Dramatic increases in demand during peak seasonal bursts such as these can be overwhelming for call agents. This is where cloud-based contact centre solutions excel and traditional on-premise solutions often fail. The ability to scale the workforce up or down with ease to ensure adequate staff levels and service without breaking the bank is a great benefit to business. Being based in the cloud, there are no hardware restrictions allowing a more flexible approach and adaptable pricing model, per seat, or even better, per use (ie per minute or message). Once the rush is over, the centre can easily scale back down to size with minimum effort. With such an adaptable solution, service remains smooth and unaffected with customers blissfully unaware of the additional strain the centre is under as it sails through the busy period.
It is important to ensure a seamless service through all channels but while automated services are essential for resolving straightforward issues, the voice channel is still the preferred choice for most customers when faced with a complex problem. The agents in a contact centre provide the human connection between consumer and brand. Seamless CRM integration means contact centre staff can access accurate and up to date customer information with ease and without the need to switch to another system. This is an imperative for a smooth customer service particularly when dealing with increased demand at an emotive time of year such as Christmas time. When agents are overloaded with long caller waiting times, system delays and difficulty in accessing customer information, their stress level will increase, and this can easily be translated to the customer during the call.
…and a happy new year!
Customers should and do expect the same high standard of service from retailers during busy periods regardless of volume. Businesses need to ensure the same level of care is given or risk damaging their reputation.
There is no doubt that the Diabolocom solution offers the highest level of flexibility which easily compliments the peaks and troughs of contact centre life. Whether your centre requires 50 agents this week and 100 agents next week, you can easily scale the workforce to meet demand and optimise customer engagement. As customer activity escalates to a climax through Christmas and into the new year, the cloud-based solution can easily map demand with agility providing a seamless service to customers. Once the festivities have ended and life returns to normal, the centre is easily scaled back down to size… until the next peak!
