Poll Results In: Strategies for Dealing with Complex Contact Centre Operations

In this day and age, how do you effectively manage complex contact centre operations? That’s what we asked when we hosted an online seminar with Catherine Oehlers, Vice President Consumer at Masimo, Ryan Rubertazzi, Head of Assisted Sales & Early Life Care at Vodafone and Chief Growth Officer, Spencer Brooks at The Knowledge Group (tkg). We explored what the drivers of complexity are and what strategies were being adopted to manage this complexity within in the contact centre operation in order to maintain a consistent customer experience.

During the session, we ran a poll and asked the below questions with some interesting results:

First, what makes your contact centre operation complex?

This poll shows that contact centre operations are inherently complex due to the variety of factors and not surprisingly, the multiple channels, range of products and technology stack are amongst those that are causing organisations the most headache. Each of these factors adds layers of complexity to the contact centre operation, making it challenging for leaders to manage and enhance operational performance. Therefore, it is crucial for leaders of contact centre operations to understand and address these complexities effectively. But how?

That’s where we asked the next question; what strategies are you using today to manage the complex contact centre environment?

This poll demonstrates to effectively manage such a complex environment, leaders should have a multi-faceted approach that includes clear communication, strong collaboration, effective use of technology and data, defined roles and responsibilities, and strategic project management. By implementing these strategies, contact centre leaders can successfully navigate the challenges of a complex environment and provide exceptional service to their customers.

So, it is important for organisations to constantly assess and adapt their strategies in order to effectively manage the ever-evolving world of contact centre industry.

Ryan Rubertazzi, Head of Assisted Sales & Early Life Care at Vodafone says “In our industry, we all have the same pressures and problems, but for us, we look at the priorities and look to simplify what we can control the best we can. We also find involving the frontline in putting forward their ideas on products or processes has been a great step change and now it’s just part of our culture to do this, which helps to eliminate some of the complexities we face.”

It was interesting to hear from Spencer Brooks at The Knowledge Group talk about his experience of helping organisations manage their complexity and says: “Outsourcing brings expertise, but it doesn’t necessarily bring expertise in terms of what the product is. We should be clear that suppliers are really good at expertise in efficiency and effectiveness – combining this with internal knowledge around product and service, can bring flexibility and economies of scale… You’ve got to have your own house in order, understand what is happening at a local level, before outsourcing. Knowing what you do, knowing what you’re good at and knowing what you need help for, is key.”

Leigh Hopwood, CEO, CCMA summarised by saying “all the strategies have a part to play in managing the complexities highlighted in the first poll, but we’re seeing organisations lean on those strategies at the top more so than others. At the CCMA, we are always here to help organisations to navigate those complexities and help steer them in the right direction, it’s what we do best.”

Watch the recording here for the full discussion: