Create Better, More Human Experiences with Automation

By Brian Atkinson, GM & VP EMEA at Five9.

  • 2 years ago Posted in

There are always tasks that employees hate doing, and that they find boring and unfulfilling. Over 40% of employees spend at least a quarter of their time handling manual and repetitive tasks. This can lead to a high number of inconsistencies and an unsatisfied workforce. 

 

76% of customers expect consistent interactions across departments, yet organisations lose between 20% and 30% of revenue each year due to inefficient processes. Great consumer experience (CX) should be at the heart of any brand’s operations, and to deliver this, they need consistency throughout the whole interaction. This is only achievable through the technological integration of departments across the entire business. 

 

Thankfully, workflow automation is the newest technology aiming to transform the contact centre into a smooth running, less process intensive machine by freeing up valuable employee time. It connects and integrates systems to consistently create exceptional customer experiences by aggregating information, providing comprehensive views of data and performance, and automating sophisticated, cross-platform workflows. By eliminating repetitive tasks and automating complex processes, organisations can boost employee productivity and drive consistent customer outcomes. 

 

Creating a more human experience 

 

The pandemic left a hole in our everyday lives. We were unable to see our friends and family for the most part of a year, and it meant the interactions we did have were of the upmost importance. Consumer demand and expectations have of course shifted along with this, and customers want interactions with brands that make them feel special. This is why brands should be leading their CX strategies with empathy to create a more human experience with their customers.   

 

An empathetic relationship between customers and brands is built on what customers want and how they are treated by the brand in terms of awareness, engagement, learning, and measuring. To create that experience and demonstrate empathy, organisations need to connect their internal departments and processes and cease serving customers in isolation. 

 

By eliminating time-consuming manual processes for employees and automating system interactions, their time is freed up. This means they can better focus on their customers’ needs, enhance the customer experience, and have the ability to provide solutions successfully. In doing so, it empowers and enables agents to be more empathetic in their interactions.  

 

Streamlining work 

 

The ability to free up time agents spend doing simple repetitive tasks and complex manual processes by supplanting human action with automation will modernise the contact centre and streamline work. Most businesses identify that improving the customer experience is a key goal of their digital transformation initiatives. But to do this, the work behind the scenes that is invisible for the customer must be modernised to cater and better improve the processes that happen front of house.  

 

Contact centres work with a wide range of systems like CRM, service management, order entry, billing, and more that support different functionality and store unique information. Difficulties developing and maintaining system-to-system integrations mean that manual workflows are needed to coordinate actions and keep information in sync. Workflow automation is built for the contact centre to seamlessly connect these disparate systems, aggregate information, provide comprehensive views of performance, and automate simple to sophisticated workflows. By utilising automation, agents’ time is spared, and the contact centre is able to produce more predictable results by supplanting manual processes and repetitive human actions with streamlined automation. A library of pre-built connections to popular business systems and a visual “low-code” approach to workflow design lets businesses easily create intelligent, automated workflows. Streamlining and supercharging work through automation can improve efficiency, productivity and the overall customer experience.  

 

Being in a position of success 

 

Implementing new technologies into the contact centre can help in a myriad of ways but most importantly, it enables brands to cater to their customers’ needs with agility and adaptability. The pandemic showed us how everything can change in an instant. Many organisations weren’t prepared for the dramatic shift in consumer behaviour and the permanent closure of many high-street brands over the past year has proven the necessity of investing in digital solutions.  

 

Consumers expect amazing experiences with brands that make them feel special throughout their whole journey with the business, and to do this, organisations need to deliver a modern, seamless, omnichannel experience. Integrated solutions are the only way to successfully deliver the right information at the right time to solve customer queries – and workflow automation is here to help. It brings both efficiency and context to customer handling by using insights and interacting with customers in ways that exceed expectations.  

 

The contact centre industry continues to evolve, and businesses should be ready to meet the fast-changing needs and expectations of their customers. With the right tools in place, workforces will feel empowered, and lead interactions with empathy by establishing a human connection with their customers. This in turn, will improve customer satisfaction and drive brand loyalty.  

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