By Hayley Hewer, Secretary of CCNNZ.
Recently I was able to attend the jam packed 2-day Future Contact Centre Summit NZ. Now if you have not attended this event before, I highly recommend keeping an eye out for next year’s annual event! As a first-time attendee, the value I got from talking to other Contact Centre Leaders, Experts and Vendors was so much more than I bargained for. We talked about AI, Customer & Employee experience, Quality Assurance, training and everything in between.
AI continues to be the talking point in our Industry, specifically around how we can leverage this technology to enhance our operations, customer/employee experience and gain valuable insights for us and our wider organisations.
An important message from this year’s summit, was not only that AI is here to stay but it will not replace the need for people in our Industry; rather AI is a tool that will compliment our people.
We still need our people
As the conversations about AI continue to get louder, be sure to bring your people along for the journey. Include them in all aspects, including the development, testing and deployment of new AI tools and share with them how it will improve their experiences and your customers. Seek insights and feedback from them and most importantly, take time to reassure them that AI is here to compliment them and the services they already provide.
Now, if you are currently or about to embark on the journey of implementing AI into your operations, there are important things to consider before you execute…
Customer journeys
Understand the needs of your customers and what is really involved in servicing them. The synchronised nodding from the audience as speakers discussed “What we think is happening and what actually happens…are often two very different things” was a moment in itself. Mapping your customer journeys will help you identify where you are winning and where you can improve CX, with or without AI.
Knowledge is Important
If you do not have a knowledge management system or database in place, start documenting now. Many speakers acknowledged the importance of having your internal knowledge/processes documented before introducing AI, as these tools will only be as good as the information/data going in.
Do I go all in?
Start small. There is no rush to go out and purchase the latest AI technology and implement everything all at once. Look to automate some of the basic tasks, leaving your agents to manage the many complex tasks they have in their day-to-day roles.
While AI has existed for some time, many organisations are still in the infancy of implementing AI technology. Where organisations are starting to introduce AI, they are doing so in small increments. This includes but is not limited to:
- Customer facing chatbots to enable self-service
- Speech Analytics for inbound calls to gain insights within minutes of the call ending
- Agent assist chatbots to support agents with their interactions
- Automated interaction notes to reduce ACW for agents
- AI led IVR’s to ensure customers are routed to the right people to service their needs.
The demand for better, faster and more cost-effective goods & services continues to grow and we as an Industry need to continue to adapt to our customers wants and needs. AI is certainly our way forward. However, it is important to take the time to understand the who, what, where, when and how and identify where AI can help your customers, employees and your organisation win. Small changes can have a big impact.
