Since the launch of ChatGPT and subsequent proliferation of AI-driven technologies across the customer contact technology landscape, the pace of change has accelerated exponentially. From communication analytics, quality management and agent assist, to replacing IVRs with their omni-channel equivalents and real time translation services, the impact of AI on our industry has almost been as big as the invention of the telephone itself. Not only is this a source of organisational stress, are there implications for outsourcing and contract mechanisms?

While the telephone fundamentally changed human-to-human communication, AI technologies are transforming human-to-machine interactions. And given how we now communicate with each other, that can only mean that change is both permanent and ongoing.

This permanent change is putting increasing stress on organisations to restructure how they equip themselves to communicate with both their customers and their target market, irrespective of the sector they operate in.

We are seeing organisational stress in three areas:

  1. Understanding the impact of these changes across the customer and target market demographic
  2. Properly evaluating the ability of existing technology platforms to accommodate change and realign to new communication paradigms in the mid to long term
  3. Fully understanding the mid to long term commercial impact of bolt on technologies to deliver short term performance and cost reduction gains.

In helping organisations cope with these stress areas we see striking parallels to the changes seen when organisations first began to interact with customers remotely. The evolution which began in the 90s to get more value from data, media and communication spend resulted in specialist operational activity often being outsourced as few organisations had the specialist people, process or technology to support those functions as cost effectively as outsourced providers could.

As customer became core to operations and remote customer management became an operational necessity, organisations began to establish their own capabilities, leveraging existing data management infrastructure to control and drive insight. Customer contact levels boomed, the technology to enable customer contact saw similar growth and our industry was born as more organisations grasped the benefits of controlled and managed remote customer contact.

Considering those parallels, we ask “Should organisations be stressing themselves or does that same customer contact outsourcing industry ‘muscle up’ for this second cycle of permanent change to reduce organisational stress in the shape of Outsourcing 2.0, underpinned by end-to-end AI driven technologies and the accelerated levels of operational insight that provides?”

Observing change in the global customer contact outsourcing market

Outsourcing is a very broad church. Our global network of two hundred plus providers gives us a privileged view of the diversity of the services provided, service delivery and how services are contracted. Whilst industry pricing has generally reduced in real terms over time, the way that service pricing is presented has not really evolved that much, it has not been that complicated, clients have had a choice of:

  1. straight hourly rate,
  2. the hourly rate with outcome components,
  3. outcome with activity components and
  4. outcome alone.

Making money has not been that complicated either. As long as the effective revenue per hour outweighed the total known costs per hour, then outsourcers made money.

The outsourcers’ challenge has always been about packaging service and price to be more attractive than the nearest competitor. Of course, that global mind set has led to an incredibly diverse and attractive industry offering, but it is doing little to relieve the level of stress we see in organisations today. Especially as permanent change begins to impact on mid to long term business performance forecasts.

What we see in the global outsource community is the emergence of some clear lines of distinction between service offerings. Principally between those that have the capability (or plan to have the capability) to relieve mid to long term organisational stress and those that don’t. Whilst those customer contact outsourcers that don’t have (or don’t plan to have) this capability to de-stress, continue to be well placed to solve organisations’ immediate and short-term challenges, we have seen some significant levels of technology and skills investment towards an Outsourcing 2.0 capability, amongst those that can.

What we are not seeing enough of is an evolved, Outsourcing 2.0 contracting proposition. One that is equitable for both parties. A simple contract proposition that provides an upside for the technology and skills investment of the outsourcer and in return, long term risk and cost reduction for the client.

Striving to deliver an equitable position to accommodate permanent change

Our view of the customer contact world is that its typically the client that makes the decisions on how they want to automate customer contact to reduce friction and cost in their operations. We also understand that the client may also want to:

  1. know more about how changes in customer contact are going to flow through product and service delivery,
  2. be able to make active decisions on what those changes mean in terms of risk and profitability,
  3. identify service solutions that will de-risk their journey to deliver customer contact at lower cost,
  4. deliver value and benefits that justify the time, cost and effort in enabling process change
  5. potentially deal with specific customer use cases where they do not have the physical capacity or technical capability,
  6. do all this without compromising service delivery in terms of quality and data governance i.e. the regulatory and contracted controls supporting data privacy and data security.

We also recognise that the world of customer contact tech is changing faster than it probably ever has; and it’s hard to tell what the next few years will bring in terms of time saving and service enhancing technologies.

SaaS based technology is easier to deploy, easier to recognise ROI, is already impacting on the flow of low complexity tactical work into the global outsourcing industry. This trend is also evidenced by more work. being delivered via the client’s own technology, enabling them to leverage their existing back-end systems integrations and continue BAU without interrupting the established end to end data flows supporting their existing operational reporting and decision-making processes.

Whilst the outsourcer community is continuing to strive to deliver uncompromising value, to positively impact  service delivery and comply with regulatory and contractual data governance, there is clearly an acknowledgment of the impact that customer contact automation brings to their core market.

Contracting to deliver mid to long term value by de-risking the transition to a permanent change in customer contact

Global outsourcing capability now has a firm dividing line across it. Those that have (or plan to have) the infrastructure and technology to deliver permanent change (2.0) and those that have not.

For those that have (or plan to have), we can see the opportunity for a new type of contracting relationship with clients. A contracting relationship that:

  1. de-risks the client from the turbulence of technology change whilst delivering the permanent changes we see in human communication and the impact that has on customer contact service delivery,
  2. will enable the outsourcer to deliver appropriate levels of automation without compromising the clients service objectives and targeted cost reduction when expressed as simply as a ‘cost per customer per annum’.

In the context of customer contact, clients find the idea of managing permanent change, de-risking the potential downside of getting that change wrong and doing that at a fixed and reducing cost very attractive. Especially when that contract properly considers how service quality is measured and underpinned as well as being directly linked to cost.

There are then two big variables in the client conversation that are both fundamental to a new contracting proposition.

One is the composition and contracting position of the legacy technology overhead that delivers existing levels of customer contact, especially how that customer engagement technology stack is connected into the ‘back office’ technology of the organisation.

The second is about existing costs. This is the client’s understanding of their current cost of managing their customers. Specifically, how that’s calculated especially in the context of a desire to express that as a ‘cost per customer per annum’.

Recognising the barriers to change

It is easy for us to oversimplify what we see as a new contracting paradigm. But we also recognise that the old contracting models don’t proactively and deliberately reduce the organisational stresses that put mid to long term business performance at risk.

Of course, some business verticals carry significant levels of technology debt. However, unless we explore, and explore deeply, what the possibilities are, then the weight of technology debt will drown organisations and fail as a lifejacket to guarantee ongoing survival.

Unless your technology is able to destress your organisation now, then the same technology stands little chance of keeping you afloat in the mid to long term.

Customer communication and customer contact management has changed permanently and is different from customer contact pre-the explosion in generative AI. This means new risk and new levels of risk for both client and the customer contact outsource communities. Our view is that contracting between the parties needs to change fundamentally.

Outsourcing 2.0 offers a mid to long term view of how both client and service provider can benefit whilst reducing risk on both sides. By looking at contracting differently, both parties can focus on their core strengths and experiences to set and deliver against service goals and commercial objectives. To do that mutually establishing, expressing and agreeing the existing technology stack directly supporting customer engagement and the cost per customer per annum to deliver growth and service objectives.

What next?

What are your thoughts on the future of customer contact outsourcing contracts? Do you think we’re thinking along the right lines, or have we underestimated the complexity of clients’ current position, especially in the context of technology debt? Whether you’re a client or service provider we’d love to hear what you think.

Say it quietly if you like, but businesses are grown and maintained through increases in customer numbers and/or customer value. Undoubtedly cost management is also a critical factor, but ultimately sales and retention activity that provides topline growth is critical to ongoing success and business value.

We all know that the chances of winning or retaining a customer are increased when you provide a great product or service. And that those who deliver, not just on price but perceived value, are in prime position to pick up customers from competitors when they do not.

Yet many businesses are focused on the potential cost savings that could be achieved through AI and automation. Have they have lost sight of the potential benefits of delivering a personalised service and those golden opportunities to encourage a customer to buy more or stay for longer?

Are you getting the best sales through service opportunities from AI and automation?

There are two key scenarios that could be playing out for many organisations, both B2B and B2C. Either of which could be limiting sales success:

1. The technology is doing great stuff

Customers are getting the service that they need in the moment they need it. Which means the brand is working on the assumption that because they’re well-served, they will come back to buy more. However, they are not engaged with these customers, they are simply dealing with their admin when they need to and as a result are being passive in their habits. This may work for on a number of levels, and it is reducing the cost to serve. However, is this a step away from brand bypass, as ultimately a gap in the connection with customers will result in them moving on when they see a better offer?

2. The technology isn’t hitting the mark

Customers are trying to resolve their issues, but are struggling. The automation or self-serve models don’t provide the right options and/or have no ‘way out’ for customers and as a result they become frustrated. So at the first opportunity, they are going to look to an alternative brand.

The examples are out there in key sectors.

Ofgem March 2024 data 

Harder to contact and less satisfying to deal with?

Despite and improving picture, the latest Ofgem data shows that 16% of customers find it difficult to contact their supplier, up from the low of 10% in Q1 2019.  Meanwhile, the same Ofgem data suggests that overall satisfaction with customer service across the energy industry currently sits at 66%, down from the peak of 74% seen in Q2 of 2020.

What’s more, the latest UKCSI data shows utilities performing the poorest with a score of 69.8. Telecommunications and Media brands are doing a little better at 73.3 (though down from January’s 74.7), but are still some distance short of the podium positions achieved by Retail (non-food) at 80.4, Tourism at 79.3 and Banks & Building Societies at 79.3. However, we can see drops in satisfaction across the board.

Could automation be contributing to those less satisfying experiences?

UKCSI data from earlier in the year tells us that for 53.7% of automated contacts, the customer still needed to speak with a human being.

Equally concerning, though, was that neither AI/chatbot or customer service employees are managing to resolve customer queries more than 54.2% of the time, as seen in the January results. Quite the damning indictment.

Consider also that 45.4% of customers would avoid using an organisation again due to poor use of technology.

Clearly there is work to be done.

Companies with higher customer satisfaction show stronger growth

But what is the impact of this on a brand’s fortunes? Is the 2-point drop in score for Telcos material?

Research in the UKCSI report from January 2024 shows that between 2017 and 2023 “companies with customer satisfaction at least one point higher than their sector average achieved stronger revenue growth”.

With c.80% higher compound revenue growth, 6.6% higher EBITDA, more than double the operating profit margin and a whopping £283.9k – more than half as much again – revenue per employee on the table for that increase of just one point, the importance of customer satisfaction to both the topline and the bottom line is stark. On the other side, the virtual lack of revenue growth and much reduced operating profit margin for 1-point lower puts into context the plight of Tourism, Leisure, Insurance, Public Services and the rather more beleaguered Telcos.

The same report highlights that 27.6% of customers who score an organisation 9 or 10 out of 10 for overall satisfaction will look to buy other products or services from them, whilst 20.8% of customers scoring 1 to 4 will spend less with the organisation and 41% scoring them at 1 to 4 will avoid dealing with the organisation again in the future if possible.

And so, it is easy to see why investment in customer service is critical to the success of an organisation. Why an organisation should be – and hopefully is – highly focused on it. And why a pure cost-reduction focus for automation or AI is short-sighted.

While these numbers tell quite the story, let’s assume things are the right side of the line service-wise, whether through AI or not. The next question then is, are you following up with the appropriate sales activity to effect further topline growth?

Are you ready to pick up the sales baton?

Effective sales operations depend on 7 key factors for growth, the same apply to both sales team and those required to deliver sales through service:

  1. Access to the best people with the necessary sales and communication skills,
  2. Clear reward and recognition structures with incentives, creating a culture and environment which encourages growth,
  3. Appropriate product knowledge and ongoing team development, ability to handle objections effectively and to share learning to advance the performance of the team,
  4. Effective technology which the team can leverage to access customer insights, understand which are the best customers to be contacted, when to contact them and what solutions to offer,
  5. Practical approaches to sales compliance, which provide clear guidelines but can be managed without excessive burden to managers, allowing sales to be signed off effectively and if necessary, learning applied in a timely manner,
  6. Ability to manage data and reporting to maximise sales opportunities which benefits the organisation, the sales agents and also the customers through ensuring access to right information at the right time,
  7. Understand market conditions, customer behaviours and how your team needs to react to these.

If just one of these seven isn’t working too well, sales will suffer. But so may customer service or perceived value. For example, an intrusive offer in the middle of a customer complaint is likely to occur as unempathetic and may see the customer running for the hills. A well-handled complaint can increase value – or at least maintain it.

A colleague described a recent interaction about a problematic return with a well-known retailer, where mid-conversation they were invited to look at product that may interest them. Unsurprisingly, their reaction was not to immediately head to the link to browse, but instead to give a sharp retort – and then tell anyone who cared to listen how annoyed they were.

Not only did the retailer not make the sale, they likely turned the customer off. An excellent example of numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 (at least) not working. Not only was it bad scripting and a lesson in not what not to do, it may speak to overly aggressive reward structures and an environment that favours sales over growth. The nuance of which is important and why point four is critical – this was not the best customer to be contacted in this way at that time.

The same colleague similarly experienced rather odd service (from a Telco…) in store recently, where a service conversation without a satisfactory outcome turned to an attempt to upsell on a different product, followed by a recommendation to leave the brand for the product where the service outcome was unsatisfactory. Quite the rollercoaster! And no doubt an experience driven by a particular sales focus that the brand’s managers would be horrified to learn they have – let’s hope – inadvertently incentivised.

Picking your moment to turn service into sales is critically important and relies heavily on the skill of the individual, their training and incentivisation, supported by culture, technology and management.

With so much focus on customer service, do you have the need, will and capacity to optimise sales?

Great agents who can both serve and sell can be hard to find, and can be even harder to retain..

The use of technology and automation is increasingly expected for customer service – and rightly so, simple service issues don’t need complex solutions. But they do need human intervention when the service question isn’t simple, or the automated response fails. Or perhaps when a sales opportunity requires a more personal service.

The ability to deal with customers, their nuanced needs and when selling, their objections, still has a high level of dependency on human interaction.

Yet the data from Ofgem and UKCSI both illustrate that customers are frequently frustrated by both automated and agent interactions. Service delivery in many sectors is still some way short of previous highs, meaning there are still gaps to fix in customer service before you can even think of perhaps selling.

And to some extent, when improving customer experience can deliver increased revenue, getting the basics of service right first is a significant route to growth and building value – whether you agree or not about whether they ought to be, measures such as revenue growth, EBITDA and revenue per employee are important to investors and share price.

How you achieve optimised service, then layer on sales through service or even pure sales activity is a significant question. Each have their own challenges, but successful outcomes add up to an organisation that both sells to and retains customers optimally.

Guest Author – Elaine Seculer (Head of Marketing at Taskaler)

As we dive deeper into the knockout stages of the Euros (dare we mention it), did you know that Pakistan is the largest producer of hand-sewn footballs? In fact, the official footballs used in the last two FIFA World Cups were crafted in Pakistan.

But there’s more to Pakistan than footballs; it’s also emerging as a leading location for outsourcing, offering unique benefits over many offshore countries that might first come to mind, which places Pakistan as an attractive alternative well-worth considering.

We speak with Jawad Farooq and Elaine Seculer of Taskaler to get the inside track on Pakistan as the latest outsourcing destination of choice!

1. The Rise of Pakistan in the Outsourcing World

When you think of outsourcing, countries like India, South Africa, and the Philippines are the destinations you probably first think off. They’ve been popular choices for years. However, these markets are becoming saturated, with increased costs being felt of late – that’s where Pakistan steps in!

A hidden gem if you may, not yet overrun with competition, meaning you can find high-quality talent at very competitive rates. Early birds in the market are already reaping the benefits!

2. Why Pakistan is Cost-Efficient?

Pakistan’s stock market has seen unprecedented levels of growth of late. The KSE-100 Index, tracking the largest companies listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange is at a 6 year high, making it the top performer among Asian frontier markets, thanks to improving economic conditions and a favourable IMF deal which boosted investor confidence.

Whilst the country’s currency (rupee) is relatively weak, this has been highly favourable for international businesses who receive a healthy exchange rate against the dollar.

Did you know? Pakistan’s outsourcing rates are even more competitive than India’s, which has long been the go-to for outsourcing!

3. English Proficiency and Education

Pakistan’s Constitution and Laws are written in English. English is recognised as the official language and is widely used in business and higher education. This means that communication is smooth and easy, with about half of the educated population speaking English.

4. Big Brands and Business Environment

Pakistan is already attracting big brands, with businesses like Audi, BMW, Samsung, Unilever, Nestle, Carrefour, and Standard Chartered all successfully running their operations in Pakistan for years now. This shows that Pakistan has the infrastructure and capability to support large-scale business operations. Plus, with Pakistan being four hours ahead of British Summer Time (BST), you can easily set up shift patterns that cover your core business hours, making it convenient for meetings and collaboration.

5. A Thriving Start-Up Scene

Pakistan isn’t just about established companies; it’s also buzzing with start-up activity. There are numerous start-up incubators, funded by both private investors and global giants like Google, fostering a vibrant and innovative ecosystem.

Piqued your interest?

If you’re curious and want to explore more, drop us a line – we’d be more than happy to help you discover all that Pakistan has to offer for your business!

Manufacturers are having to grapple with a vast range of challenges; supply chain difficulties, skills gaps, changing commercial and distribution models, harnessing the potential of automation and AI, to name just a few. In which case the role, purpose and configuration of contact centres may seem like a question for another day.

But communicating with and managing customers is now a core undertaking – and manufacturers changing how they do it can have significant positive impacts across the rest of their business.

Customers, customer everywhere!

Managing customers in a commercially effective and brand-enhancing manner is a challenge, but the first challenge is often to define exactly who those customers are.

For manufactures they may well include: end-users, service and maintenance providers, sales agents and distributors, logistics and shipping agents, governmental agencies – as well as colleagues such as finance, billing, mobile engineers and so on.

All these customers have their specific needs and expectations, but all need to be handled and addressed in a manageable way, with best practice techniques developed, optimised and consistently deployed.

The financial case for consolidation of contract centre activities is often obvious, but the adoption of new contact centre advisor-supporting tools and technologies now make a high-performing, multi-skilled service a feasible reality.

A tower of babel?

Today, very few manufacturers can afford to operate in a single language market or markets. Globalised supply chains mean that – whether selling direct to end-users or through dedicated or networked agents and distributors – manufacturers inhabit a multilingual world. Without the ability to interact remotely with customers across most or all of the languages they use, firms will limit their scope to penetrate overseas markets and/or rise up the value chain with the product/service proposition.

Irrespective of the undoubted advances made in translation technologies which can enable multilingual customer support, operating a multilingual contacts centre – be that in a centralised hub, or through distributed in-country operations – is very challenging and costly. Increasingly, the skills to do so successfully – and leverage those supporting technologies – is a specialised undertaking.

Facing up to the cybersecurity threat

The threat from cybercrime and data security challenges more generally grow and grow. Aviva’ research suggests that 20% of UK businesses are subject to cybercrime annually (https://www.aviva.com/newsroom/news-releases/2023/12/One-in-five-businesses-have-been-victims-of-cyber-attack-in-the-last-year/ ) and the impact of such crime is increasing as organisations’ digital shifts progress.

Distributed, ill-managed systems and lines of communication often present firms’ greatest areas of vulnerability. Added to which ‘social engineering’ and scammers’ targeting of individuals employees continues to account for most points of corporate failure, giving criminals access to vital systems and data.

Professional, secure and well-trained contact centre operations can provide a robust defence against the cybercrime threat. Again, a consolidated contact centre function, with tested processes and technology to underpin data control, isn’t a guarantee of cyber resilience. But it’s a great way to address threats whilst building internal coherence and capabilities.

Need to talk?

Customer Contact  Panel  based in Sheffield, a city with a proud industrial history and a strength in advanced manufacturing technologies. So, we know a little bit about manufacturing, but we know a lot about contact centres! Contact centre services are intrinsic to the manufacturing sector’s success. We can help guide firms through the best approaches, infrastructures and technologies to deliver the best customer management. This includes outsourcing to specialist providers who can deploy their expertise and insight, allowing manufacturing firms to focus on developing their products and services.

We’re always happy to chat. Get in touch

In the realm of customer service, contact centres play a central role. They have become a primary interface for brands, influencing customer experiences and shaping brand reputation. The role of the Contact Centre agent has evolved too. Today, they are true brand ambassadors, whose behaviour can have a direct impact on whether a customer chooses to make an initial or repeat purchase, or recommend the organisation to others.

However, empowering agents to provide the best possible customer experience is often easier said than done. Increasingly high consumer expectations, a raft of regulatory requirements and challenging market conditions – where many businesses are required to do more with less – make it harder for agents to deliver the desired level of service. Growing workloads, the pressure of juggling remote work, and the need to master multiple, disparate technology solutions only add to the challenge.

Against this backdrop, it is perhaps little surprise that agents sometimes struggle to show their human side. Brands need to find a way for their teams to deliver the friendly, empathetic, personalised and efficient service that underpins long-term customer relationships.

Let technology take the strain

It may sound ironic but the answer to helping agents be more human is technology. For example, increased levels of automation remove the burden and frustration of having to deal with mundane and repetitive enquiries, freeing up agents to focus on more complex or rewarding interactions; those that require a high degree of intuition, understanding and problem-solving.

With the right technology at their fingertips – and the skills required to get the most out of these solutions – agents can be transformed into ‘Super Agents’ or ‘Augmented agents’ who leverage automation tools, AI, and data insights to speed up resolution times while, at the same time, offer a personal touch. The impact of Augmented Agents extends far beyond immediate interactions to ultimately influence customer loyalty, brand perception and overall business performance.

Helping humans be more human: a five-point plan

To help agents interact with customers in a more human and authentic way, brands should focus on five key areas:

  1. Look at ways to streamline technology. Disparate tools and solutions slow down the customer journey and are cumbersome for agents to use. Instead, organisations should explore platforms that support single desktops, and which integrate Knowledge Management and Agent Assist technologies to serve up the very latest information in real-time. This ensures agents never have to go searching for answers and can have total confidence in their decision-making capabilities.
  2. Explore AI and automation tools. Customer enquiries are growing in number and cover a vast array of topics, so it is vital that simple, repetitive queries and tasks are dealt with automatically. Voicebots, chatbots and other self-service tools, as well as caller identification and verification (ID&V), are all ways to divert work from humans to machines. What’s more, as these tools speed up resolution times, customers benefit too. On a more sophisticated level, companies can deploy AI to analyse customer insights and assess how they might be feeling. Armed with this information, agents can adapt their tone or approach to deliver a much more empathetic customer experience. This is particularly useful when assisting vulnerable customers or handling complaints.
  3. Gamification and Performance Management tools are an effective way to keep agents motivated, guarding brands against the high attrition rates that afflict so much of the contact centre industry. Gamification techniques make everyday tasks more fun and are proven to boost productivity and employee engagement. Brands should combine this approach with Performance Management tools, which provide managers with a clear picture of their top performers. This visibility is especially important in hybrid working environments.
  4. Workforce Management. Investment here provides agents with far greater flexibility over their schedules – including over when they work from home and when they come in to the office – while at the same time optimising staffing levels. Not only does this enhance employee satisfaction it also ensures operational efficiency.
  5. Technology is only one part of the puzzle; new solutions need to be complemented with comprehensive learning and development programmes that equip agents with the skills they need to deliver exceptional customer service. Feedback, training, coaching and other personal growth opportunities should be readily available and encouraged. Learning opportunities shouldn’t be limited to how to use different tools and touchpoints, they should also cover soft skills, so agents can seamlessly resolve the most challenging and complex of interactions.

As the face of the brand, it is vital that Contact Centre agents have the correct tools and sufficient time to deliver truly exceptional service to each and every customer. By prioritising the employee experience in this way, organisations can boost engagement and slash attrition rates while at the same time handle complex enquiries and deliver truly personalised service. Ultimately, by allowing agents to be more human, brands will see an uptick in customer satisfaction, loyalty and revenue.

Is your centre in need of a human touch?

Drop us a line. One of our humans would love to chat with you!

AI and the march to automation is a hot topic right now, with much being made of the gains that can be made through AI handling enquiries.

But the benefits of technology are perhaps being primarily considered in the context of larger operations, where the costs of servicing customers are easy to see.

What about the hidden contacts that organisations may be managing? The ones that are increasingly challenging to manage, that AI – for now at least – can’t deal with?

Information is power

Customers are better informed than ever before. They just need to spend a few minutes online to arm themselves with what they need before contacting you. From looking up reviews to seeking advice from social media groups on how other customers escalated a given complaint, or checking how regulations apply to your sector and how they should be applied in the context of their situation.

They may even know more about complaints to your organisation than some of your management team. Which means your responses need to be on point now more than ever.

Yet if former Dragons Den investor Piers Linney is to be believed, most contact centre activity will be automated by AI five years from now.

“There are undoubtedly times when speaking to a person is the only thing that will do.”

Realistically, nobody is denying that there are use cases that can be automated with better outcomes for customer, agent and organisation alike. Win-win. However, there are undoubtedly times when speaking to a person is the only thing that will do. And therein lies the risk of creating hidden contact centres in this futuristic AI-driven world. Indeed, they already exist.

What is a hidden contact centre and why do I need to worry about it?

In many organisations, contact centres already exist informally, even when they have bona fide real ones.

Groups of non-contact centre people are engaged in dealing with customers through calls, e-mails, chat or webforms, perhaps as part of their wider role. They are likely disbursed across multiple site locations or functions, handing off customers to each other and collaborating to resolve those queries.

Customers may be end users, other businesses or internal customers. The thing that unites them is that the queries are likely to be complex. And because it’s not their day job, everyone works a little harder to get the job done, sometimes at the risk of their other core tasks being delayed until the demand has passed.

Of course, none of this means these teams are doing a bad job in serving the customer. Processes may not be documented well, with best practice held in the heads – or languishing on the desktops – of team members, so they’re the best people for the job.

“The trouble with informal contact centres is that they aren’t set up to be responsive. Or have audit trails.”

But the trouble with informal contact centres is that they aren’t set up to be responsive. Or have audit trails. During holiday seasons cover may be limited and there is unlikely to be out of hours support for the customer. Reporting on contact volumes and contact types may not exist. Feedback loops for potential process improvement is probably dependent on the capacity in that team on a given week. And when servicing internal customers, inefficiencies may be magnified.

However, there may be limited opportunity for automation and self-service.

So maybe it is better to stay hidden?

Perhaps for some, ignoring all of this could be appealing. Especially if there are several “fractional” resources who are supporting and spreading the load. However, if those people are being taken away from their core roles, the decision (or lack of) not to address this could be a costly error. Those resources could be expensive for dealing with what in some cases may be low level queries. And not just in the time it takes them, but also unrecognised costs of double handling of queries, opportunity costs and even lost customers or lost revenue.

The first step is understanding if you have hidden contact centres. Speak with your people to understand what may be preventing them from getting core tasks done. If customer contacts, queries and complaints are part of that workload, perhaps it’s time to review and consolidate work to specialist staff who are set up to deal with these contacts.

Four red flags to watch out for:

  1. Team attrition – perhaps because they’re not getting opportunity to do the role for which they were employed?
  2. Customer attrition – are you seeing customers leaving you or not putting additional business in your direction?
  3. Non contact centre customer contact handling – do you have a group of people who you may not term as contact centre, but they are all consistently doing a role dealing with customers?
  4. Customer service levels aren’t matching your ambition – is it aligned to your values? Does it feel like a cost/burden?

If any of those resonate, then perhaps it is time to take time out and review whether you do, knowingly or otherwise, have a “contact centre” that could benefit from review or consolidation. To consider how this may benefit your people, your customers and ultimately your business.

What can you do about it?

First up, talk to people who understand the risks and opportunities of hidden contact centres. They’ll help you to decide on the approach that’s right for you, potentially with solutions you hadn’t considered. Whether you still want to keep activity within your team, or whether you need some additional help to provide increased coverage or flexibility.

For example, additional support and flexibility, including potential out of hours coverage, could improve services. You may not need dedicated resource, but the availability of someone to engage with your customers in conversation and support them at the right point in time may reduce the burden on your team during core hours.

If recruiting contact centre staff is a challenge for you, and managing and developing them is a further item on your worklist that you struggle to get to, it’s almost certainly time to seek guidance on how to address that.

And if you want to keep your ‘hidden contact centre’, it could be a smart move to examine your technology set up. Is it making it as easy as possible for your team? That doesn’t mean that everything could or even should be automated. However, implementing systems that enable omni-channel support – so that all details of the conversation can be easily linked and customers can skip across channels – will make it easier for both you and your customers.

“Technological developments over recent years mean that you could be able to improve life for your people and your customers.”

Contact centres take all kinds of forms. They can be managed in many ways and no one size fits all when it comes to dealing with customers. That’s why there are big in-house contact centres, hidden contact centres, and many different specialist outsourcers who deal with specific sectors or tasks – and often in ways that can give a competitive edge. Knowing which approach will help you to gain your competitive edge is critical.

Importantly, technological developments over recent years mean that you could be able to improve life for your people and your customers, reducing the impact on your business and the cost of servicing your customers. But wholesale automation is not the answer for all. And may never be, five, ten or many years from now.

Want to chat further?

Drop us a line. A problem shared is a problem halved and we love to share our expertise, whether you’re a client or not.

Over the past few years Bulgaria has certainly made it’s name in the world of contact centre outsourcing. Not only are business in Europe choosing Bulgaria as their nearshore destination of choice, but businesses in the US are now casting their eye over towards the east.

If you did ever find yourself in Bulgaria’s bustling capital city Sofia, you might be greeted by one of its 1.3 million residents with “Zdraveĭte, radvam se da se zapoznaem!” (Hello! I am glad to meet you). However, if you’re like me and rely on a translator, there’s absolutely no need to fear as over 1.7 million people in Bulgaria can speak English. Other European languages spoken in Bulgaria include (but not limited to):

We recently caught up with waterdrop®’s very own Martin Vatchkov to get an on the ground view of Bulgaria. Not only is Martin a Bulgarian national living in Austria, Martin has also previously outsourced his customer service operations within Bulgaria:

“Здравей (Bulgarian “Hello”)! Diving straight in on why Bulgaria, which is mainly driven by the fact that Bulgaria has a highly effective language school system, where most European languages are extensively and effectively thought, the baseline is rather high and difficult to beat.

The university of “St. Kliment Ohridski” in Sofia has added another building block to the already high level of schooling within Bulgaria. This has brought some rather rare languages to Bulgaria such as Japanese, Korean, Arabic or the Nordic languages to name a few.

Once you get past the languages, another strong positive for Bulgaria would be the Geographic location. +2 hours from GMT and +7 hours from EST in the US, with US shifts (16:00 to 01:00) being something normal. Distance in my opinion is another asset at around a 3-hour flight, from most places in the European peninsula which is a rather short flight. Companies have started to explore the whole country with the opening of offices at the seaside (Varna and Burgas) and not only the capital, Sofia.

On another note, the fact that Bulgaria is part of the EU and NATO, brings GDPR with ease (contractual wise, as no data is leaving the EU) as well as economic stability. Internet downtime is almost nonexistent with high speeds.

Last but not least, the BPO and ITO industries are rather filled with the younger part of the generation which bring a lot of ideas and high engagement rates. AI is no foreign word and working efficiently is certainly a big asset as both industries have been embodied quite well in the countries’ economy.”

Thanks Martin! Contact Centre Panel too has had some terrific experiences with contact centre’s in Bulgaria, and we think you will too.

Like what you hear about Bulgaria and want to find out more? Get in touch, we’re here to help.

Our very own Neville Doughty recently caught up with Sean McIver for MaxContact‘s latest episode of Talk Time, discussing how successful outsourcing is built on a foundation of trust, respect, and a shared commitment to sustainability and fairness.

Take a look at the snippet from Nev for a sneak preview.

To listen to the full episode, click on this link.

The full range of Talk Time episodes can be found on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Traditionally, contact centres have relied on a somewhat impersonal approach to assigning agents to clients. This method, often arbitrary and based on immediate agent availability, overlooks the potential of personalised interactions. Such a lack of customisation can result in missed opportunities for both agents and clients, leading to inefficiencies and general dissatisfaction. Personally, I think it’s time to move beyond this one-size-fits-all strategy and embrace the uniqueness of every individual involved.

Embracing the power of AI and Human connection

The integration of AI into your contact centre offers a promising solution. By analysing vast amounts of data, including historical interactions and behavioral patterns, AI can intelligently match clients with the right agents. This strategic pairing goes beyond mere transactions, aiming to create meaningful relationships where both parties find value and understanding. It’s about rekindling the human element in every conversation, ensuring that each interaction is not just efficient but also genuinely engaging.

A smarter approach

Technology should enhance, not diminish, human connections. Every individual has a unique mosaic of needs, desires, and dreams. Our mission is to foster meaningful work by appreciating and understanding this individuality By acting as matchmakers, we ensure that agents find joy and meaning in their work, leading to more positive and successful engagements with clients.

For agents, this approach transforms each workday into an opportunity for meaningful interactions. For clients, it ensures a more personalised and less stressful experience. And for leaders, this synergy between well-matched agents and clients not only streamlines workforce management but also enhances team engagement and success, contributing to the overall achievement of organizational goals.

The competitive advantage: valuing people

In a market where differentiation is key, the unique personalities of our people, combined with innovative matching technology, stand out as the competitive advantage. This focus on positive engagement and deep human connections within the corporate environment leads to enhanced profitability and a distinctive market position.

Final thoughts

The contact centre industry is poised for a significant transformation through the integration of AI, with a focus on enhancing human connections. By moving away from impersonal assignments and embracing a more strategic, data-informed approach, we can significantly improve agent satisfaction, client experiences, and overall success rates. Our commitment at Bestpair is to lead this change, ensuring that every interaction is not only successful but also truly enjoyable, reaffirming the undeniable value of meaningful connections in the modern workplace.

If you’d like to find out more, get in touch.

AI has begun to come of age – the last couple of years in particular have seen an explosion in AI opportunities.

In our new whitepaper, we explore the use cases and human considerations of implementing AI in contact centres.

The content was drawn from our round table discussion with a number of contact centre leaders from multiple sector across travel and leisure to utilities, subscriptions, lifestyle and wellbeing. We decided to sort the hype from the reality, chat about the risks and share reflections and learnings.

It was clear that the human component of customer interaction still has a key role to play, especially when dealing with customers who can’t or won’t engage digitally, are vulnerable or at a vulnerable time in the customer journey.

We hope that capturing our conversation gives a wider audience plenty of food for thought as we all get to grips with the opportunities AI brings.

9 steps to AI success

In the paper, you will find our 9 steps to AI success and our key takeaways from the day, where we covered:

  • the importance of the ‘why’ of technology
  • the diminishing role of voice and what happens when we make voice channels more available
  • data responsibility
  • how AI can support frontline staff and employee experience, and
  • how AI can support the customer experience.

Are you ready for AI?

The whitepaper is free to download and immediately accessible below. We hope you find it useful and would love to hear your experiences too. Follow us on LinkedIn to share your thoughts.

Are you ready for AI? View our Whitepaper now.