Gone are the days when agents sat in their cubicles to solve customers’ problems. The pandemic has broken the geographical barriers for contact centers. Today, your agents prefer flexibility in working remotely. According to the Pulse survey, 72% of people are willing to settle for a hybrid work model for the long term.
Forward-thinking businesses have already paved the stepping stones to establishing a hybrid work culture. However, it has also led to emerging challenges in workforce management, and communication barriers are among the top challenges when it comes to remote or hybrid models for contact centers. Solution? A contact center software with adequate capabilities.
An omnichannel contact center software has become the most effective solution for combating the challenges of hybrid work models. It offers advanced features to provide agents with mobility while boosting their productivity. Let’s explore the role contact center software plays for businesses while diving deep into the essential features of operating hybrid work models.
Role of Contact Center Software
Contact center software is an acknowledged technological aid supporting hybrid work environments. Check out the insights on how it drives value in hybrid contact center systems.
- Establishes automation system
Automation is the key to reducing operational costs and driving business efficiency. Contact center software enables businesses to implement automation for mundane yet important business tasks such as data entry.
- Bridges communication gap
Communication barriers must be eliminated in the workplace, especially when your employees are working remotely. A hybrid workforce contact center software significantly cuts down miscommunication through its advanced features like WebRTC, instant messaging, etc. Moreover, it ensures superior audio quality to eliminate guesswork during online meetings.
- Ensures security compliance
Data security is a great concern for businesses, especially those having hybrid work models. Contact center software makes sure all the regulatory compliances are followed so as to save the breach of any confidential or customer data. It also offers features like encryption and fraud prevention to enhance data security.
- Generates performance reports
Contact center analytics helps in assessing agent performance based on different KPIs. It helps in predicting patterns, identifying flaws, and optimizing agent performance through regular reporting based on contact center data.
- Creates a common knowledge base
An omnichannel contact center software eliminates information silos by integrating all the tools and communication channels to build a unified knowledge base. It allows agents to access the required data anytime, from anywhere.
10 features of call center software that empowers your remote agents
A hybrid workforce contact center software offers a wide array of features to enhance the communication and collaboration capabilities of a hybrid contact center. Here is a list of some mandatory features that every business must leverage.
- Autodialer:
Autodialer eliminates the time and effort wasted on manual dialing. A contact center software may offer different types of auto dialers such as,
- Progressive dialer
- Predictive dialer
- Preview dialer
- Power dialer
Choose the most suitable autodialer as per the nature of calling- inbound, outbound, or both. Integrating an autodialer improves customer connect rates.
2. Call routing:
Setting up a suitable routing strategy is essential to reduce work stress and improve service quality. Skill-based routing is the best option for businesses with hybrid work models. This call routing feature directs the calls to agents with matching skill sets to resolve customer issues. It helps quicker resolutions and improves the first call resolution rate( FCR).
3. Call forwarding and call transfer:
When an agent feels that another agent or department can handle the issue better, call transfer is the feature they require. It transfers the call to the right agent resulting in an improved customer experience. Similarly, call forward enables the agent to divert the call to another phone line when their line is busy. It improves response time and reduces the call abandonment rate.
4. Call recording:
Recorded calls are a valuable resource for any business. Call recording can be used for:
- Training new agents
- Resolving complex issues through sharing and discussion
- Collect feedback to improve product or service
- Assess the service levels
- Ensure quality compliance
5. Real-time call monitoring:
Monitoring your agents’ performance is difficult when working in a hybrid work model. In fact, your employees may feel agitated if monitored and poked every minute. The real-time monitoring feature of contact center software enables managers to monitor the performance of their agents silently. It also acts as a backup for agents when managers can intervene to handle agitated customers.
6. Conferencing:
Audio and video conferencing improve collaboration for distributed teams. It improves communication among team members and thereby aids productivity.
7. Multi-level IVR:
IVR keeps the customer engaged when the agents’ phone lines are busy. Moreover, multi-level IVR contributes to intelligent call routing. It identifies a customer’s concern and routes the call to the right agent.
8. CRM integration:
CRM integration equips the agent with customer information before picking up the call. It enables the agent to prepare responses and provide faster resolution. It helps agents to serve customers with a personalized experience by understanding the context, preferences, personality, etc.
9. Omnichannel communication:
Through omnichannel contact center software, the agents can provide consistent service across all communication channels. It also eliminates the hassle of handling multiple channels through a unified platform.
10. Analytics and reporting:
Agent dashboard enables agents to overview team and individual performance based on KPI analytics. It helps in uplifting agent morale and inspires them to perform better. Call analytics also provides insights on customer behavior, sentiments, trends, etc., empowering agents to deliver excellent customer service.
Boost productivity with omnichannel contact center software
Hybrid work challenges are common today, but those can be managed with the right solution- Contact center software. It boosts agent performance and improves communication and collaboration resulting in greater business efficiency and productivity. HoduCC is a leading contact center software that supports hybrid and remote work models. Check out more about HoduCC here.
