A number of operational and technological let-downs have disillusioned the contact centre industry, says Simon Cranswick, General Manager of Customer Interactive Solutions for Dimension Data`s Western Cape region. "It has forced many enterprises to look hard before leaping into anything `new` in the market."
Organisations are increasingly discerning and require a strong business case prior to making any new investments, he says. "Extensive and thorough assessments are carried out to determine what the overall impact of the new technology will be on the organisation and its customers."
It is now quite a common occurrence that a paid-for pilot implementation is exercised as a Phase 1 of an enterprise-wide deployment. "Companies want to first determine the validity of the projected return on investment (ROI) and garner transition management gaps before a roll-out to all business units is effected," explains Cranswick.
"If the transformation does not meet at least one of the key drivers (growth in revenue, lowered operational costs, increased efficiency, or healthier market differentiation), then it might be better not to execute it at all.
"Sometimes, the benefits of deploying a new technology are obvious enough to negate lengthy and in-depth analysis." In such a case, especially if competitive pressure is an issue, it is better to go ahead with the implementation as swiftly as possible," Cranswick advises. "Should any uncertainty exist with regards to organisational/customer impact or derived value, however, it is best to still first run a pilot implementation with a `go/no go` milestone to proceed with further roll-out."
Industry challenges have led to increasingly discerning procurement processes and a much more consultative approach to selling, according to Cranswick. "A clear ROI is critical for these types of investments to be considered as enablers in the first place. It concerns an adjustment in the relationship dynamics between an organisation and its IT supplier - one that is conducive to collaborative partnering and not one which languishes in the transactional buyer/vendor state of yesteryear!"
Industry disappoints
According to Cranswick, the more notable industry failures include:
* Workforce management (WFM)
While WFM has been highly functional for a number of years, there are only a handful of organisations in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region that are deriving real value from it. There is a definite lack of understanding with regards to what skills are required for successful operation. Organisations have been following the agent/supervisor hierarchy as a means to select and `skill-up` a WFM manager/planner. This has proven to be a less optimal approach than appointing someone with a strong background in statistics, who then complements that foundation with the workings of the contact centre.
* Customer relationship management (CRM) applications
CRM applications were viewed as the industry "silver bullet" in the early to mid 90s. Many investments were made not only in the applications themselves, but in the customisation and `tailoring` of them to a business`s specific needs. This resulted in many organisations not being able to upgrade the applications when necessary, due to mass customisation of the code base. Companies were forced to dispose of their expensive packaged applications and replace them with home-grown ones. In reality, CRM should not simply be viewed as an application, but rather as an enabling framework. It is important to note though that a well planned and implemented CRM framework can have enormous value to an organisation that places customer experience at the heart of its operations and differentiation strategies.
* Speech recognition
In the MEA market, speech recognition technologies have proven to be some of the most disappointing. Due to Africa`s various languages and dialects (that are not shared outside of each country), the market has remained stunted.
Organisations would be better off investing in voice biometrics or speaker verification technologies where the return on investment is not reliant on understanding what is being communicated. The benefits in terms of efficiency gains and protection of customer identity are also easily measured.
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