Investing in contact centres

Seventy-five percent of the cost involved in running a contact centre is expended on personnel. The remaining 25% of the costs are usually attributable to the IT systems, telecommunications connections and other operational issues.

It is interesting to note that in many cases, these lesser-cost drivers are often the areas to which CIOs and decision-makers look when attempting to save on the overall expenditure.

However, what is often missed is that research has shown that even a 10% improvement in staff efficiency is worth about three times the overall savings to be made by cutting down on technology expenditure.

Enhanced agent efficiency unquestionably results in better customer service, which in turn is usually the key motivation behind the establishment of a contact centre.

Therefore, any expenditure on systems or technology that serves to improve people`s efficiency will generate worthwhile savings.

A number of factors need to be considered to ensure technology investments are made wisely and achieve the desired outcomes - notably cost-effectiveness and better service delivery.

Any expenditure on systems or technology that serves to improve people`s efficiency will generate worthwhile savings.

Paul Fick, MD of Spescom DataFusion

The critical part of the process is the initial planning, consultation and evaluation of the supplier`s ability to perform in these areas. The selection of a supplier with a field-proven history of success in the contact centre arena is the crucial first step for companies aiming to establish a contact centre.

It is essential that the supplier understands the customer`s needs and the way their business processes function, and carefully analyses the techniques being used by agents in the contact centre environment.

I have seen cases where agents are opening about 14 screens to answer a customer query and then using cut-and-paste to move information between the different applications. However, use of the right technology can translate into a 10-minute call cycle being reduced to two minutes - and apart from being more efficient, it also leaves a much better impression with the caller.

If agents can answer queries without having to put people on hold or transfer them to other departments, again the outcome is an effective contact centre that delivers better customer satisfaction. It is also more cost-effective due to greater staff efficiency.

Recruitment, training, assessing and managing staff is essential to achieve these goals. Moreover, it must be realised that, in the modern world of converged communications, the technology must also support the multimedia interaction channels such as fax and e-mail. Many transactions require verification and the agents must be able to see related documents that are received through other channels and be capable of linking these to the original and any subsequent calls.

Contact centre customers can be positioned to maximise service levels and reduce costs through the purchase of not only the correct technology but also the correct support and advice from a carefully selected supplier, capable of fulfilling all of the requirements under one roof.