How (And Why) The Nature Of Work Is Changing

The addition of new generations to the workplace, the lasting effects of the pandemic on consumer and employee behaviour, and the need for resilience amid economic uncertainty have combined to create a perfect storm of challenges for call centers.

For the first time in history, four generations are working side by side in the workplace: Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z. Among other differences, each generation has different communication preferences:

• Previous generations have generally relied on voice and synchronous communications, which means interactions that take place in real-time (and also require immediate response).
• Younger generations, for their part, are increasingly prone to using asynchronous modes of communication without voice, such as mobile applications (for instance, social networks, messaging, social monitoring, etc.). These interactions are characterized by back-and-forth communications that allow time between responses.

The Use of New Means of Communication Has Become Intergenerational

However, the pandemic served as a catalyst for digital transformation, increasing the adoption of digital channels and the technological knowledge of the workforce in general. As a result, the use of new modes of communication has become intergenerational. Regardless of age, employees are now familiar with using collaborative tools as part of their daily interactions at work.

And, as people of all ages have become more accustomed to using new communication methods at work, this familiarity has extended into their personal lives as well. That means both Gen Z and Boomers rely on asynchronous, voiceless interactions when communicating with the companies they buy from. Baby Boomers are now the fastest growing demographic on social media, increasingly using it for customer service.

Why the Nature of Work Is Changing

The pandemic also caused many people to revaluate their habits and preferences, including whom and at what pace they did business with. This reassessment of priorities, coupled with new digital channels, means that it is the customer, not the company, who has power over when and where (on which channel) interactions occur.

At the same time, the pandemic forced organizations and employees alike to figure out how to work in a fully remote environment, and this changed everything we thought about managing the workforce, managing contacts, and connecting with others. Instead of having to complete one part of the job (for example, answering a customer’s call) while the agent was in the office, the agent became a participant in a workflow with many on-going activities (such as responding to email to a customer whose interaction had started with another agent via chat the day before).

How the Nature of Work Is Changing

Companies then began to rethink how to design workspaces that were more dynamic and adaptable to the needs of employees, much like the home environment. This is about creating an environment in which employees, regardless of level, role or job assignment, have easy access to the people and resources needed to solve customer problems.

These changes are occurring at a time when organizations are facing a growing need for resilience. With the potential of a looming recession adding an element of uncertainty to the workplace, companies are recognizing the need to offer employees the ability and flexibility to stay engaged in a fluid business landscape. Making hours and roles more flexible is a key way to enable operational resiliency.

Scheduling flexibility allows companies with shift workers to scale up and hire staffing levels based on demand. And with employees increasingly demanding control over how and when they work, flexible schedules have become an important way to keep employees happy, a critical consideration given that employees are one of the crucial aspects of keeping a business running afloat during difficult times.

This has resulted in a much more flexible workspace, which goes hand in hand with much more accommodative planning, scheduling and forecasting. Companies are increasingly rethinking the work environment itself and the activities assigned to contact center agents.

What Is the End Result?

Today’s work environment is very different from what it was a few years ago. With four generations in the workforce, organizations are expected to meet vastly different expectations and communication preferences from an increasingly tech-savvy workforce.

The Enreach Omnichannel Contact Center agent module allows you to connect with customers through their favourite channels: WhatsApp, WebChat, SMS, email, phone calls, via the web…

Likewise, employee productivity improves thanks to a single web interface where all conversations are managed, messages can be personalized with icons and rich texts, create predefined responses, classify interactions, add notes, reschedule calls, transfer conversations and show your availability with customizable statuses.

In addition, to optimize the work of agents and improve the customer experience (CX), the Omnichannel Contact Center has the option of integration with the main CRMs on the market to manage calls, customize flows, automate ticket creation, record information or create reports.