Business landscapes continuously evolve, and people’s needs are becoming more pressing. Because of that, call centers applying the best practices have become in demand across all countries. The speed of a call center process is determined by how agents carry out a single activity in an organization. As well as how well they handle multiple tasks at the same time. But the truth is that one cannot effectively manage all specialized organizational processes alone and deliver effective results. Today, call center automation is the way to more effective customer assistance and customer-focused performance. This article will discuss some essential automation you can incorporate into your call center workflows.
How Firms benefit from the call center automation
Call center automation is known for its implementation of features and functionalities combined. It makes it possible for the business to manage incoming calls by automating routine everyday tasks. Another feature of call center automation is that it instantly directs the caller to the relevant customer service department. Consequently, the total amount of time spent waiting has been reduced. After some time has passed, this ultimately increases the amount of satisfaction that the customer feels. Because of this, automation has now become a crucial part of call center outsourcing services.
4 Call center automation must-haves
Businesswire reported that since the pandemic’s beginning, hold times have grown by 50%. Meanwhile, 53% of callers were on hold for longer than 30 minutes before receiving a response. Utilizing some of the call center automation processes discussed below can help boost your agents’ daily productivity and efficiency. This list does not contain all possible call center automation; some are more general types of call center automation with more particular jobs:
Workflow automation
This type of call center automation allows agents to focus on higher-level tasks. Workflow automation enables agents to set up automatic activities, allowing AI to handle the repetitive portions of their daily routine. It is possible to program workflow automation so that it will handle a vast number of activities, such as arranging and sending out bills or emails. In most cases, agents can design AI-powered processes using straightforward visual editors that operate using a drag-and-drop interface. When a customer service representative hangs up the phone, a system may send a follow-up email immediately. What’s good is that a degree in computer science is not required for your representatives to grasp how to configure this automation. And if the call center work is remote, this workflow automation software can help ease your work process.
Sales Automation
Any operation connected to the sales and marketing process may be automated using this form of call center automation. Its purpose is to reduce the sales cycle’s duration and increase conversion rates. Sales automation has the following roles that enable agents to automate routine sales tasks:
— Send out automatic text messages for announcements
— Blasts out personalized sales offer based on purchase history
— Send out appointment reminders
— Send out shipment information and;
— Send rewards to clients with loyalty programs
Moreover, modern sales work involves a lot of face time and handshake deals than there used to be. Hence, sales automation features are built to support these roles.
Automated guidance to agents
When engaging with clients, agents have a lot of responsibilities to balance. PCI Compliance and information security are two primary concerns that must be addressed when dealing with sales and payments. This form of contact center automation helps operators grasp what’s being said to them and handle various issues more effectively.
Automated agent guidance generally includes tools like:
— Natural language processing
— Sentiment analysis
Agents receive guidance to contextualize throughout their customer interactions. Real-time agent guidance often includes the following:
— Solution approaches
— The appropriate course of action to take next
— Methods for troubleshooting and;
— Recommendations to prevent legal issues
This call center automation does not imply that artificial intelligence will replace agents. Instead, automated agent guidance will empower agents with better information and actions.
Automated scheduling
This call center automation technique uses artificial intelligence to develop a logical timetable.
In reality, scheduling is time-consuming. Managers that manage this responsibility adhere to the following processes:
— Organize available schedules of all agents
— Align time slots so that everyone gets booked
— Time slots should overlap to cover the gaps between shifts
Consequently, by utilizing automated scheduling, managers in charge of scheduling may spend more time dedicated to essential tasks. AI-based scheduling leverages rule-based algorithms to handle data sets of agents’ availability, business hours, and other factors.
The vital role of call center automation in your business
The essential role of call center automation is to automate routine or data-information processes. It helps free up more of the agents’ time, enabling them to work on tasks requiring more expertise. Automating agent workflows eliminate monotonous and repetitive tasks that can lead to fatigue and an increased likelihood of agent errors. Companies can now offer a high-quality customer experience. It can be done by educating agents on handling high-level customer care while letting call center automation take more typical and other concerns. Get to know our CX services to help you improve and add more value to your call center operations. Let’s talk more about your call center needs!
