Cloud Gazing. White Paper. The future of Contact Centre technology. www. syntec.co.uk. Autumn 2014

Transcription

1 Cloud Gazing White Paper The future of Contact Centre technology Autumn 2014 www. syntec.co.uk

2 Contents Methodology 3 Executive summary 4 Why do cloud solutions matter to today s contact centres? 5 What are the present and future priorities in contact centres? 6 What are the benefits of using cloud systems? 7 What are the problems of adopting cloud systems? 8 An introduction to how cloud technology works 9 One solution will not fit all 10 Questions to ask a supplier of cloud contact centre technology 10 Introduction to Syntec 11 2

3 Methodology This report looks at the future of contact centre technology, what the priorities are and what improvements are most desirable. Davies Hickman Partners, on behalf of Syntec, has conducted research into the way contact centre IT directors, managers and executives are planning to meet the future demands of their customers. We have also looked into concerns among contact centre team leaders, managers, directors and operational managers as well as the future needs of consumers. We explore the routes to achieving a modern, value-add business centre for those wishing to meet customers expectations into the future. We set out to assess what is important to contact centre operations, what needs to change, and whether cloud technology offers answers to the common problems. We wanted to monitor how much progress the industry has made in moving from the traditional call centre (predominantly seen as more of a cost centre) to a more modern strategy of a value-add business centre. Our research data includes: A review of published research on cloud contact centres An online survey with 50 IT decision makers at contact centres operating within the UK directors, managers and executives across a range of sectors including financial services, retail, public sector, travel, leisure and charities Qualitative research with contact centre managers A representative online survey of 500 consumers in the UK Syntec is using the results of this report to improve the hosted (cloud) software technology it offers to contact centres. The outputs are designed to support collaboration with clients, improve decision-making and contribute to more efficient investment decisions. The research, data and views in this white paper have been prepared in good faith but neither Syntec nor the authors of the report can be held responsible for any decisions or otherwise taken by those reading it. 3

4 Executive summary The report covers: Why cloud solutions matter to today s contact centres Present and future priorities for contact centres Benefits of using cloud systems Problems of adopting cloud systems How cloud technology works an introduction Questions to ask a supplier of cloud contact centre technology The results of the Institute of Customer Service s UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) in July 2014 confirm the national downward trend in customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction declined across 12 of the 13 sectors of the 197 organisations featured. In addition, Syntec s consumer research highlighted concerns about customer service including payment security, particularly in contact centres (Syntec s white paper: PCI DSS in Call Centres, June 2014). In the past, contact centres have tended to be viewed as expensive cost centres (particularly by Finance Directors) that needed to manage down overheads. However, in this current research 74% of IT decision makers say their contact centres have a revenue-driven culture, making the most of customer contact to up-sell and cross-sell. Further research with contact centre managers showed that they now have an underlying desire to meet the challenges of becoming modern business centres, with 76% of IT managers saying their contact centres are now customer-focused. However, some contact centres are still missing these opportunities. Our research with 50 IT decision makers and contact centre managers highlights the technology improvements they most want. These include: Improved multichannel integration to improve customer service Flexibility and scalability to meet fluctuating call demand Video chat with customers Data security Disaster recovery systems An accepted route to modernising contact centres is adopting cloud technologies. When we asked IT contact centre decision makers what the top three benefits of adopting cloud systems were, they prioritised a customer-focused service: Individualising customer experiences, agents informed about customers before the call Improving agents knowledge, with access to call recordings for training Customers being able to contact us using any channel they wish A key finding from our research is that 86% of organisations already use hosted contact centre technology or plan to use it in the next year. However, 48% of IT decision makers do not understand how the cloud will be better than what they already have. 4

5 Why do cloud solutions matter to today s contact centres? When given the choice, 60% of consumers favour a balance between price and service, and will not accept low service levels in exchange for a cheap deal, according to the Institute of Customer Service s UK Customer Satisfaction Index 2014 (UKCSI) results. Organisations with high satisfaction scores have significantly more customers who are very likely to be loyal: 55% of highly satisfied customers stated they had recommended the organisation in question. With customer satisfaction driving growth, our research with IT decision makers responsible for contact centres shows that they are focusing on multichannel integration to improve customer service (using telephone, SMS, , IM, websites, web chat, video chat, forums and social media). This is their number one priority for the future. The digital world is empowering entrepreneurs and small businesses and they are winning customers of every size. Many small and medium organisations are taking advantage of the benefits of hosted contact centre technology to better their market share. Providing improved service delivery such as greater personalisation of services, these businesses are tailoring service to the needs of the individual customer on the basis of previous behaviour. This is the era of Big Data. We ve got to use all the information there is to provide the right service in the right way to individual customers. Customer Experience Manager, General Insurance In fact, entrepreneurs and business start-ups are often taking the lead and showing the larger organisations how to do it. These organisations have tended to move away already from buying enterprise software, capital expenditure and investment in hardware. Time-consuming technical infrastructure changes are becoming a thing of the past. Hosted software does not have the problems of installation, maintenance and constant upgrades. More and more online retailers are building and operating contact centres: we don t have huge budgets for IT equipment, it must be pay as you use and be flexible. Online retailer Several organisations are also reliant on cloud software to forecast volumes of customer contact. Using workforce management analytics they seamlessly flex the number of agents in multi-sites including homeworkers, to meet both seasonal changes and the peaks and troughs of daily demand. In the future IT decision makers are also looking to equip their advisors to take calls wherever they may have a connection. From the following list, please select the top three improvements that should be made to contact centres. (Total votes each statement received ie percentage that voted it as either top, second or third) Improved multichannel integration to improve customer service Video chat with customers Card payment security should be improved Improved systems to meet fluctuating call demand Advisors can take calls wherever they have connection Disaster recovery systems Remove old legacy technology systems which are difficult to use More home working for employees First Second Third Total 30% 14% 8% 52% 14% 14% 12% 40% 8% 12% 18% 38% 14% 6% 14% 34% 6% 10% 16% 32% 12% 14% 4% 30% 10% 14% 6% 30% 6% 10% 10% 26% Better IVR system 0% 6% 12% 18% 5

6 What are the present and future priorities in contact centres? Historically, contact centres have been defined by the interplay of customer service and cost. The service from contact centres could be volatile, for instance when customers rang a call centre they could experience long call waiting times. Today the reputation of a brand can be swiftly ruined by customer complaints, particularly if publicised using social media. In the past, we used to think that if our call abandoned rate fell below 20% in peak trading season we were overstaffed. In today s world of consumer empowerment and Twitter, this would be so unacceptable, we d probably go out of business. Director, Travel & Leisure In the following chart, IT decision makers were asked how they rate their contact centres; interestingly their responses reflect the significant changes in the industry. Today s contact centres are recognised as playing a major role in managing customer expectations and experiences. Contact centres have changed, they are no longer considered to be cost centres with an agenda to reduce service overheads. Now they are recognised as true customer service centres which should meet customers expectations and drive growth in organisations. Meeting customer expectations means making service easier for consumers with many more businesses focusing on the customer effort score. IT decision makers recognise the value of offering excellent call routing for the customer (88%), secure customer card payments (84%) and capturing customer feedback (78%). These customer-focused features are now seen as the most highly rated technologies in contact centre technology. How would you rate your contact centre(s) on the following? (Those who answered To a large extent and completely added together) 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% Excellent call routing systems 100% secure card payments 88% 84% 78% 78% 76% 74% 74% 70% 68% 68% Latest technology Capturing customer feedback Customer service driven culture Activity reporting Sales driven culture Cross functional coordination Great working atmosphere Cost driven culture 6

7 What are the benefits of using cloud systems? The phone remains the most popular customer service channel. However, as smartphone usage, social media and Wi-Fi coverage continue to grow, consumers are constantly changing the way they contact organisations. Our strategy is to be available through whichever means our people in the community want to get to us by. Customer Services Director, Local Authority There is a genuine desire among contact centre decision makers to improve the service they deliver. Our research shows that the improved functionalities of cloud systems can result in positive engagement with customers. The most valued benefits of using the cloud include individualising customer experiences; improving agents knowledge (including call recordings for training); and customers being able to use any channel they want to contact organisations. In addition, contact centre managers believe secure card payments to be a valued function of cloud technology. Here are some benefits of a hosted (cloud) call centre, in no particular order. Please pick the 3 most important in running an efficient contact centre. Individualising customer experiences, agents informed about customers before the call Improve agents knowledge with access to call recordings for training Customers can contact us using any channel they wish Better call routing from IVR menu system Calls and other contacts are well routed, logged and recorded Secure card payments (PCI DSS compliant) Low capital costs and improved operating costs Low on-going maintenance costs Up to date multichannel technology Easy set-up and number allocation First Second Third Total 18% 8% 18% 44% 18% 12% 8% 38% 16% 14% 6% 36% 2% 14% 18% 34% 10% 8% 14% 32% 4% 18% 10% 32% 10% 14% 6% 30% 4% 8% 8% 20% 8% 2% 10% 20% 10% 2% 2% 14% Many IT decision makers know the answer is cloud technology. Indeed Gartner predicted that by 2014, IT organisations in 30% of Global 1000 companies would broker (aggregate, integrate, and customize) two or more cloud services for internal and external users, up from 5% in In fact, in our research 26% have already adopted hosted contact centre technology and a further 60% are looking to deploy cloud collaboration services in the next 12 months. For the 26% who have already experienced hosted contact centre technology, some will be managing agents in different countries, time zones, and multiple sites as well as local homeworkers, all from a single web-enabled screen. Other benefits of cloud technology include flexibility and scalability. There is greater opportunity to flex the number of seats employed in the contact centre to meet fluctuating demand as well as meeting the elasticity of workforce flexibility, home workers and outsourcers. Lastly, a major benefit of cloud technology is financial savings. No excessive up-front capital expenditure or new equipment is required as cloud software is designed to integrate with existing systems. Organisations that have used cloud technology report a reduction in total operating costs, being charged usually by agent per month - and the variable costs (OPEX instead of CAPEX) can be flexed to match fluctuating demand. What is your organisations strategy for using a hosted (cloud) contact centre? 12% 2% 60% 26% We already use hosted contact centre technology We plan to use hosted contact centre technology in the next year We have no plans to use hosted contact centre technology Don t know 7

8 What are the problems of adopting cloud systems? Half of IT decision makers say People do not understand how the cloud works. Security is another concern according to 38% of IT decision makers. But what is meant by security? Is it about how the cloud supports business-critical applications and where essential business data resides? Business or department managers need to understand the security implications of the cloud. Organisations need to ask questions and assess the security and controls that are being offered and recognise what the cloud provider is responsible for and what responsibilities they take on. One in five are also concerned that cloud services will reduce the headcount. It is natural that contact centre employees who are happy with the status quo might be reluctant to invite change. Furthermore, 30% of IT decision makers thought their company did not have the internal skills available to implement hosted contact centres. From your perspective, what are the top 3 barriers of moving a contact centre to the cloud? People do not understand how hosted would be better 48% Concerned about lack of security 38% The voice quality will not be good enough 34% We do not have the internal expertise It will not be cheaper in the long run I am not convinced it is a good idea CEO is against any further expenditure It may result in losses of jobs 30% 28% 28% 26% 24% The CC works very well already 22% Moving to a hosted call centre is a good decision 20% Other 2% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Note: This question was asked of IT decision makers both using and not using cloud contact centre technology. 8

9 An introduction to how cloud technology works Most consumers are already familiar with cloud services, using and trusting such shared back end systems through LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Spotify. They use it for their services, too, for Gmail, Microsoft s Hotmail and Outlook. There is an assumption that these services are secure enough for use in personal and individual working lives. This experience also points the way for next generation business technology. Cloud software replaces the traditional client-server model. It is about delivering secure services to organisations and their customers. Hosted services are delivered to the organisation immediately. They are provided over the internet, using a web interface and therefore users need high bandwidth internet access. The telecoms pipe into our building did need upgrading, but that was part of the implementation. Customer Services Director, Local Authority Users within an organisation who access the software require a reliable internet connection, as the software service is delivered by cloud computing that is located offsite and hosted, hosted by a third party cloud technology provider. For the user, their required software is on a website that can be accessed by them anywhere in the world, using a web interface, at any time. Organisations usually pay per user and by month for the managed services they use. Cloud/hosted technology services are often referred to as software as a service or SaaS. For a contact centre, software as a service may include: automated call distribution (ACD), queue management, call recording, multichannel communication, automated diallers, interactive voice recognition (IVR), contact tracking, analytics and reporting, PCI DSS compliant card payments, workforce management and analytics. Imagine you were in a job that could influence the rebranding of the contact centre industry. In no more than three words suggest what new name should be given to call centre or contact centre in order to modernise its image? Customer Hang Out Customer Communications Platform Customer Support Customer Service Centre It s about improving the customer experience, that s in line with our purpose. We re working in new ways to raise levels of trust again. Customer Advocate, Bank Our research identifies improvements which are wanted by those who work in contact centres around the UK. It highlights the priorities of IT and contact centre decision makers to meet their customers expectations and needs, for modern business centres. In our research, contact centre directors, managers, supervisors, team leaders and operations managers were asked to imagine they were in a job which could influence the rebranding of the contact centre industry. We asked them to suggest what new name should be given to a call centre or contact centre to modernise its image using no more than three words, again these responses included suggestions mostly from their customers perspective. 9

10 One solution will not fit all The illustration here shows the range of concerns that contact centre decision makers have about using the cloud. It should be noted that most of the themes are predominantly from a customer service perspective. In the future, the industry needs to continue to address these concerns to ensure decision makers feel confident that cloud services meet consumers expectations, as well as their own. Imagine you are meeting with a group of vendors who supply hosted (cloud) contact centres. What would be the one piece of advice you would give them to make hosted (cloud) contact centres more appealing to organisations like yours? easy to use what we want better for business fast and affordable everyone understands the best safety improve cost/benefit ratio cheap services everyone is contactable firm and fair data security price and quality of service better than existing systems both android and ios value reliability simplicityensure total security good customer service implementation with advanced systems top security service at cheap cost benefits and payback period enhanced collaboration better customer experience cost saving time management security choose the right one easy to manage user friendly reliable servers reduce costs Questions to ask a supplier of cloud contact centre technology Finally, here are some big questions to ask a supplier of cloud contact centre services which will limit the risk and challenge vendors to deliver the vision of what a modern Business Centre should be. Can I trust your IT assets, database engines and security as much as our own? Why? How can we use cloud services to personalise customer experiences? Does your technology work with our existing systems eg CRM? How long will it take to be up and running with the service? How do you integrate the systems we want to keep and systems we want to host? Can we integrate it with our successful offline software? We need to limit our risk, how can we pilot some hosted software to test the experience? What platform have you got to exchange ideas with us so we can help the software evolve as customers needs and our business needs change? How regularly will you update the software? How much can we input to the updates? 10

11 Introduction to Syntec Syntec is a leading UK supplier of hosted contact management services and an independent, Ofcomregulated UK network operator. Since its founding in 1998 as Syntec Telecom, Syntec has been providing a full range of telecommunications services to a wide range of clients in the UK and around the world. In addition Syntec s proprietary, integrated suite of hosted contact centre management solutions now includes: CardEasy is Syntec s PCI DSS level 1- compliant card payment by phone and call recording technology (mid-call with agent and/or IVR customer self-service autopay), allowing customers to enter their card numbers securely using their telephone keypad whilst the agent remains on the call throughout for customer service. AgentCall is for web-based management of agents and calls plus webchat/ /sms, call diversion/disaster recovery and outbound diallers. ResponseTrack call tracking & analytics identifies which website searches generate your phone enquiries & sales, offering ScreenView agent display of caller information including what the customer is looking at on the website. Other marketing response and analysis options include after-call customer surveys and geographic/ nongeographic numbers to track & report advertising response. Syntec was founded on the principle of delivering solutions and benefits to clients so our billing, provisioning, routing, reporting, IVR, processing and management systems have all been developed in-house, by the engineers who deploy and maintain them. This means we can develop new facilities and applications in days or weeks, rather than months or years. For further information please contact: Syntec Ltd. Tel: (Intl ) 18 The Avenue Fax: (Intl ) London W13 8PH sales@syntec.co.uk FS BSI Certified to ISO

12 Autumn 2014 www. syntec.co.uk