Intelligent Automation in the Contact Center

Using call center automation, businesses can automate repetitive tasks to allow agents to focus on more complex tasks, save time and money, and increase efficiency. As a result, customer satisfaction is increased. However, automation also decreases human interaction so it must be used in the right areas and in the right amounts. There are various contact center processes that can utilize automation helping to enhance – and optimize – contact center operations.

 

Scheduling

Manually performing scheduling each day can be difficult, time-consuming and mistake-prone. Scheduling requires knowing when each agent will be available, matching them to available work times, and making sure shift gaps are filled. Ineffective scheduling can result in too many or too little staff, which can cause financial loss. But scheduling automation efficiently takes into consideration all scheduling elements for an effective system.

Forecasting

Forecasting is an important component of call center operations; it helps prevent issues and keep the business on track to meet goals. To create accurate forecasts, a lot of data needs to be collected and analyzed including product and customer information. Trends are found in groups of data and can help make more accurate predictions. Automated forecasting helps contact centers gain insights about data without the need to create manual strategies.

Agent Instructions

Getting automated instructions helps agents to save time. These instructions can help them with following compliance in areas such as payments and health. Agents can receive instructions in various ways such as through chatbots. 

Sales

Sales and marketing tasks can be automated to increase the number of sales by reducing the time it takes to close a sale. These include messaging and onboarding new customers.

Workflows

Many workflows need to be consistently managed in the contact center environment. Agents need to use various applications, communicate with customers in several different ways, enter and locate information, complete follow up, and more. The more things need to be managed, the more likely errors will occur. Automating workflows helps prevent this and frees up time for agents to concentrate on the most important tasks by automating repetitive tasks and even some more complex tasks.

Interactions

Since customer interactions can be time-consuming, providing customers with self-service tools, such as chatbots, can save a lot of time and money. One tool that helps to create automation is an online knowledge base where customers can find guides or videos that answer their questions. AI-powered IVR systems are another example. These systems collect information about the customer intent and give background information about their prior interactions and history.

 

Benefits of Call Center Automation

Call center automation helps improve various areas of contact center operations, including:

• Improved First Call Resolution Rate
• Higher Employee Satisfaction
• Effective Use of Resources
• Improved Management
• 24-hour Service
• Increased Customer Satisfaction

 

Factors to Be Aware Of

In order to effectively set up and manage intelligent automation, certain factors must be considered.

• At this time, automation cannot answer complex customer questions.
• Automation needs to be designed and configured properly for it to be effective.
• Automation needs to be consistently monitored and analyzed to ensure it’s working properly.
• There needs to be a balance between automation and human interaction to ensure customer satisfaction.

When deciding what areas to automate, it’s important to remember that some areas are worth automating, while others are not. Consider the following before making a decision:  the impact on the workflow, how repetitive the task is, complexity, costs, and the goals of your organization.

To learn more about Intelligent Automation and determine which process can help your business reach its goals, contact CH Consulting Group today.