By: Subtonomy
From reactive crisis centers to proactive relationship hubs
Historically, most customer support resources in telecoms focused on managing incoming inquiries—ranging from complaints and support requests to informational needs and sales questions. Telecom call centers operated as reactive crisis management facilities, perceived primarily as cost centers, with their key performance indicators (KPIs) largely revolving around operational efficiency (such as answering calls swiftly and minimizing operational costs).
Utilizing real-time data and AI to transform telecom call center operations
Today, telecom companies are taking advantage of greater access to dependable, precise, and real-time data sources, along with AI-powered tools, to advance their concept of the call center in two primary ways.
- The call center is evolving from a crisis management facility into a relationship hub that enhances experiences, providing exceptional opportunities to boost business performance.
- They are transitioning to a hybrid model of call center operations, enabling agents to manage both incoming and outgoing calls.
Dynamic allocation – adjusting to call volumes in real-time
At the heart of these adjustments is a significant boost in operational flexibility, allowing agents to be allocated based on incoming call volumes. When there is a surge in inbound call volumes – such as during a major outage – several actions are triggered automatically:
- Outbound campaigns are temporarily halted, and agents are redirected to manage inbound calls.
- Smart customer support features start delivering targeted, proactive messages to customers, updating them on the situation and the measures being taken to minimize inbound calls.
- Chatbots are equipped with accurate data and messaging to efficiently handle most incoming inquiries.
- Agents receive real-time insights and recommended next steps through their AI co-pilot, enabling them to manage calls effectively.
- On the other hand, when inbound call levels decrease, intelligent call centers automatically and dynamically adjust their operations, taking agents offline for training based on their recent performance or reallocating resources from inbound calls to proactively engage in outbound communication efforts.
Empowering agents with AI-driven flexibility and skills
Previously, inbound call center agents often lacked the necessary skills and training for outbound calls. However, with today’s advanced co-pilots featuring dynamic scripting and next-best action capabilities, they can now swiftly adapt to new roles.
For instance, first-line inbound agents can easily transition to making proactive care calls to selected customers, aiming to understand their experiences with products or services or to identify unmet needs. This valuable insight can then be disseminated throughout the organization. They may also reach out to customers who recently participated in a pulse survey via a digital channel to gather more information about their feelings or to follow up on any concerns or frustrations. Additional tasks they might handle include debt collection, customer surveys, or sales activities such as contacting customers who are eligible for an upgrade, have reached a significant milestone (like one year with the company), or whose contracts are approaching renewal, among others.
Real-time insights enhance customer experiences.
The presence of high-quality, real-time data across all support channels not only boosts efficiency and minimizes customer frustration but also offers valuable insights for refining customer support strategies. CSPs utilize this data to harness insights for optimizing outbound campaigns and enhancing inbound support workflows.
AI tools offer the adaptability to dynamically assign agent tasks according to real-time demand, fostering increased productivity, ensuring customers receive prompt assistance, and aiding CSPs in achieving business goals more effectively.
Enhancing agent morale and minimizing burnout.
AI-driven support not only aids customers and improves efficiency but also significantly enhances agent morale.
With agents equipped with data and insights readily available to assist them in managing calls effectively and professionally, while simultaneously lowering their stress levels. Furthermore, the ability to vary their tasks mitigates boredom, enables skill development, and even allows them to earn incentive payments. This can potentially decrease both absenteeism and agent burnout.