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* Elevating the Contact Center Agent Experience (Ax) in the Hybrid Work Era
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ELEVATING THE CONTACT CENTER AGENT EXPERIENCE (AX) IN THE HYBRID WORK ERA
THE DISMAL STATE OF AX
The contact center agent experience (AX) is the overall experience of the agent
across their physical environment, mental well-being, financial well-being,
morale, and their day-to-day experience in doing their jobs. One could argue
that the last one — day-to-day experience in doing their jobs — is critical to
improving the other aspects of AX.
The current state of AX leaves much to be desired, driving up agent churn to
30%-50%, one of the highest among all job types. It is no secret that the job of
a contact center agent is a difficult one.
According to Quora, here is what agents had to say:
“The level of burnout due to psychological stress is very high. Anxiety attacks,
crying jags, depression, rage, and sleep problems are common.”
“Illness due to physical stress is also very high. Your ability to move around
is limited. Bathroom breaks and emergencies are deducted from your break times.
Weight gain, heart problems, high blood pressure, back, neck, ear, and carpal
tunnel issues are rampant.”
“The constant monitoring, the requirements to do everything ever faster, the
inability to move from place to place due to headset, and non-stop back-to-back
calls trigger a constant fight or flight response in most people. This usually
proves to be unbearable after a while for unmedicated individuals.”
“Our training class had 20 students. We were all placed on a 90-day probation,
and I didn’t realize it at the time, but there would only be about five of us
left at the three-month mark.”
“I lasted there nine months before I’d had it. Call center burnout is common.”
Here is some worrying news: the job of the agent is poised to become even
harder.
THE LOOMING AX CRISIS
A groundbreaking survey of U.S.-based contact center agents, conducted on our
behalf by BenchmarkPortal, a contact center benchmarking organization, revealed
that AX is poised to fall off a cliff without preventive measures.
* 76% of contact center agents are working remotely. While this may improve
some aspects of AX, these agents do not have a next cube to walk over to if
they get stumped by a customer query. Many of them are new to their jobs and
their training programs have been disrupted by the pandemic. No wonder 42% of
novice agents said they are stressed in their jobs.
* 63% of the 456 agents who responded, said that customer queries are getting
more complex. This is not surprising since routine queries are now automated
by self-service.
* Yet, 64% of the agents said they do not have a knowledge-based tool that can
guide them to answers with 33% resorting to neanderthal methods like poring
over documents for answers when the customer is on the line.
The escalating query complexity and the lack of access to modern knowledge
guidance tools require agents to be highly knowledgeable super-agents. No wonder
CX, which is inextricably linked to AX, takes two steps back every time it takes
a step forward.
It took a hit again in 2022, according to the latest Forrester CX Index report.
They evaluated 221 brands and 13 industries in the U.S.. CX in 11 of 13
industries fell, and yet again, not a single brand in the U.S. met Forrester’s
criteria for “excellent” customer service.
THE ROOT CAUSE
The big question is why is CX stuck on a plateau? We set out to find the
underlying problem. A couple of years ago, consumers told us (through Forrester
Consulting) that the lack of agent knowledgeability and inconsistent answers to
their questions was the biggest deterrent to good CX. On the other side of the
coin, AX has been dogged by the same problems as well — agents have
long complained that they get different answers from disparate knowledge silos
in their organization. They then lose trust in the knowledge base and start to
improvise and invent answers. Moreover, today’s increasing query complexity
requires them to be experts in situational problem-solving and process know-how,
which is not easy to teach through traditional training. This problem is
compounded even more by remote-first hybrid work environments, where they cannot
ask a colleague for help. Together, these factors have created a perfect storm
to precipitate an AX crisis.
Here is the good news. Knowledge modernization with a hub approach can help
handle today’s complex customer queries, turn the average contact center agent
into a super-agent, and avert the AX crisis regardless of the work model —
remote, hybrid, or onsite!
THE KNOWLEDGE HUB™ EXPLAINED
The Knowledge Hub eliminates silos while serving as a centralized, trusted
source of correct answers and process expertise, which are also compliant with
best practices and industry regulations.
It consists of the following building blocks:
* Content management, including profiled access to it
* Multiple knowledge types: data, information, know-how or expertise, and
insights
* Multi-layered personalization, based on context, user, interaction channel,
and other factors
* Intent inference, powered by Machine Learning
* Search methods: Federated, keyword, faceted, and guided search
* AI reasoning for step-by-step conversational and process guidance in the flow
of customer service and engagement
* Knowledge analytics for ongoing optimization
The hub unifies and orchestrates these building blocks to deliver wow
experiences. Leading organizations are already leveraging it to transform the
experiences of not only contact center agents but other stakeholders as well —
customers, employees outside the contact center, knowledge authors, and business
managers.
Part of the modern knowledge hub, AI-enabled guidance, which most agents
admittedly do not have, makes it as easy for any agent to solve customer
problems or provide them advice with situational know-how like the best agents
can, just as GPS systems make it easy for any driver, even those on a learner’s
permit, to navigate the streets easily, even in unfamiliar locations.
Forward-looking organizations have already been leveraging the knowledge hub
with stunning results before, during, and after the recent pandemic. Here are
some examples from our blue-chip clientele.
FROM HORRENDOUS TO HAPPY
* A premier U.S. health insurance firm reduced agent training time for handling
complex health insurance queries by 33% even as its agents — over 2,000 of
them — had to go remote overnight due to Covid lockdowns. They also
consolidated knowledge from 17 disparate systems into the eGain Knowledge Hub
for consistent, knowledge-guided service. Agents loved the ease of use of the
knowledge-embedded desktop!
* Multinational Financial Services Provider: Thanks to knowledge guidance for
customer service, First Contact Resolution (FCR) jumped 36% and agent
training time was reduced by 60%.
* After implementing knowledge guidance, a mammoth federal government agency
deflected up to 70% of incoming calls to virtual assistance, reduced case
handling time by 25%, and improved form-filling with granular knowledge
assistance within forms. No wonder these powerful capabilities saved them
$16M in the early phase of the deployment alone and elevated their agent
engagement score to 92% versus their industry benchmark of 67%.
* UK’s largest mobile operator achieved a 25-point improvement in NPS (Net
Promoter Score) and a 35% improvement in FCR (First-Contact Resolution) while
reducing agent time to competency by 50%across 30,000 contact center agents
and 600 retail stores and enabling any agent to handle any call.
A knowledge hub with conversational and process guidance can clearly help
contact center agents succeed even as their job gets harder and regardless of
whether they are onsite or remote. Revive your knowledge initiative with the hub
and reap the benefits —they are nothing short of transformational!
CONTACT US
Originally published in Execs In The Know
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