I have always found Valentine’s Day to be one of my favorite holidays. It’s the perfect time to let people know you appreciate them, whether they are a mentor, colleague, friend, writer, subscriber…we all have many people in our lives to show our gratitude towards.
But I am a little worried. I’m sure you see the same emails in your inbox that I do. Stress levels are at an all-time high, almost equivalent to the height of the pandemic. Mental health and well-being are great concerns for our communities and workplaces.
I’m not saying that if we just show a little more kindness and gratitude, we can fix all of this. If only it were that easy. Perhaps during these times of isolation and uncertainty, we should pay close attention to the factors within our control, create change from the inside out. Do we have a culture of well-being? Are we staying on top of workload and burn-out? Are mindfulness classes offered? Do we encourage social and creative break activities?
In addition to a thoughtful note this year, let’s make some real change. Is there a better time of year to start a new gratitude program than Valentine’s Day?
Thank you for being part of our Pipeline community!
I wish you a very Happy Valentine’s Day.
About our February Issue
The primary focus for our February Issue of Contact Center Pipeline is agent everything…key trends, writing skills, note taking, training and coaching, improving agent productivity, agent desktop tools, video and our vendor roundtable is focused on enabling productive solutions. Our agents have such a key role in our centers. Our authors give great insights on the most effective support we can offer.
Of course, the issue wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t include our favorite topics like WFM and Payroll, AI, staffing needs and trends in healthcare centers.
Please note: Contact Center Pipeline is a subscription magazine. To view the digital issue, please consider a subscription.
FEATURE
Key Trends in Agent Productivity
By Brendan Read
How contact centers can get on top of critical operations factors.
SPONSOR WALL OF FAME
Cognigy
By Contact Center Pipeline
In recognition and appreciation to Cognigy, our February 2023 Wall of Fame Sponsor.
IDIOM INSIGHTS
The Path to Healthcare ACCESS … Trends for 2023
By Kathleen M. Peterson
2023 is the year of Healthcare stabilization.
AGENT SKILLS
How to Check Writing Skills Before Hiring
By Leslie O’Flahavan
Having excellent writing abilities is crucial for agents and their employers.
TRANSCRIPTION
Saving Steps With Single-Step Transcription
By Davide Petramala
How this next-gen solution eases agent burdens.
NOTE TAKING
Take Note…
By Kevin Terrell
How automated note-taking can improve productivity.
PAYROLL
WFM+Payroll Working Together
By Todd Cotharin
How integration of these systems can spark productive contact center change.
TRAINING AND COACHING
Avoiding the 5 Training and Coaching Fails
By Neal Dlin
The key reasons why these programs don’t work and what can be done.
TALENT
How Tech Can Help Meet Staffing Needs
By Devon Mychal
Three tools that can develop and retain top talent.
AGENT PRODUCTIVITY
How to Improve Agent Productivity
By Mark Pereira
How also to avoid customer-and-agent-frustrating pratfalls.
DESKTOP EXPERIENCE
It’s Definitely Time to Rethink the Agent Desktop Experience
By Boris Grinshpun
Is a complicated desktop hindering your agents?
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The Need for AI in Contact Centers
By Rob McDougall
How AI can improve agent productivity when implemented correctly.
VIDEO
Seeing Productivity
By Eitan Cohen
Why and how to leverage video for customer contact.
VENDOR ROUNDTABLE
Enabling Productive Solutions
By Brendan Read
Digital channels, stronger CX focus, and WFA/WFH are changing the employee experiences.
A special callout to our authors this month for sharing their insights and wisdom: Eitan Cohen, Todd Cotharin, Neal Dlin, Boris Grinshpun, Rob McDougall, Devon Mychal, Mark Pereira, Davide Petramala, Leslie O’Flahavan, Kathleen M. Peterson, Brendan Read and Kevin Terrell.
And a special thank you to each of our sponsors: 2Ring, Aizan, AWS Marketplace, Calabrio, Centrical, Cognigy, eGain, Fonolo, Human Numbers, Khoros, Kustomer, NICE, PowerHouse, Procedure Flow, RingCentral, Riverbed, ROI-DNA, Strategic Contact, WFH Alliance and Verint.
