The current moment is all about making better connections; connections with the workforce, with the customer and with new technologies. Customer expectations for personalised service and digitally driven experiences have never been higher. And conversely, there’s never been more pressure on organisations to deliver these exceptional experiences.
At the heart of this customer-centric climate are the service team members. In an uncertain time when many workers are having to adapt to massive change, it’s crucial that businesses support their service teams in every way possible. Not only does delivering a great employee experience drive engagement and build meaningful relationships, it also improves productivity and leads to increased customer satisfaction.
To find out how contact centres are adapting to change, IDC interviewed 400 European enterprises’ contact centre decision-makers during September and October of 2021. Let’s take a look at some numbers from the IDC survey to see how contact centres in Europe can optimise both their employee and customer experiences.
Workforce Engagement Drives Customer Satisfaction
IDC analysis from over 400 enterprise contact centre decision makers and professionals.
Customer satisfaction is the top priority for European contact centres
It’s no surprise that customer satisfaction tops the list of priorities for European contact centres, as customers have come to expect connected experiences. But IDC’s findings indicate that many service organisations are still at the beginning of their digital journey.
Customer satisfaction is ranked as the top business priority for European executives in 2021. It’s also the top goal for contact centre management.
Despite management’s focus on customer satisfaction, many contact centres are struggling to adapt to new expectations and increasingly complex customer problems. In fact, customer satisfaction is ranked as the top challenge contact centres are facing.
Salesforce’s State of the Connected Customer Report reveals that 76% of customers expect consistent interactions across departments, but over half say that it feels like departments don’t share information. With this in mind, connecting departments should be a priority for businesses that have yet to do so.
Workforce engagement and customer experience go hand in hand
It’s clear from the report that many contact centre decision-makers are focused on improving their customer experience by improving their employee experience.
66% of decision makers say that improved employee experience translates into higher customer satisfaction.
85% say that improved employee experience performance metrics have a positive impact on the customer experience.
Exceptional EX is one of the best ways to optimise CX, increase productivity and create a happier workplace.
Contact centres are turning to tech to navigate change
Contact centres are turbocharging their tech in order to give their teams the tools they need to succeed. Connecting processes, becoming more data-driven and having a 360-degree view of the customer are becoming imperatives for many organisations.
42% of surveyed executives say that modern digital tools are the top priority for better employee experiences.
Nearly 9 out of 10 executives say that technology and data play a vital role in delivering CX.
Having a 360-degree view of customer records is considered the top technology requirement, while agent access to customer data is the most important customer requirement.
Although we’ve seen a larger focus on empathetic messaging, the most important personal attribute of agents is that they work at the customer’s pace.
Customers clearly want agents who have a complete view of their needs, and who can creatively manage their problems in a timely manner. The implementation of self-service options is also on the rise, as chatbots rank as the second most important tech requirement for European contact centres.
When it comes to choosing a supplier, innovation is a key concern
We’re in a transformative moment, and decision makers are looking beyond the current climate when looking for a supplier. They want a partner that can not only help them keep up with the new expectations for connected experiences, but help to future-proof their organisation for whatever lies beyond the horizon.
90% of decision makers consider linking contact centre data and tools with those of marketing, sales and service departments to be important, but only 4% have completely achieved this goal.
69% have a strategic enterprise wide CX initiative that includes their contact centre(s) and prefer a single CX platform supplier.
The top concern when choosing that supplier is that they have a compelling vision for the future of contact centres.
Today’s contact centres want technology that can offer a 360-degree view of the customer, deliver analytical insights, provide real-time customer service metrics and surface suggestions for next best actions. Additionally, they need to provide their teams with software that enables all contact centre activities on a single screen.
Technology isn’t the only way to improve EX, but it’s a great enabler. With solutions like Service Cloud, organisations can offer a better experience for both their employees and their customers.
To see more insights about how contact centres are navigating change and preparing for the future, you can download the IDC report here.
