining and identifying root cause of recurring interactions, and workforce optimization (WFO) solutions to streamline and achieve better integration of contact center and enterprise sales/service activities.

The survey also found that contact center managers consider customer loyalty and satisfaction to be of the utmost importance to the organization. Half of attendees tagged this measurement as a primary objective. First-call resolution was cited as the number one challenge facing contact centers today by 33 percent of respondents. However, nearly 60 percent of respondents indicated that their organizations do not currently capture feedback following a customer interaction or transaction.

 

The survey did indicate a new trend as there appeared to be a growing interest by more and more companies in speech technology for mining and analyzing their calls. Nearly 30 percent of respondents planned to invest in speech analytics in the coming year.

Other trends highlighted by the survey include training and home-based agents. Contact center managers were asked how they categorize their organizations’ investment in staff training this year as compared to last year and nearly half reported that training efforts have increased. In regard to home-based agents, 45 percent indicated that they currently employ home-based agents or plan to next year.

The survey also revealed a strong indication that WFO solutions, such as quality monitoring, workforce management, performance management and eLearning, as well as actionable intelligence solutions that include speech and data analytics, should be implemented outside the contact center as a key business initiative.

Results also noted that executive management seems to be taking notice of the progressive thinking in the contact center. A majority – or 52 percent – of respondents report sharing captured interactions with members of the executive management team. To view the complete survey results, visit http://www.verint.com/disurvey.

Concluded Bodner, "We are pleased to hear our customers express a clear need for our industry-defining portfolio of solutions that optimize workforce, contact center and enterprise performance. Verint's new Witness Actionable Solutions business line is committed to delivering innovative solutions to help enterprises address their most important customer service objectives."

 

The results of this survey display active progress in the contact center industry in bold moves toward customer-centric strategies. Organizations understand that true differentiation is being found through customer service deliverables and thus providing contact center leaders with the tools they need to achieve demand customer service levels.

 

The industry is also changing, and this survey supports that position. The emerging trends are indicating growth in areas that traditionally have not been an option for the contact center, such as home-based agents. Technology is enabling centers to expand beyond their physical walls and other barriers to deliver the level of service that customers demand, helping to drive their core strategies.