Upgrading to more modern call center software is certainly an important decision, not to be taken lightly, as the benefits can be substantial and far outweigh the costs.
5 Benefits Of Keeping Your Call Center Software Updated
1) Labor Cost Savings
a) Reduce Excess Staff
Up-to-date workforce management software can produce better forecasts, which means hiring plans and agent schedules will be more in line with what is actually needed to manage call volume.
b) Reduce Agent-assisted Contacts
IVRs (Interactive Voice Response) that allow self-service reduce the volume of calls reaching agents. Allowing users to perform everyday tasks like checking account balances or paying bills without the help of an agent increases efficiency.
c) Reduce Call Response Times
When agents are equipped with a unified desktop (because systems are easily integrated), management times decrease. This is because they don’t have to switch between multiple systems when handling callers. Instead, they can resolve queries quickly because everything they need is right at their fingertips.
d) Reduce Incoming Calls
Contact centers can reduce inbound calls by using proactive, automated outbound communication. Outbound bookmarks can send recorded messages by phone, text, and email to notify users of unforeseen events.
2) Income
a) Increase Conversion Rates
If your call center is sales oriented, you are likely to be on the lookout for conversion rates. Better quality monitoring software should help drive results by helping to identify and target specific behaviors that are barriers to converting prospects to customers.
b) Decrease Call Abandonment Rates
Most people can recognize incoming calls from sales or collections before the agent begins to speak. Users have enough time to hang up the phone. This makes the financial results of companies suffer. Industry-leading predictive dialers produce a higher connection rate by eliminating pause and connecting people to agents immediately.
3) Customer Experience
a) Better Client-Agent Match
One of the main functions of ACDs (Automatic Call Distribution) is to connect callers with agents. Modern ACDs not only search for any available agents, but they perform this match based on factors such as the agent’s skill set and the customer’s contact history. The sophisticated matchmaking routines are designed to connect users with the agents that are best suited to their problems. This should result in a higher First Contact Resolution (FCR) rate and a better customer experience.
b) Shorter Waiting Times
Users don’t like to wait for the “next available agent.” Workforce management tools can reduce the likelihood that they will have a long wait. More accurate forecasts and schedules not only avoid overstaffing, but also help call centers avoid understaffing. Having the correct number of agents in the contact center will reduce wait times, which will help improve the customer experience.
c) 24/7/365 Coverage
Users expect 24/7/365 customer support, but SMBs can find it difficult to justify the cost of staffing the call center outside of business hours. IVRs that enable self-service can meet this need at low cost.
d) CX Of Higher Quality And Consistency
When call centers use industry-leading performance and quality management applications, the customer experience can be improved. This is because the quality management process is simplified and identifies areas of focus more effectively. Additionally, performance management tools put data in the hands of managers. This combination allows agents to align with organizational quality and CX objectives.
4) Agent Experience
a) Improve To Promote Development
Who doesn’t want to improve at their job? The performance and quality tools mentioned above, as well as accessible agent dashboards, create an environment of continuous performance improvement.
b) Empower Agents With The Right Tools
Simplifying support systems and offering agents a unified desktop will enhance their experience. Not only will it make the troubleshooting process easier for them, but agents will feel more confident that they can help users. This will help with agent satisfaction and contribute to the retention of talent in the call centers.
5) Management Practices
a) Identify Trends And Causes
The best call center software leads to better call center management. Analytics tools collect this raw data and turn it into information so leaders can make decisions. For example, interaction analysis can analyze 100% of the calls and identify aspects such as customer opinion.
b) Have The Software Always Updated
The cloud-based contact center software offers the latest updates and access to the best features of both self-service (IVR) and call distribution (ACD) tools.