Even when the pandemic eventually ends, it’s likely that many CX agents will prefer to continue some sort of remote or hybrid work arrangement. To accommodate this reality and manage CX workflows in a distributed workforce, companies have increased their reliance on SaaS applications. In its 2021 Business at Work report, Okta found that larger companies now deploy an average of 175 apps.

CX operations are becoming more complex, but most companies have little visibility into their CX workflows. This lack of transparency complicates PCI compliance and makes it harder for companies to make data-driven decisions on improving the CX efficiency and productivity.

Executives looking for ways to improve performance and efficiency of their customer operations should consider whether they have enough data to answer these four questions:

1. Which metrics are most significant for high-performing CX teams?
2. How are customer operations teams inadvertently sabotaging team productivity and undermining customer value?
3. What impact do various processes and technology really have on agent productivity?
4. What are the biggest untapped opportunities to make customer operations and CX teams more productive?

Providing key insights to growing CX teams

Fin’s CX Insider Report: Customer Operations Benchmarks for 2022 shows that many companies are missing out on massive opportunities to improve the productivity of their CX teams, reduce costs, and deliver better customer experiences. This report contains detailed findings based on an analysis of tens of millions of hours of real-world data collected through Fin’s Work Insights Platform, a lightweight browser plugin that enables leaders to collect the data they need to improve productivity and performance on CX and operations teams.

Fin’s turnkey solution reveals how agents work across any number of SaaS applications, helping leaders boost productivity by improving capacity planning, reducing distractions, and streamlining SaaS workflows. Fin’s Work Insights Platform also lets leaders drill deep into CX data to identify top agents and see which processes and tools those agents use to excel in their roles.

CX leaders can then assess their own CX performance against industry norms by comparing their internal findings against the data in the CX Insider Report: Customer Operations Benchmarks for 2022. The Report goes far beyond CSAT (customer satisfaction) scores to reveal industry standards around other key metrics including handle time, data loss, agent utilization, and policy adherence. For example, the Report shows that:

• Average CX employee spends only 66% of their day actively working to resolve cases or tickets.
• 26% of cases require 5 or more human touchpoints.
• A majority of cases require at least 4 unique applications to solve.
• A clear correlation exists between slower page load times and lower agent utilization.

By combining insights generated through Fin’s Work Insights Platform with the industry data in the Report, customer operations leaders can benchmark their own CX performance and identify high-priority areas where they have the greatest room for improvement.

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Download Fin’s CX Insider Report: Customer Operations Benchmarks for 2022 now to discover industry averages and best practices, along with suggestions for improving training, processes, and technology to boost CX productivity and deliver superior customer outcomes.

Guest post written by: FIN for Customer Response Summit Virtual. To learn more about this and other critical CX topics, register for Execs In The Know’s Customer Response Summit Clearwater.

The post Leveraging Performance Benchmarks to Improve CX Workflows appeared first on Execs In The Know.

These updated contracts reflect the insights and best practices that emerged since the start of the pandemic. As part of the workshop, we had an in-depth discussion about three common emerging outsourcing priorities COPC Inc. has seen our client’s experience. These are:

1. Formalizing work-from-home (WFH) requirements and management.
2. Introducing and optimizing digital transactions.
3. Leveraging competitive sourcing to revise footprint and address poor performing partners.

Earlier this year we saw almost two-thirds of the brands stating that they don’t intend to return to pre-pandemic site-based operations.  With more and more global organizations continuing a hybrid WFH model, it’s essential to support remote work environments when optimizing outsourcing contracts.

Along with the increase in remote work, we continue to see an uptick in organizations transitioning their digital transactions to outsource partners. This channel has become one of the fastest-growing customer service channel offerings. This significant shift to non-voice interactions presents an excellent opportunity to improve agent training and update chat-specific KPIs. If agents undergo the proper training, they will help resolve customers’ inquiries more efficiently and effectively. Plus, they can potentially convert and retain their organization’s customers if they have a positive experience. When organizations understand which metrics should be measured, they can maximize ROI on this digital touchpoint and use KPIs to adjust staffing models to optimize chat performance.

Finally, brand leaders have increased the rate of competitive sourcing activities in the market to create a high-performing outsourced operation and develop healthier partnerships with outsourcing partners, essential for 2022 and beyond. Best practices of a competitive sourcing process include:

• Learning the advantages of selecting the right pricing models.
• Designing the appropriate business requirements.
• Running a robust supplier evaluation and selection process.

As your organization reimagines its outsourcing contracts, it’s crucial to support remote WFH models, chat transactions and leverage competitive sourcing processes. Incorporating these three emerging outsourcing priorities will allow your organization to achieve new program performance and ROI levels while building stronger relationships with supplier partners.

Read about these three emerging outsourcing priorities in the blog post written in conjunction with our Optimizing Pandemic Contact Center Outsourcing Relationships workshop.

WFH Insights

In this workshop, we learned that almost 2/3rds of attendees have over 25 percent of their contact center seats outsourced, while over 80 percent outsource to more than one provider.

All participants’ outsourced call centers shifted to an immediate WFH model once the pandemic shutdown began in March 2020. COPC Inc.’s clients encountered similar difficulties, including:

• Internet connectivity issues.
• Necessary data security updates in technology and WFH office requirements.
• Unique, regional-based government and environmental challenges specific to the outsourced contact center’s location.
• Virtual hiring, training, onboarding and employee experience obstacles.

Like other organizations, they acted quickly to combat these challenges head-on and provide solutions to ensure outsourced staff could do their jobs safely, effectively and efficiently while maintaining the same level of service and security as they would in an office environment.

Digital Transaction Insights

With chat being one of the fast-growing customer service channels, more than half of workshop attendees’ organizations have more than 10 agents working on digital/chat transactions.

Despite the low number of chat-dedicated agents, many organizations use a blended model. This model consists of agents handling both chat and email customer interactions but not phone calls. When hiring chat agents, different criteria take priority, such as language proficiency and multitasking abilities, as these agents work multiple chats and customer emails simultaneously.

Organizations are also prioritizing journey mapping when evaluating their customer touchpoints. By assessing their customers’ service journeys, customer care teams consider which matters should be addressed via chat versus which ones should go through other customer care channels. Again, it’s crucial to consider why the customer is reaching out and the best channel to communicate with them.

Competitive Sourcing Insights

The outsourcing contact center market is becoming more competitive. The WFH shift has presented a change in delivery requirements and a reduction in cost components, leading to significant cost savings for vendor managers. To win new contracts and maintain current clients, outsourced service providers must offer strategic pricing and comparable services to contend with the competition.

Sixty-three percent of workshop attendees have recently, or are planning an RFP in the near future while

75 percent of the companies are doing RFPs because of poor performing suppliers or need to revise the footprint.

COPC Inc.’s top sourcing priorities are:

1. Revising outsourcing requirements and contracts at lightning speed while reevaluating supplier capabilities and footprint that best serves this new normal. ​
2. Realizing the new cost structure and the impact on previous pricing components. ​​
3. Optimizing virtual evaluations, management and supplier business planning.

We discuss these topics more in-depth in the white paper, The 2021 State of Contact Center Vendor Management. You can also read this blog post, which provides a concise yet thorough explanation of these three priorities.

Did you know COPC Inc. offers strategic sourcing for CX operations? Achieve the best performance from your vendors at the best price through our strategic sourcing program.  COPC Inc. has been helping clients navigate this transition successfully since the onset of the pandemic to drive consistency across the organization, improve customer service and quality, and decrease business costs. Learn more about COPC Inc.’s vendor management services for CX operations here.

To learn more or how COPC Inc. can assist your organization or share further resources to assist you in your outsourcing endeavors, reach out to info@copc.com.

COPC Inc. is an innovative global leader that empowers organizations to optimize operations to deliver a superior customer experience across all channels. Contact us at: info@copc.com |1-407-304-9032 www.copc.com

Guest post written by: Jay Wolcott, COPC, and originally written on November 5, 2021. To learn more about this and other critical CX topics, register for Execs In The Know’s recent Customer Response Summit and access all the content on-demand by registering.

The post Optimizing Pandemic Contact Center Outsourcing Relationships appeared first on Execs In The Know.

The Current Landscape

While society is beginning to recover, our collective “new normal” is still unstable especially in the workplace. Given the war for talent, employees are empowered with the majority opting for better work-life balance, whether that’s remote work, scheduled hours, or shift preferences. Employers are facing far-reaching challenges related to their contact center workforce that include:

• Difficulty hiring strong talent
• High attrition
• Effectiveness of onboarding and ongoing development
• Agent engagement

Meanwhile, customers continue to voice their preferences after being forced through a self-service funnel during much of the pandemic. They prize greater self-service options, proactive issue resolution, personalized service, and are actively engaging with newer technologies like chat, video, and social media.

Contact centers must now balance a new employee dynamic (operating with lean staff and fewer onsite agents) with customer demands (as call volume, hold times, escalations, and difficult calls surge).

What’s a Business To Do?

In these turbulent times, how does a company navigate a transformed contact center landscape that must adapt to new challenges and demands … from both employees and customers?

Simply put, the organizations that prosper will connect the experiences of customers and employees to understand the cross impact and subsequently drive improvement, identify best practices, and spur business growth.

Collecting customer and agent feedback, giving employees a platform to share ideas, forecasting customer needs, capturing compelling data from both, and using the right dashboards to connect the data will give businesses the following advantage:

The strategic creation of a holistic picture that gets the right data to the right people at the right time to drive meaningful change

Where to Start

Numerous organizations are talking about the importance of connecting employee and customer experience to build an effective hybrid contact center workforce. However, these discussions are still in the early stages with many unsure exactly where to start or how to do it.

#1:  Understand & Connect; Then Address

Actively listen and frequently ask. Frontline agents are a treasure trove of information: unleash the power of their deep and rich customer engagements to understand vulnerabilities and identify valuable workarounds or permanent fixes.

• Use agent notes more often to further identify why customers escalate a complaint, give low satisfaction scores, or leave.
• On the employee front, create opportunities for their voice to be heard – the more frequent the better especially in these rapidly changing times.
• Consider adding pulse surveys to capture real-time feedback or to ask a probing question.

Additionally, identify common or key topics of interest across the two sets of feedback (from employees and customers) and incorporate this intelligence within your analytics.

#2:  Uncover Key Irritants

Understand what the most impactful irritants are for customers and employees and fix those first.

• Use surveys, agent notes (unstructured data), and one-on-ones with frontline managers to identify what broken processes or poor technologies agents are dealing with day after day that are never fixed. They tire of making excuses, feel bad they can’t provide a better customer experience, and know it will impact their service score.
• Begin to build a case for the financial impact of uncovering and addressing employee and customer irritants.

Interestingly, a 2021 Medallia Institute/Josh Bersin research study found that companies who are employee experience leaders were 12x more likely to indicate revenue growth of more than 20% over the last year.

#3:  Discover What is Really Valued

Salary, benefits, and workplace environment all matter, but dig deeper as it’s critical to understand what employees deeply care about and value. It may be:

• Training and education
• Corporate social responsibility
• Diversity and inclusion or
• How proud they are to work for your company/brand.

In terms of workplace pride, a Medallia Institute research study found that companies that ask for and act on frontline employees’ feedback garner the highest employee Net Promoter® scores.

#4:  Unite the Two; Use the Data

Many organizations have access to two data sources — one for customers, the other for employees. Is your organization using both independently … or using and connecting both data sources?

It’s critical to de-silo the data and get multiple business units to share and use the data for the common good. Then build dashboards that bring employee data and customer data next to each other to uncover and identify the correlating impact between the two in terms of:

• Topics of interest (customer feedback and employee feedback)
• Driven behaviors (customer behaviors and employee performance)
• Key indicators (customer interaction analytics and employee pulse, agent notes, and 1-2-1 meetings)

This connection will fuel the delivery of an effective hybrid contact center workforce, while enhancing both employee and customer experience. A holistic approach gives companies the opportunity to create targeted actions to combat workforce challenges, while delivering improved value to customers.

If both experience data sets are leveraged together, the advantages are far-reaching and can generate a significant impact on agent engagement, frontline team effectiveness, customer loyalty, operational efficiencies, product/service innovation, and future revenue.

Interested in learning more? Visit Medallia Experts on Demand to book a 30-minute private meeting with a Medallia Contact Center expert. You can also book meetings directly with Rachel directly.

About Medallia

Medallia is the pioneer and market leader in Experience Management. Medallia’s award-winning SaaS platform, the Medallia Experience Cloud, leads the market in the understanding and management of experience for customers, employees, and citizens. Medallia captures experience signals created on daily journeys in person, digital, and IoT interactions and applies proprietary AI technology to reveal personalized and predictive insights that can drive action with tremendous business results. Using Medallia Experience Cloud, customers can reduce churn, turn detractors into promoters and buyers and create in-the-moment cross-sell and upsell opportunities, providing clear and potent returns on investment. www.medallia.com

Guest post written by: Rachel Lane, Senior Solutions Principal for Contact Centers, Medallia, and originally written on November 30, 2021. To learn more about this and other critical CX topics, register for Execs In The Know’s recent Customer Response Summit and watch the Medallia-led Shop Talk Connecting CX & EX to Deliver an Effective Hybrid Contact Center Workforce on-demand. To access all on-demand content, please register.

The post Connecting CX and EX to Deliver An Effective Hybrid Contact Center Workforce appeared first on Execs In The Know.

If you have yet to tune in to the Fall 2021 CRS virtual event, you can watch many sessions on-demand. Registration is simple, free, and it takes only a minute to get immediate online access to this insightful content.

Earlier this month, we shared some powerful insights from the event’s five keynote presentations as a part of a five-part blog series. Now we add to those valuable insights with the following highlights from the event’s six inspiring panel discussions and one intriguing case study.

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The Rise of the CCO

Moderator:
Mike McCarron, Gladly

Panelists:
Radha Penekelapati, YouTube
Dan Allen, Union Bank
Deana Perrin, Blue Shield of California

It’s great for a CX program to have the support of the C-suite, but it’s even better when CX has its very own seat at the table. The Chief Customer Officer (CCO) role isn’t exactly new, but it has never been more essential in cultivating CX excellence. CCOs can help champion plans and initiatives that are designed to do one thing — improve the customer experience.

During this panel discussion, Radha, Dann, Deana, and Mike share their thoughts about how the CCO role has evolved, and why is has never been more critical than today, especially as consumers have more options than ever, and brand loyalty is on the wane.

Here are five key highlights from the conversation:

1) As a company’s CX journey matures, the structure of its C-suite must also evolve.

2) A Chief Customer Officer (CCO) is responsible for raising the voice of the customer, but also establishing internal partnerships to make sure the organization is unified behind the mission of improving CX.

3) An ongoing challenge with the CCO role is they often have the insights and knowledge to know what needs fixing, but they often don’t have the budget authority to execute. To make a real difference, a CCO must be empowered.

4) Shared goals, especially tangible goals, are critical in unifying an organization behind customer-centric efforts; put the customer at the center, but don’t neglect the overarching goals of stakeholders.

5) Doing many small- or medium-sized projects sometimes creates a bigger impact than doing one or a very few large projects. It is important to understand the outcome and impact of every effort, big or small.

View this session now (quick and free registration required).

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Getting Ready for What Comes Next: Key Trends Driving Your Data Strategy

Moderator:
Sav Khetan, Tealium

Panelists:
Melody Blumenschein, General Motors
Rick Clark, Balsam Brands
Matt Beckwith, Clark Pest Control

A lot has changed in the last 18 months. From how consumers behave to the way businesses conduct their service and delivery operations, the COVID-19 pandemic has sent out many ripples. How companies have and will continue to respond to the ongoing crisis (both proactively and reactively) will chart their future course, and effective use of data is a key part of the equation for many organizations.

During this panel, Melody, Rick, Matt, and Sav engage in a wide-ranging discussion about the overall state of the industry, highlighting current challenges, while also sharing how they are addressing some of these challenges with innovative CX data solutions and strategies.

Here are five key highlights from the conversation:

1) In the last 18 months, over 80% of consumers have tried out a new brand or mode of delivery, and many prefer these new experiences; loyalty is on the wane.

2) The high cost of acquiring new customers has only increased during the pandemic.

3) Consumers are far more tolerant of service lapses and wait time than they were before the pandemic, but they are also checking out the competition more than ever before.

4) Frontline staff have valuable knowledge about the business and the customer, so be sure to tap their expertise by opening lines of communication and taking the time to ask.

5) There is power in understanding this one simple but age-old essential insight — happy agents make for happy customers. It is a good reminder to tap into the data that lets you know if your organization is succeeding in this area.

View this session now (quick and free registration required).

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Data Protection: Creating Secure and Successful At-Home Workspaces

Moderator:
Leslie Loofbourow, 24-7 Intouch

Panelists:
Jim Gallagher, Nordstrom
Jeff Lilleskare, Microsoft
Thom McDaniel, Marriott

Work-from-home is here to stay. That means maintaining employee engagement and protecting customer data is going to remain top-of-mind for CX leaders. Luckily, there is no shortage of new and innovative tools and technology design to accomplish exactly this.

During this insightful and timely panel, Jim, Jeff, Thom, and Leslie share how they have helped devise secure remote work environments, leading to more protection for both customers and agents, while also making sure their teams stay connected and engaged.

Here are five key highlights from the conversation:

1) Data protection and secure workspaces start with empowering employees. That said, trust but always verify.

2) Hiring and recruiting best practices are critical for adoption and compliance starting with a workforce well aligned to the values of the organization; shared values equate to high levels of compliance.

3) Have a solid plan for work-from-home departures. Close the loop on getting back equipment, shutting down system access, etc.

4) It’s important to find the balance between getting the information agents need to service customers, while also maintaining tight control of the data available to agents.

5) Many companies have gone through many hiring cycles to the point where a lot of employees are unfamiliar with the in-office workspace … but agents need to be connected and included. Consider creating a virtual watercooler space for agents to drive engagement and connectedness.

View this session now (quick and free registration required).

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If you haven’t already done so, be sure to check out Part 1 of this two-part series.

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Do you enjoy this type of CX-related content? If so, consider joining us for our return to a live and in-person event during Customer Response Summit in sunny Clearwater, Florida — March 28-30, 2022. Registration is open now! Learn More

The post CRS Virtual October 2021: Key Case Study and Panel Highlights — Part 2 appeared first on Execs In The Know.

If you have yet to tune in to the Fall 2021 CRS virtual event, you can watch many sessions on-demand. Registration is simple, free, and it takes only a minute to get immediate online access to this insightful content.

Earlier this month, we shared some powerful insights from the event’s five keynote presentations as a part of a five-part blog series. Now we add to those valuable insights with the following highlights from the event’s six inspiring panel discussions and one intriguing case study.

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Creating Empathy and Eliminating Frustration on the Path from Automation to Live Engagement

Moderator:
Andy Bird, Concentrix

Panelists: 
Vas Alli, Verizon
Peter Andrews, Expedia

Backoffice task and process automation within CX operations have been a godsend on many fronts. From greater efficiency to lower costs, automation has ramped up from infancy to essential in short order and has only become more entrenched due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And while what happens behind the scenes is often invisible to customers, customer-facing automation is now front-and-center in the form of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered applications, knowledge databases, IVRs, and more.

With an explosion in the prevalence of these customer-facing tools, new friction points have emerged. During this panel, Vas, Peter, and Andy discuss how brands can create a positive experience for consumers as they navigate these tools, especially when the need arises to transition from automated to live engagement.

Here are five key highlights from the conversation:

1) It’s very difficult to successfully implement automation, or digitize more broadly, without first establishing the purpose and value of the effort.

2) When putting automation into place, there needs to be a balance between the use cases and the vision the project; end-to-end design thinking is critical with an aim of building in cross-channel consistency.

3) Start with the big questions: What is the customer need? How can we address the need with as little friction as possible? Make sure User Testing (UT) agrees with any assumptions.

4) Implement automation in a way that anticipates what else the customer might need.

5) Don’t overengineer a solution; keep it simple and convenient because easy and fast is why your customer is using an automated solution in the first place.

View this session now (quick and free registration required).

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Building Your CX Technology Stack

Moderator:
Arushi Jain, Airkit

Panelists:
James Glover, CHEP
Heather Anderson, Bosch
Thomas Siebert, FinishMaster

If employees are the lifeblood of a CX organization, then that organization’s technology stack is its plumbing (i.e., circulatory system). The digitalization of CX operations has only accelerated over the proceeding 18 months, and although many such investments are urgent and essential, brands must be careful their decisions aren’t purely reactive in nature. Aside from the financial considerations, there is the customer experience to be considered which means every project and implementation needs to be planned and executed with the customer as the top consideration.

Small friction points can have a big impact on the customer experience. Listen in as James, Heather, Thomas, and Arushi discuss the implication of such impacts, as well as best practices for achieving success when expanding the CX technology stack.

Here are five key highlights from the conversation:  

1) Digital adoption is not slowing, nor is it merely a byproduct of the COVID-19 pandemic. But digital adoption initiatives can only be successful if backed by an appropriate technology stack.

2) Long-term trends favor businesses that can execute a seamless digital experience. Strong internal support and healthy investment in a capable technology stack are key.

3) A primary benefit of implementing self-service is the ability to save agent resources for more complex issues. For this to work, things must be seamless — for both customers and agents.

4) Know the needs and capabilities of your customers. Understanding things like abandonment rate and channel shift can reveal gaps and pain points — the first step in fixing critical issues.

5) Effectively managing change is critical to a successful rollout; when making a big change, communicate plans and get feedback from all levels within the organization.

View this session now (quick and free registration required).

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Personalization as a Differentiator: Using AI to Stand Out In a “Sea of Sameness”

Moderator:
Seb Reeve, Nuance

Panelists:
Bit Rambusch, Dell Technologies
Erik Powers, Humana
Simon Marchand, Nuance

Personalization done right can have a radical effect on the customer experience. From the customer’s perspective, personalization can reduce effort, reveal new opportunities, and strengthen brand loyalty. To truly add value, successful deployment of personalization within the CX space requires careful planning, testing, and rollout.

During this lively panel, Bit, Erik, Simon, and Seb discuss the benefits, risks, and other top considerations of building AI-powered personalization into the customer journey – including spotlighting their own experiences and learnings.

Here are five key highlights from the conversation:

1) Personalization is an appreciation of the individual. More practically, personalization means getting the right information to the right person with the least amount of effort within the journey.

2) When done successfully, personalization almost always results in increased NPS and CSAT scores.

3) When designing a personalization project, start with the desired outcomes and keep these ideas in mind:

• Develop one strategy
• Be aligned internally on the architecture
• Understand your foundational capabilities
• Build for exceptional governance and compliance

4) Not every project has to be massive … if need be, start small and establish proof of concept on specific use cases.

5) Involve all parts of the organization from the beginning to reduce surprises; especially take the time to involve your Fraud and Compliance team early on.

View this session now (quick and free registration required).

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How Comcast is Maximizing Productivity with Intelligent Automation

Moderator:
Jennifer Lee, Intradiem

Guest Speaker:
Mike Stalker, Comcast

Automation is all about maximizing resources and boosting productivity, allowing your people to focus on what matters most. One area where automation can have a big impact is workforce management, from scheduling and monitoring to coaching and delighting.

Join Mike, along with Jennifer, for this special Comcast Case Study and learn how this leading telecommunications conglomerate has used intelligent automation to reshape the Comcast agent experience, drive greater efficiencies, and ultimately improve the experience of Comcast customers.

Here are five key highlights from the conversation:

1) By 2024, organizations will lower operational costs 30% by combining hyper-automation technologies with redesigned operational processes.

2) If companies don’t begin or extend automation services, they’ll be at a distinct disadvantage.

3) Change management is a critical aspect of the successful implementation of automation, requiring careful planning.

4) Using automation to support the agent can take many forms including task management, training scheduling, agent surprise and delight activities, survey distribution, and coaching assistance.

5) Implementing automation usually goes beyond “one and done” — having executive buy-in from the start is a key component for avoiding roadblocks and expanding on initial gains.

View this session now (quick and free registration required).

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Do you enjoy this type of CX-related content? If so, consider joining us for our return to a live and in-person event during Customer Response Summit in sunny Clearwater, Florida — March 28-30, 2022. Registration is open now! Learn More

The post CRS Virtual October 2021: Key Case Study and Panel Highlights — Part 1 appeared first on Execs In The Know.

If you have yet to tune in to the Fall 2021 CRS virtual event, you can watch many sessions on-demand.
Registration is simple, free, and it takes only a minute to get immediate online access to this insightful content.

To help highlight some of the amazing ideas that came out of these sessions, we’ve created a five-part blog series — each focusing on a particular keynote session. In Part 5, we highlight Michael Baker’s turnaround story at UnitedHealth Group, one that puts people and compassion at the center of change..

The Business Case for Compassion

Michael Baker
COO UnitedHeathcare Provider Operations
UnitedHealth Group

Click to sign in or register to watch Michael’s Fall 2021 CRS presentation.

To say UnitedHealth Group has undergone a turnaround is perhaps a bit of an understatement. The company underwent a “worst to first” evolution by every meaningful measure. During this session, Michael shares how UnitedHealth Group made a conscious effort to put people and compassion at the center of an ambitious remake of the company’s customer service operations. The result has been a dynamic shift in not only the customer experience, but also a rising opinion of the brand among both industry watchers and customers alike. Here are some of the most notable learnings from Michael’s journey:

1. Compassion and Tenacity Can Move Mountains

When looking to place an individual as an advocate for your customer, consider compassion and tenacity as top factors. While it’s important to have well-rounded call center skills, the fact of the matter is individuals who are both compassionate and tenacious can connect with customers in unique ways, creating customer experiences that have the power to literally shift brand perception.

2. Rethink Measurements and Goals

With compassion as a core purpose, it becomes counterproductive to focus on some traditional measures of productivity, like average handle time (AHT). Such measures shouldn’t be a distraction when the focus is on compassion. Instead, attention should be given to the overall experience, including an agent’s ability to truly listen and guide customers to a workable solution regardless of what it takes, or how long it takes. Compassion can’t be rushed.

3. Moments of Compassion Build Trust

When agents take the time to listen and express compassion for a customer and their issue much, in the same way, they might treat family, something special happens. Customers realize they’ve got an advocate, a true advocate. And this builds trust in a very special way. Trust matters, especially when it comes to something as important as health, and that trust is a bridge to many things.

4. Keep It Authentic

Brands that can keep it authentic often have an edge. UnitedHealthcare Group keeps it authentic with the use of handwritten cards from agents to customers. It’s small but heartfelt, and it can mean a lot to the person on the receiving end.

5. No CX Journey Ever Has an End

No matter how far a company has come on evolving its customer care operations, there’s always more to be done. People can get better, technology can evolve, and the next great process change is just a spark of inspiration away. As you explore where priorities should go next, always keep the customer at the center of every initiative, and always ask, “Will this improve the experience?”

The power of the human-to-human connection can not be overestimated. If you’re wondering how your company can make a stronger emotional connection with customers, you should know that the Fall 2021 CRS event featured a panel discussion around creating empathy, another powerful avenue for building trust.

Be sure to check it out:
Creating Empathy and Eliminating Frustration on the Path from Automation to Live Engagement

The post Fall 2021 CRS & Five Key Takeaways from Five Keynotes — Part 5: UnitedHealth Group appeared first on Execs In The Know.

If you have yet to tune in to the Fall 2021 CRS virtual event, you can watch many sessions on-demand.
Registration is simple, free, and it takes only a minute to get immediate online access to this insightful content.

To help highlight some of the amazing ideas that came out of these sessions, we’ve created a five-part blog series — each focusing on a particular keynote session. In Part 4, we join Sean Miller for a frank discussion about the challenges and opportunities posed by a major merger between former competitors are we learn about Angi, the result of a merger between Angie’s List and HomeAdvisor.

From Merger to Maximizing Combined CX Operations

Sean Miller
Vice President of Operations
Angi

Click to sign in or register to watch Sean’s Fall 2021 CRS presentation.

From frontline agent to the Vice President of Operations, from being acquired to multiple rebrandings, Sean has experienced a lot in his career, all to prepare him for the 2017 merger between Angie’s List and HomeAdvisor, as well as the emergence of Angi in 2021. Although the Angi story is still being written, there are plenty of lessons to be learned starting with the importance of culture and unity, as well as a constant focus on the customer. If yours is a company facing a merger or on the other side of one, Sean’s is a story you don’t want to miss. Here are some takeaways we’ve identified:

1. It Starts with Team Buy-In

Any time there is a significant change (like a merger, for instance), quickly gaining team buy-in on a shared goal is the surest way to lay the groundwork for success. For Angi, it was important to quickly establish the idea that care would be operating as one team, moving forward with a shared goal of helping homeowners connect with service pros to get their project done.

2. When in Doubt, Double Down on Culture

Building and maintaining a strong company culture shows that a company values more than the bottom line — its values its people. Creating an environment of recognition and engagement is important for many reasons, but the biggest is this: Agent experience is the cornerstone of a great customer experience. If agents are happy and cared for, an organization is already halfway home to providing an exceptional customer experience.

3. Agents Want to Solve Issues

If you’re hiring the right people, your hiring agents will get fulfillment from resolving issues and advocating on behalf of customers. Any barriers that stand in the way of this can be counterproductive in a variety of ways. In other words, if customers are frustrated by gaps and disconnects in tools and/or processes, chances are agents will be dissatisfied too. Create mechanisms for spotting and correcting these types of issues to keep agents and customers happy.

4. Don’t Let Big Challenges Become Big Obstacles

Mergers and other significant changes can pose big challenges, challenges like competing backend systems, disconnected processes, and incompatible tools. But leaders can’t let these big challenges stand in the way of moving forward. Build a plan, reach for low hanging fruit first, and never lose focus on how each move impacts the customer.

5. A Mission Statement Shouldn’t Just Hang on a Wall

If a company’s mission isn’t embodied in action, it becomes very tough to rally the troops around any single initiative. Leaders need to play a critical role in turning mission into motion, and this is doubly true in a situation such as a merger, especially when the merging parties were once competitors. Living the mission is something that takes constant cultivation, but the payoff is immense if the right mission is met with the right amount of enthusiasm.

Merging with the competition is one thing, but standing out from the competition is yet another. If a merger isn’t in your future, but getting noticed by new and existing customers is, consider having a look at the Fall 2021 CRS event panel session highlighted below. Learn how your brand can use artificial intelligence to break away from the competition.

Be sure to check it out:
Personalization as a Differentiator: Using AI to Stand Out in a “Sea of Sameness”

The post Fall 2021 CRS & Five Key Takeaways from Five Keynotes — Part 4: Angi appeared first on Execs In The Know.

If you have yet to tune in to the Fall 2021 CRS virtual event, you can watch many sessions on-demand.
Registration is simple, free, and it takes only a minute to get immediate online access to this insightful content.

To help highlight some of the amazing ideas that came out of these sessions, we’ve created a five-part blog series — each focusing on a particular keynote session. In Part 3, we share Randy Bassett’s and DISH Network’s unique approach to agent coaching, and how it has led to award-winning customer experience.

Why DISH Network Keeps Winning JD Power Awards

Randy Bassett
General Manager, Vendor Relationship
DISH Network

Click to sign in or register to watch Randy’s Fall 2021 CRS presentation.

Randy shares why the “DISH Way” is the secret ingredient in DISH Network’s ability to wrangle so many customer service awards from JD Power in the Paid TV space. Specifically, DISH Network’s innovative “Shared Coaching” approach positions both agents and coaches for achieving their true potential through a carefully designed process of ongoing improvement, ultimately delivering an unrivalled experience. Combined with “Development Plans” that truly develop, and an unmatched set of agent tools, DISH Network has implemented an approach both unique and effective in its development of its people.

1. Shared Coaching Plays to Strengths

Using a shared coaching approaching helps maximize strengths and more effectively address weaknesses, both for agents and coaches. Pairing agents with rotating coaches means agents can focus on specific areas of concern. Furthermore, they can benefit by being paired with a coach who specializes in coaching in those same areas.

2. A Development Plan Should Actually Develop

If done right, a development plan isn’t reactive, it’s proactive. At DISH Network, every agent has a development plan, as does every coach. For agents, the plan is often built around skills. And for coaches, often career. The objective is not just to get better in real time, but to also prepare for that next promotion or other growth opportunity.

3. Empower Agents to Provide Feedback

It can be a change of pace for some organizations (and change can be hard), but empowering agents to provide honest and constructive feedback on coaches, process, activities, etc., can be a valuable resource for pinpointing opportunities for improvement. The same goes for coaches providing feedback on managers. This can also be done with varying degrees of anonymity to help elicit greater participation.

4. Tools Are Critical

Agents can work effectively only if their tools are working. It’s that simple. If done right, agent tools hold answers, and agents are simply expert users. But like people, tools can also be improved so it’s important to tap agent intelligence on this front. Using agent feedback is a great way to identify gaps, pain points, or ideas for improvement. Afterall, no one knows agent tools better than agents.

5. Team Strategy Must Align with Overall Goals

From broad company initiatives to quarterly priorities, teams are most effective when they align the day-to-day strategy with the wider mission of the organization. Of course, communication is a key enabler, as is the presence of an accommodating company culture. But when priorities converge and all ships are pointed in the same direction, small wins are almost always amplified.

Bold innovations take bold leadership and unyielding vision. As more and more companies look to standout out among the competition, the right leadership pieces have to be in place. One of those pieces is the Chief Customer Officer (CCO). If this is a role you’d like to know more about, you should know the Fall 2021 CRS event featured a special panel discussion devoted to the topic.

Be sure to check it out:
The Rise of the CCO

The post Fall 2021 CRS & Five Key Takeaways from Five Keynotes — Part 3: DISH Network appeared first on Execs In The Know.

If you have yet to tune in to the Fall 2021 CRS virtual event, you can watch many sessions on-demand.
Registration is simple, free, and it takes only a minute to get immediate online access to this insightful content.

To help highlight some of the amazing ideas that came out of these sessions, we’ve created a five-part blog series — each focusing on a particular keynote session. In Part 2, we highlight Jamie Hudson’s story of transformation as she and her team tackled the challenges brought about by the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

Evolving Customer Experiences Through a Pandemic

Jamie Hudson
Vice President of Global Support & Services
Malwarebytes

Click to sign in or register to watch Jamie’s Fall 2021 CRS presentation.

Like many, Jamie and her team were faced with some serious challenges in March 2020. With the world shifting to work-from-home (WFH) and relying on digital devices more than ever before, Malwarebytes’ support team was faced with a doubling of ticket volume and no additional budget to tackle the increase, all while also managing their own shift to WFH. As customer expectations evolved, so too did Malwarebytes’ approach to support, turning to deflection-inducing innovations, including internal collaboration with product and engineering, as well as the introduction of a new chatbot to reduce ticket volumes. The result has created a 30% reduction in pre-pandemic ticket volume, happier agents, and more satisfied customers. Here are some highlights of the insights Jamie shared:

1. Mapping Out Top Volume Drivers

Is your organization seeking to reduce support and ticket volume? Start by mapping out the top drivers of your volume and get an understanding of which contact types are complex and require a human, and which might be able to be handled by self-help solutions.

2. You Have Allies on the Inside

While the introduction of automated solutions can help reduce support volume, so too can collaboration with internal teams like product, marketing, and engineering. Take the time to share data on what’s driving volume, surface common customer friction points, and tackle problems upstream. Everyone at your organization wants what’s best for the customer, but for that to happen, the customer’s story must first be shared.

3. Chatbots are Good; Smart Chatbots are Better

Basic chatbots are good at handling very low-hanging fruit, but smart chatbots (those powered by artificial intelligence [AI]) are even better at reducing support volume and arming agents with the right information. If your goal is to reduce volume and create a better experience for agents and customers, consider a collaborative chatbot designed to empower (rather than replace) agents.

4. Proactive Support Is Superb Support

Proactive support is addressing an issue before it is raised by the customer. Taking this approach to care requires superb internal communications, a deep understanding of current and potential friction points, and the flexibility to adjust processes. Because when proactive support is done correctly, major disruptions can become minor speedbumps.

5. Empowered Agents = Happy Customers

When agents have the tools they need, they are positioned to create happy customers. Custom dashboards can help give agents all the information they need to shift a simple support engagement into a value-add moment. Whether it’s product education, proactive support, or something else altogether, creating wholistic experiences creates happy customers.

As you can see, CX technology is always a big part of the story. Want to learn more about building out a competitive CX technology stack? You’re in luck! The Fall 2021 CRS event featured a tech-driven panel discussion focused on the latest and greatest CX technology.

Be sure to check it out:
Building Your CX Technology Stack

The post Fall 2021 CRS & Five Key Takeaways from Five Keynotes — Part 2: Malwarebytes appeared first on Execs In The Know.

If you have yet to tune in to the Fall 2021 CRS virtual event, you can watch many sessions on-demand.
Registration is simple, free, and it takes only a minute to get immediate online access to this insightful content.

To help highlight some of the amazing ideas that came out of these sessions, we’ve created a five-part blog series — each focusing on a particular keynote session. In Part 1, we highlight some of the key takeaways from Craig Barnes as he shares a little bit about Williams-Sonoma, Inc.’s digital transformation journey.

Taking a Digital-First (But Not Digital-Only) Approach to Customer Care

Craig Barnes
Senior Vice President, Customer Care and Retail Store Operations
Williams-Sonoma Inc.

Click to sign in or register to watch Craig’s Fall 2021 CRS presentation.

Craig provided a panoramic view of his brand’s transformation from a single hardware store in Sonoma, California to an iconic brick-and-mortar and eCommerce leader. Although the shift to digital was both necessary and a long time coming, Williams-Sonoma has taken a cautious, balanced approach — keeping a close eye on how the shift has impacted the customer experience, both in-store and online. Furthermore, the brand has managed to use change (such as change brought about by the pandemic) as an enabler for identifying and closing gaps between digital and in-store experiences, bringing new innovations to its customers. Here a glimpse of some of the insights he shared:

1. Digital Means a More Challenging Delivery

The more digital-focused a company becomes, the tougher it is to deliver the perfect experience. To maximize efforts, consider focusing on the most common journeys, whether those experiences be digital or traditional.

2. Digital Can Create Powerful, Personalized Experiences

A digital-first approach can help create personalized experiences by tapping into a wealth of customer data like purchase history and shopping interests. Digital is an important and essential evolution, but it should never happen at the expense of creating great experiences.

3. Brand-Specific Support Has Its Advantages

After swinging toward integrated brand support, an upsurge in sales support volume within the contact center saw Williams-Sonoma shift back to brand-specific support. Not only were agents happy to narrow their focus to a single brand, but both CSAT and NPS scores benefitted.

4. Be Careful of Manual Processes When Monitoring Performance

Data can be incredibly enabling, but only if you are able to pinpoint what matters most in the mountain of data a CX program can produce. Analytic tools can help accomplish this, turning program data into actionable insights. You have the data, so it’s time to put it to work.

5. Don’t Shy Away from Traditional Solutions

Although Williams-Sonoma has upped its digital game, the company is not afraid to revisit the tried and true if it makes sense. For a sticky, complex issue, consider a proactive phone call versus an email. This can have a very positive impact on the customer experience, even if the ultimate outcome is a voicemail message, it’s still an opportunity to leave a positive impression.

Are you progressing through your own digital transformation? If so, you’ll want to ensure you have a solid data strategy in place. Luckily, the Fall 2021 CRS event featured an amazing panel discussion packed with CX data strategy tips, tricks, and best practices.

Be sure to check it out:
Getting Ready for What Comes Next — Key Trends Driving Your Data Strategy

The post Fall 2021 CRS & Five Key Takeaways from Five Keynotes — Part 1: Williams-Sonoma, Inc. appeared first on Execs In The Know.