I recently spoke with a prospective client to get a better understanding of their customer journeys. During the conversation, it became apparent that their agents had become hamstrung by out-of-date technology and processes, coupled with a lack of integration across the business’s core systems. The contact center manager did a back-of-the-envelope calculation showing that their agents have to navigate 23 different systems and tabs during a single customer conversation. A simple task like changing a customer’s contact information might require updates in four separate systems. It’s no surprise, then, that the International Customer Management Institute has pegged the attrition rate for contact center agents as high as 33%, with the average longevity of a U.S. contact center employee sitting at only three years.
