Utilizing the cloud to integrate company-wide data has been one of the major trends in contact center management in recent history. With benefits including automatic data updates and accessibility from all devices, there are a large number of reasons that a contact center chooses to adopt the cloud as part of its normal business practices. There are, however, two sides to every argument.

Before getting swept off of your feet with the prospects of integration the cloud into your contact center, it can be helpful to look at the other end of the spectrum. The following list raises important questions to consider before investing in the technology and redesign the functions that your company may require when shopping for a cloud solution.

Hidden upgrade costs

As an integrated technology solution, the cloud requires continuous updates beyond the initial investment. Depending on the storage size and number of users linked to the system, these upgrade costs can be extremely costly, especially for small and medium sized contact centers.

Before making the initial investment in a cloud system, make sure you speak with the provider and thoroughly research the solution you want to purchase. Some simple research can help provide more transparency as to the upfront and continuing costs and, ultimately, help keep your contact center cost effective.

Vulnerability

One of the ideas sold with cloud solutions is its remote and virtual-based system, which ensures the safety of all of the data that is being stored. While it does operate remotely and virtually, the cloud is ultimately still tied to a physical location thus making it susceptible to natural disasters, power outages and physical attacks. To ensure security in the cloud, there are physical security and backup measures that can be implemented as add-ons to the basic system.

Backups, in fact, are a relatively low-cost add-on. Cloud solutions, in general, excel in the area of data recovery, which reduces the cost for contact centers to insure their information with backup systems. When purchasing a cloud solution, consider purchasing additional backups to protect yourself against any lost information and ensure quick recovery in the event that something does happen.

Start with the basics

A major benefit, and little known fact, about the cloud is its scalability. As your business grows, it is natural that you may require additional functions or licenses to be added on. As a smaller contact center, or one only experimenting with a cloud solution, you can start with the “basics” and purchase a single license. As you gain size and trust in the system, it is easy to add additional licenses to meet increased demand, for example.

This facilitated scalability allows companies to save high initial costs and complex system integration. Instead, companies can make a more gradual transition as they feel comfortable.

Cloud solutions are an extremely valuable system for contact centers to implement. With so many benefits, it is important to also consider some lesser known information before taking the plunge and purchasing the solution for your contact center.

For more information about management solutions for contact centers, contact KOVA today.

 

Contact Center workers

Workforce management is a software solution that can benefit nearly every type of company. As a tool that streamlines a variety of business processes, it is versatile and boasts a large number of benefits. Designed to work across all facets of an organization, it can provide detailed forecasting for scheduling accuracy, design balanced work patterns and individually targeted service-level goals.

With such a large number of companies looking to invest in this type of software, it can be difficult to know exactly what features should be considered a necessity and which ones are more of a luxury.

Below are some of the key features to look for when buying a workforce management solution (WFM).

Ease of use across platforms

In today’s business environment, there are number of different devices that contact center employees’ use over the course of the work week. From PCs to Macs to smartphones and tablets, it is vital that your WFM solution is adaptable and responsive to be accessed across as many of these platforms as possible.

By ensuring that the WFM solution can work across all platforms, it facilitates use by allowing employees to access schedules, request holidays and perform shift swaps, for example. Increased usability can be a motivator for employees, facilitator of the work-life balance and, ultimately, lead to an increased level of customer service in the contact center as a whole.

Allow full integration

Month-to-month and year-to-year, the amount of data that contact centers accrue continues to increase. With such a high volume of data and information, it is important that all data, no matter the method of collection, can be integrated and incorporated into each aspect of the business.

Immediate integration of data eliminates the need for importing, exporting or uploading data overnight. Automatic integration across the entire system facilitates the decision-making process and helps the contact center run more smoothly and efficiently.

Among the systems that should be integrated, integration with the cloud will provide the most direct link to the majority of company and customer-level information. In addition, integration of call routing, quality monitoring and any other company wide software solutions can help your contact center stay on top of company-wide analytics and progress.

Forecast based on historic data

One of the major challenges in any contact center is to model and predict the future of the business. With a WFM solution, organizations can effectively model and predict based on the historic data stored in the system. This data can be compared to marketing plans, demand forecasts and other changes such as a new production addition. By allowing the full integration of this information, the WFM solution can create a more efficient use of company resources, forecasted much more accurately.

At KOVA, the Verint Media Recorder Workforce Management Software works to provide a balance of necessity and luxury included in its features. For more information on workforce management solutions and how to outfit your contact center with the best software programs, contact us today.

When it comes to managing data, call center managers experience many of the challenges that other professionals do: data overload. In a recent survey of 542 call center professionals, WhitePages reported that less than 60% of call centers are able to pass on actionable data about customer satisfaction to agents. The result, according to the survey, is an inability to focus strategically on customer service.

The Wide World Of Data

The survey revealed that the industry is all over the map when it comes to generating and analyzing data. The WhitePages survey finds that while half of call centers gather data for the purposes of analyzing customer satisfaction, more than a third don’t gather any; fifteen percent of those surveyed gather data, but don’t use it.  Two thirds of those queried state that the primary use for this data is assessing agents’ performance. Across the board, managers complain of too much data and little practical value of data.

Customer Satisfaction

It might seem that data gathering and Enterprise Feedback Management (EFP) software are second fiddle to agent performance and training. But Forrester Research reports that improving customer experience by as little as 10% can result in significant growth in revenue. Currently:

WhitePages Director of Accounts John Neely, himself a former call center manager, sees the need for practical data. “You’re not going to enable agents to take the next step in customer satisfaction until you’ve empowered them with the supporting data to deal with the purpose of the call. First contact resolution has always been paramount, but its smarter to stay with a customer as long as is needed to solve the problem. Companies should take a look at the experience they provide online and try to replicate that in their call centers.”

Outdated Systems Dilute Data

Archaic EFP can result not only in less data generated and captured, it also drastically reduces agent productivity where those outmoded systems require manual data entry. More than 40% of customer contact information is still manually input by an agent instead of being fed through an automated API or Web-based system -- half of call center agents say they face significant productivity challenges because they must query customers for basic contact information.

Neely understands that senior management can look at call centers with different expectations from those held by call center managers.  “At one company where I ran the call center, I used to get ice water in my veins when the CFO would approach me and quiz me about how many people I needed to get the job done. They continue to look at contact centers as cost centers instead of revenue centers.”

To be successful, corporate management must set clear expectations for call centers, and then put in place the tools that will allow agents to succeed. If a business decides to use a call center to sell or upsell products and services, that decision needs to be supported by a complementary process.

Focusing Data

Once clear sales objectives are in place, EFP should undergo a serious reevaluation in light of concrete sales targets. Data systems need updating so that agents have instant access to critical information: who’s calling, the age group they’re in, previous purchases, etc.

Training based on the sales expectations and reinforced by a modern, efficient EFP that manages not only the customer experience, but an individual agent’s performance, lays the groundwork for a better call center – and that means happy customers and revenue growth.

“Companies need to distribute the right data to agents to make centers more actionable,” Neely says. “In a competitive and commoditized business environment, you have to look at call centers as a competitive advantage. Agents able to use the training they’ve been given are happier in their jobs. They’ll stay longer in what is a high-turnover profession and the company will see results improve.”

KOVA – Enterprise Management Solutions For All Aspects Of Call Center Performance

If your management system has gone from a solution to a conundrum, it may be time to replace it. KOVA has a wide array of scalable solutions that can smooth processes by automating them, as well as making reporting more robust and actionable by giving users options for accessing and displaying data in real time. Agent training can be automated so that KPIs determine learning modules for individual agents or your entire team.

KOVA has the tools to fit your company’s unique needs. Contact us today and learn how state-of-the-art EFP can revolutionize your business and increase your revenue.

Managing a contact center is all about problem solving. You are presented every day with issues from corporate you need to address, personnel issues that require coaching, and logistics conundrums that must be fixed. It can seem as though the problems never end, and there is little help in sight.

Unless you have your own personal Think Tank.

By harnessing the power of your own employees, you can engage top performers to take responsibility and action on some of your toughest issues. As a result, you’ll have a more dedicated workforce and quicker turn around for your issues.

There are many issues your Think Tank can address, including queue management strategies, quality assurance improvement, employee training and development, and team member incentives. By including your own personnel in these discussions, you will gain more ideas and better buy-in for changes.

Sound too good to be true? It’s not. And you have all the resources you need right in front of you.

Your top performers are eager to take a greater role in their future and that of the company. Let them make their voices heard by including them in a Think Tank group.

Benefits

There are many benefits to instituting a Think Tank in your Contact Center. The greatest is employee morale. You want to see attrition decline and employee satisfaction remain high for your most promising talent, and giving them increased responsibility is a sure way to keep them motivated. Top performers appreciate the acknowledgement by management that their contribution and insight matters; they feel reciprocated for their hard work and dedication. It is also satisfying to be identified among their peers as exemplary. The brief hour or two off the floor to discuss Think Tank issues is a privilege team members don’t take lightly. Becoming a recognized member of the Think Tank, then, is a coveted spot that motivates employees to achieve.

The Think Tank also gives further opportunity for advancement, as in this problem-solving environment top performers can demonstrate to their peers and management their problem solving and team work skills. You will be able to observe which team members are able to persuasively motivate their peers toward action as well as how thoroughly they understand the industry and company. This helps management make better decisions for advancement.

Most of all, the Think Tank will enable a faster turn-around for problems. Harnessing the wisdom that “many heads are better than one,” your contact center will benefit from greater perspective on troubling issues facing your contact center staff or customers. By including their front-lines experience, they can guard against costly mistakes or unrealistic expectations and present workable solutions that benefit everyone – customer, representative, and company.

The benefits of instituting a Think Tank are numerous and compelling. Agile companies know it takes a thorough understanding and quick solutions to stay on top. Begin today by instituting your own Think Tank to get results faster. And don’t forget to include us at KOVA; we are here to make sure your contact center succeeds.

The reality facing today’s public safety and security communities is that the technological infrastructure supporting situation management is often complex and inefficient. Employing a mixture of systems, these elements are often based on proprietary platforms that make it difficult to unify emergency communication. Imagine having one interface that takes relevant data from all of your solutions, allowing you to get all the information you need in one application.  That is what Verint SMC can do for you.

An Open, Scalable, Expandable Platform

Verint SMC is a powerful solution that unifies divergent systems, improving security and increasing the efficiency of situation management. As technology continues to develop at faster and faster rates, public safety and law enforcement officials increasingly face a plethora of solutions that function as disconnected systems. The major hurdle for emergency response officials is the lack of a consistent system facilitating communication and data gathering and sharing.

 

Verint SMC: The Future of Situation Management

When integration is your biggest concern about emergency and security communication systems, Verint SMC is your path to bringing divergent systems into focus.

Providing overlay to increase situation management and improve security and safety of people, property and assets, the SMC solution provides dependable support for all your needs.

Investigation And Debriefing

 Real-Time Situation Awareness

 Preventive Intelligence

 Efficient Response And Notification

Planning And Compliance

When Integration Is Critical

Verint SMC can integrate a wide variety of solutions and devices, including:

Verint SMC brings the latest in expanded technologies and integrations to ensure that your security intelligence and public safety system are integrated for optimal event management.

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