As we look to the future, there are several trends to be mindful of in order to excel and retain top talent.
In the year following the first lockdown in the UK, the number of people seeking assistance from contact centres more than doubled. In an uncertain time, customers called on their service providers to help them navigate the rapidly changing environment.
But customer expectations are changing. Consumers have come to expect a personalised experience, with conversations with agents moving seamlessly between channels.
Recent studies show that most people (91%) would be willing to use self-service to find the answer to their question if that is an option available to them. In addition, they want to be able to choose whether to call, text, live chat or use social media, depending on the device they are using at the time. PwC found that 52% of companies stepped up their adoption of artificial intelligence in 2020 as a direct result of Covid.
Meanwhile, data from Statista shows that live chat, email and video were the top channels that companies increased use of in response to the pandemic.
These technologies will help reduce the number of transactional calls, minimise customers’ waiting time, and enable agents to focus their time and energy on resolving more complicated enquiries. It does not mean customers have to settle for poorer service – instead, it is about helping people find the information they need and answering common questions efficiently.
However, organisations will need to reconsider the skills their teams need to manage the shift in approach. If contact centre agents must respond to more complex enquiries that are being received through more channels, they will need the right combination of soft skills and practice knowledge.
They will also need the maturity and discipline to work from home, given that hybrid working is set to remain for many companies, and candidates are prioritising flexible working options when considering new roles.
The good news is that you can look outside the contact centre industry to find candidates with the transferrable skills you need to position your organisation for the future. Candidates who display curiosity and learnability would be well positioned to take on this challenge and pick up the necessary skills quickly.
But soft skills like these can be hard to assess, meaning more time, effort and resources are required to identify the right candidates. It is important that teams are mindful of this when recruiting, as the time to hire could be longer than previously.
With candidate priorities changing in light of the pandemic, employers should be mindful of what they are doing in order to keep both candidates and current employees inspired and engaged.
While recruiting, employers need to pay close attention to their proposition to candidates and highlighting what sets their workplace culture apart. With competition for top talent being high, the recruitment process should be made as candidate-centric as possible to not only attract but also retain candidates throughout the process.
The pandemic has also brought to light the fact that by listening to candidate and employee preferences and requirements, employers are better positioned to attract and retain diverse talent. Through offering hybrid working options, employers will widen their potential talent pool to those in new regions, or for whom a traditional working pattern does not work.
With the increase in remote working, 66% of leaders have highlighted mental wellness as a significant issue in the contact centre industry. Many employees have struggled to balance new ways of working alongside other pressures, like managing care responsibilities, juggling home schooling, sharing a small workspace with flatmates, or being isolated from colleagues. Contact centres are now prioritising mental wellbeing and implementing initiatives to ensure that people feel supported wherever they work. Find out more in our Mental Wellness in the Contact Centre Industry paper.
This means HR functions have had to commit significantly more time and resources to screening candidates, as well as being mindful of potential additional training new hires will require.
In response to this, Brook Street are supporting clients by reducing the resource impact and improving time to hire by conducting the first interview with vetted candidates, using our expertise to assess candidates and working as an extension of the HR or recruitment function. Additional offerings include:
Competency based interviews, meeting requirements of the job
Interview scheduling for volume requirements
A suite of assessments (e.g. psychometric assessments).
As a leading contact centre specialist, we understand how the workplace is evolving and that it can be challenging to anticipate and respond to changing demands.
We can work with you to ensure your people have the skills they need to solve your customers’ challenges, now and in the years to come.
We are also on hand to work with your team to navigate technological developments, and help you adapt your processes to maximise the benefits to you and your team.
Get in touch with us today to discover how to improve existing processes, hire new talent and create a future-proofed contact centre workforce.
