{"id":26470,"date":"2023-02-20T17:37:42","date_gmt":"2023-02-20T17:37:42","guid":{"rendered":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/?p=26470"},"modified":"2023-11-27T19:38:24","modified_gmt":"2023-11-27T19:38:24","slug":"agent-centric-contact-centre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/agent-centric-contact-centre\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Is an Agent-Centric Contact Centre Important?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Your agents are your contact centre\u2019s biggest asset. So how do you recruit and retain the best people? It\u2019s a tough market right now. Last year, the 2022 Contact Centre Challenges and Priority Study<\/span><\/a> found that 41% of respondents said their biggest challenge was hiring and recruiting, while 19% said high attrition rates. These key challenges are set to endure, as contact centre businesses begin to recognise that happier staff equate to happier customers.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no longer enough to increase wages or offer perks or incentives like flexible working. To set yourself apart from other contact centres<\/a>, you need to make work more engaging and purposeful. In short, you need to become more agent-centric.<\/p>\n

\r\n\t\r\n\t

\r\n\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\"Listening\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t
2022 Guide to Leading an Agent-Centric Contact Centre<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRing Central Logo<\/title>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg><\/span><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\tDownload the guide\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\tRing Central Logo<\/title>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/path>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/path>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/svg><\/span><\/a>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\r\n\t<\/p>\n

Processes that empower agents<\/b><\/h2>\n

Are your contact centre processes empowering your agents, or disempowering them? When employees are given more meaningful work, they will be more engaged<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Take self-service tools. They\u2019ve become popular in contact centres because they can reduce costs, contribute to customer satisfaction, and offer a consistent customer experience. However, sometimes the technologies fail to meet expectations, and sometimes agents aren\u2019t equipped to handle the more complex work that comes through as a result.<\/p>\n

To overcome these obstacles, agent-centric leaders need to:<\/p>\n

1. Thoughtfully design and continuously evaluate the effectiveness of self-service<\/b>. You can do this by using a customer access strategy<\/span><\/a>, which helps you consider the different variables and adapt your plan over time.<\/p>\n

2. As automation increases, engage agents in evaluating, planning and evolving their new roles<\/b>. You could design a \u2018voice of the agent\u2019 programme or similar, so that staff can share the daily problems they have and their ideas on how to resolve these.<\/p>\n

When you do both things, your processes can empower your agents to make a greater impact, rather than stifle them. You might also discover valuable insights that enable the business to grow and improve.<\/p>\n

Technology that supports agent-centricity<\/b><\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

Most contact centres still have siloed technology solutions that add complexity and limit the business\u2019 ability to collect and act on data. However, if you invest in technology that makes work easier and less repetitive, this improves both EX (employee experience) and CX (customer experience). Focus on three key areas:<\/p>\n

1. Go digital first<\/a><\/b> \u2013 Use digital, self-service capabilities to eliminate transactional tasks from the agent\u2019s workload and make life easier for the customer.<\/p>\n

2. Use AI to break boredom and assist agents<\/b> \u2013 It can eliminate your agents\u2019 repetitive and low-value tasks, like copying data across systems. Good AI can also give recommendations and guidance to agents, saving them time and resulting in faster resolutions.<\/p>\n

3. Provide one environment and one view of the customer<\/b> \u2013 Instead of relying on multiple, disconnected solutions, consolidate all these into a single, integrated environment. Your agents\u2019 productivity and satisfaction levels will increase because they\u2019ll be able to monitor all channels and see a customer\u2019s full contact history in one place. They\u2019ll also only have one system to learn.<\/p>\n

Start becoming an agent-centric leader<\/b><\/h2>\n

So, are you ready to make the change? Follow this three-step process to get started today:<\/p>\n

1. Work out which processes need to change <\/b>\u2013 Start by asking your agents. Pose open questions like, \u2018What\u2019s the number one thing that prevents you from providing a great customer experience?\u2019 and \u2018What should our contact centre start and stop doing?\u2019<\/p>\n

2. Start changing them<\/b> \u2013 Come up with a plan that takes forward your employees\u2019 ideas and empowers them to do their best work.<\/p>\n

3. Choose technology<\/b> that helps rather than hinders<\/b> \u2013 If you\u2019ve completed steps 1 and 2 and now know it\u2019s your tools that are holding you back, then start to transform your technology. Look for solutions that genuinely help your agents, and consolidate multiple solutions into one integrated environment.<\/p>\n

Becoming more agent-centric always pays off, through increased employee engagement and reduced attrition rates. This of course leads to a better experience for your customers too. To learn more about this subject, download our 2022 Guide to Leading an Agent-Centric Contact Centre<\/span><\/a>, created with Metric Sherpa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Your agents are your contact centre\u2019s biggest asset. So how do you recruit and retain the best people? It\u2019s a tough market right now. Last year, the 2022 Contact Centre … Read more “Why Is an Agent-Centric Contact Centre Important?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":244,"featured_media":26483,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,16],"tags":[24,33,157],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Is an Agent-Centric Contact Centre Important? | RingCentral UK Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"our agents are your contact centre\u2019s biggest asset. So how do you recruit and retain the best people? It\u2019s a tough market right now. Last year, th\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/gb\/en\/blog\/agent-centric-contact-centre\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"RingCentral Team\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why Is an Agent-Centric Contact Centre Important? | RingCentral UK Blog","description":"our agents are your contact centre\u2019s biggest asset. So how do you recruit and retain the best people? It\u2019s a tough market right now. Last year, th","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/gb\/en\/blog\/agent-centric-contact-centre\/","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"RingCentral Team","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":":\/gb\/en\/blog\/agent-centric-contact-centre\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/agent-centric-contact-centre\/"},"author":{"name":"RingCentral Team","@id":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/cc4f043d2b478862a8622c28b0ebd08c"},"headline":"Why Is an Agent-Centric Contact Centre Important?","datePublished":"2023-02-20T17:37:42+00:00","dateModified":"2023-11-27T19:38:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/agent-centric-contact-centre\/"},"wordCount":705,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["contact centre","customer engagement","customer experience"],"articleSection":["Contact Centre","Customer Experience"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":[":\/gb\/en\/blog\/agent-centric-contact-centre\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/agent-centric-contact-centre\/","url":":\/gb\/en\/blog\/agent-centric-contact-centre\/","name":"Why Is an Agent-Centric Contact Centre Important? | RingCentral UK Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-02-20T17:37:42+00:00","dateModified":"2023-11-27T19:38:24+00:00","description":"our agents are your contact centre\u2019s biggest asset. So how do you recruit and retain the best people? It\u2019s a tough market right now. Last year, th","breadcrumb":{"@id":":\/gb\/en\/blog\/agent-centric-contact-centre\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":[":\/gb\/en\/blog\/agent-centric-contact-centre\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":":\/gb\/en\/blog\/agent-centric-contact-centre\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"RingCentral Blog","item":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Customer Experience"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/#website","url":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/","name":"RingCentral UK Blog","description":"RingCentral News and Tips","publisher":{"@id":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/#organization","name":"RingCentral UK","url":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/ringcentral-logo.png","contentUrl":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/ringcentral-logo.png","width":1921,"height":416,"caption":"RingCentral UK"},"image":{"@id":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/cc4f043d2b478862a8622c28b0ebd08c","name":"RingCentral Team","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/rcbloguk.wpengine.com\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/rc-profile-photo\/images\/default-avatar.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/rcbloguk.wpengine.com\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/rc-profile-photo\/images\/default-avatar.png","caption":"RingCentral Team"},"url":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/author\/ringcentral-team\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26470"}],"collection":[{"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/244"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26470\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}