Technology

Earlier this year, Boston University published an essay collection entitled, “What if Real Change—for a Better World—Came from the Pandemic?” It’s a bold question and one that, if we’re honest, should feel uncomfortable. After...

Absenteeism among contact center agents has been a persistent problem for years, with many businesses dedicating human resources and operations staff members specifically to the pursuit of a solution. But the coronavirus pandemic seems...

When agents realize their impact on CX, they can deliver better outcomes for everyone. Yes, they’re customer service professionals, but do your agents really know why customer experience (CX) matters and what a pivotal role...

As 2021 draws to a close, our readers are looking to improve their enterprise operations by promoting their value and visibility, harnessing the power of IVAs, and utilizing all the data the contact center...

How to make self-service live up to its promise. Self-service has emerged as a key contact center strategy, both in terms of improving the customer experience (CX) and reducing cost in the contact center. Yet...

I had the pleasure to interview Alex Martinez from OpenText this month. He oversees marketing for Contact Center and Voice of the Customer Analytics Solutions. Alex brings 20-plus years of launching innovative products across multiple...

Much has been written about the impact of the pandemic on just about everything, including what it means to be a customer. Check-ups and appointments went online. Brick-and-mortar retail turned to digital. Our entire...

Customer satisfaction is the umbrella metric of any contact center. Our industry thrives on happy customers and top-notch experiences. Delivering on that overarching goal has always been easier said than done, however, and the disruption...

Unified Communications. Contact Center Solutions. Delivered in tandem from the cloud “as a Service”… will enable your company to use both capabilities across your organization as required, with the maximum amount of operational flexibility...

When the world went rapidly digital, customer engagement solutions such as intelligent virtual assistants (IVAs) became invaluable pandemic frontline first responders in the customer service realm. Today, IVA technology is revolutionizing how customer service...

Successful businesses make a practice of spelling out key objectives for the coming year. These are typically expressed as quantitative measures such as sales, profit, and cash flow. But increasingly, executives are asking their...

Admittedly, I have not worked in a lot of different industries, but it is hard to imagine there are many that have a greater penchant for acronyms than the contact center space. When I...

Today’s customers want to get in touch with businesses fast, and live chat is a strong tool for meeting that expectation. Not only does live chat let agents monitor and engage website and app...

Throughout October, our blog readers have been looking to the future! Our top 5 posts this month focus on learning from the past and using these lessons to put our best contact center foot...

There are more ways than ever for customers to interact with a company—from chatbots to text, email and even social media. But despite the rise of new digital communication channels, voice still reigns as...

In 1918, calls were coming in faster than customer service workers could manage. A global pandemic was driving people to rely on technology instead of interacting face-to-face. That increased reliance on technology placed an...

You don’t have to spend much time on a contact center floor before you notice what seems to be an overgrowth of colorful little pieces of paper on each agent’s desk: clusters of sticky...

Contact center call volumes are increasing exponentially, resulting in supervisors dealing with agent assessments on more of an exception basis than as a normal course of business. While the expectations are that all agents...

Pop culture has, for better or worse, played an outsized role in how modern professionals understand artificial intelligence (AI). For those of us who grew up on “Star Wars,” the ever-present and droids C-3PO...

The best tech support agents have a little secret: They aren’t doing their jobs all by themselves. They’re not cheating. They’re not slacking. But they are getting help from an outside source that lets...