Lessons from NECCF

Several of my team members and I recently had the opportunity to attend the annual Northeast Contact Center Forum(NECCF) at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA, home of the New England Patriots and a very cool event venue.

This was my first expose to NECCF, which was founded in 2001 by contact center executives and specialists who wanted an unbiased “user group” to facilitate the exchange of ideas. Since then, the organization has grown and remained committed to addressing the day-to-day management concerns and strategic planning needs of contact center professionals throughout the region including Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont and Maine.

The highlight of the event for me was meeting the NECCF board members and other attendees. While we’ve made Zoom work for the past two years, nothing compares to meeting face-to-face. I had the opportunity to further network CH Consulting Group technology resources to some of the largest, Gardener listed, tier-1 CCaaS technology companies.  Making these connections continues to directly benefit our clients in multiple ways, as we can more effectively serve them with all their technology questions/needs.

My key take-away from the event and the conversations I had there was confirmation of what I believe to be the two biggest challenges facing contact centers today. There’s no question cloud-based technology solutions provide tremendous value to contact center operations. But for companies to realize ROI, the technology must be 1) the right fit, and 2) fully optimized.

The Right Fit

Today, there are more than 200 players in the CCaaS space, which makes it difficult for leaders to choose the right partner and solution. My team and I help clients do just that by identifying their business goals, providing RFP development and management, conducting vendor reviews, making recommendations, and overseeing contract negotiations. I’m more convinced than ever of the value of this service and how my team’s and my expertise can help clients reduce costs, improve efficiencies and realize millions in ROI.

The Optimization Gap

While implementing the right technology is no small feat, I’ve seen a bigger problem with systems not being fully utilized. While contact center leaders are getting some benefit from new technology, they aren’t fully optimizing it to its full potential. This is a huge miss in terms of ROI.

My team and I have had great success helping clients bridge what I consider the “optimization gap.” This chasm occurs when contact center leaders don’t clearly communicate their business needs, and vendors implement new technology with zero understanding of the contact center industry and its unique challenges.

Thanks to the opportunity I had to make new connections at NECCF, I’m more convinced than ever that the optimization gap is a real threat to contact center success. If this sounds familiar, please contact me! You likely don’t need to invest in new technology, but rather better understand what you have and how it can be put to better use.