Customer Experience Archives

September 12, 2018December 7, 2020

How Intelligent Routing can Reduce Cost

In my previous article Fantastic Four to Improve Customer Satisfaction, I wrote about improving Customer services with blend of Four major ideas.

In this article, I will talk about, How to Reduce Cost through Intelligent allocation of work or intelligent Routing. There’s one big factor that does not given consideration the most yet. That is the Last minute work distribution or Last minute Routing factor. Even in our daily lives, if you get a task out of the blue, or at the eleventh hour, it is considered as not the best way to handle it for both sides.

Scenario in Contact Centers

In enterprises or contact centers, where per resource has to deal with about more than 100 tasks or calls in one shift. You ensure that they are not given calls or tasks when they are about to leave the shift. They may be going to their scheduled breaks. For instance, when you send call or Task to your employee right thirty seconds before scheduled scheduled break. The customer is likely not get great or satisfied customer service as employee is in a hurry. In their state of mind, they would like to wrap it up as soon as possible. Whereas the focus should be for first call resolution, and quick turn-around. It depends on key performance indicator such as up-selling. They will hesitate to go either extra mile to maintain great Customer Experience.

How to Enable intelligence in Routing

To ensure you’re sending calls or interaction or tasks with consideration of employee schedule, you need an intelligent Routing Engine. That Routing to have strong Integration between Automatic call distributor (ACD) and Workforce Management Platform (WFM).

The key here is that your organization or contact center work distribution or Contact Routing solution should optimize best resource available with consideration of resource schedules which are created based on forecast.

How it helps reduce Cost

With such insights, your routing engine will automatically adjust routing calls or interaction to employee. Especially those who just came on shift as opposed to sending it to someone about to leave with customized thresholds. For instance, Based on service level or any other key performance indicator.

Insights into workforce schedules gives routing engine to intelligently distribute workload through customized business objectives to your needs.

This way you have employee leaving on time and can be replaced with next resource efficiently. At the same time it avoids cost of unnecessary adjustments on overtime and employee retention. Further, it improves your first call resolution which is imperative in excellent customer satisfaction, hence reduces cost of multiple calls for the same concern.

Complex schedules and last minute changes impacts Employee engagement. Therefore, this further becomes critical element for seamless customer experience and First call resolution.

Example of Intelligent Routing

As an example, you can set a routing rule that do not send calls with condition. For instance, if the agent is about to leave shift in less than (x) seconds, as your AHT or Average talk time is around in (x) minutes. The same is applied for scheduled breaks or scheduled huddles, coaching or meetings.

This may vary from the nature of line of business you’re currently working on and your Key Performance Indicators. It essentially improves FCR with right resource, which helps achieving Goals.

For more details, write me for any questions or suggestions. I look forward for feedback whether this can be one of unique and contributing factors to Improve Customer experience.

ABOUT AUTHOR:

Jawad Abid is multi-talented Business, Technology and Customer Service Professional with two decades of Experience. He worked with Large Telecoms, Banks & Outsource Service Providers, Startups and Fortune 500 companies in multiple Roles. He’s passionate about Gaining Knowledge on Technologies and How Technologies enable Businesses to Improve Lives. He Share Knowledge in the attempt of giving back to Community.

Check out his Blogs at Blogs Section

You can follow me on:
LinkedIn at Jawad Abid
Twitter at Jawad Abid

August 31, 2018August 19, 2023

Top Five Common Mistakes in Capacity Planning

Top five mistakes in Capacity Planning by JawadAbid.com

Capacity planning is a crucial aspect for any technology’s success in an enterprise. It involves calculating the production of IT infrastructure, software, and communication systems to ensure efficient and smooth operations. Effective capacity planning not only guarantees stability but also ensures successful service delivery to customers. However, there are several common mistakes that organizations make when it comes to capacity planning, leading to poor system performance and a negative customer experience. In this blog, we will discuss the top five mistakes in capacity planning and how to avoid them.

1) Lack of Platform Understanding

The first mistake is the lack of platform understanding. Before calculating the capacity for any software or system, it is important to have a clear understanding of the resources that are being used. This includes inputs, incoming and outgoing requests, and frequencies. Additionally, service levels need to be considered when determining the capacity requirements. Unfortunately, many software or systems are deployed without properly calculating their load, resulting in poor performance for end-users and customers. In a contact center environment, for example, calculating the load on an Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) system requires taking into account the number of calls or contacts received on a daily basis, their duration, and forecasting for the next three to six months. Similarly, on a software level, it is important to analyze the number of requests received from end-users across different layers of the application. This understanding helps determine the optimal capacity level and forecast the number of requests and expected output for a given time period.

2) Inaccurate Forecasting

The second mistake is the inaccurate forecasting of capacity requirements. Accurate forecasting is essential for capacity planning and should be based on various factors, including the current utilization of the software or platform, market trends, and peak volume. These forecasts are helpful in ensuring that the capacity is up to the mark and can support the expected workload. However, organizations often fail to consider the sizing effort required from both system resources and the workforce when planning for system changes or additions. It is important to intelligently calculate the impact of adding new calculations or promotions on service delivery and service levels.

3) In-effective Monitoring Solution

The third mistake is the lack of an effective monitoring platform. Without a proper monitoring system in place, organizations are unable to calculate the load and peak values of their systems or software and analyze them proactively. While some organizations may have a monitoring system, it may not be comprehensive enough to provide valuable insights and support in a timely manner. A better monitoring system can offer proactive handling of problems and generate support tickets automatically, saving time for customers during outages. It is essential to have a monitoring system in place to ensure that you have complete visibility into the performance and health of your systems.

4) Missing Capacity Reviews

The fourth mistake is the failure to conduct timely reviews of capacity. Regularly reviewing trends and capacity requirements is crucial to ensure that systems are up-to-date and able to handle any new load. Whether conducted monthly or quarterly, these reviews help consider forecasts in capacity planning and ensure that systems are ready for production in the next three to six months. For example, applying patches in a timely manner to protect against known viruses is important to minimize damage. Similarly, web applications should be reviewed to analyze the load, response times, downtime, and adherence to service level agreements (SLAs) over a specific period. If there are plans to add a new physical site in the next few months, it is important to assess whether it will impact the resources and capacity of existing systems.

5) Poor Communication

The fifth mistake is the lack of communication between stakeholders. It is essential to have open and effective communication within the organization, especially regarding promotions or changes that may impact capacity requirements. By involving system owners in the planning process, they can forecast the capacity needed, the licenses required, and any additional specifications necessary to support the growth and development of the systems. Sales and customer service teams often fail to seek input from IT or engineering teams, resulting in plans being made without considering the capacity implications. This can lead to poor service levels and a negative customer experience.

Avoiding these common mistakes in capacity planning is crucial for improving customer experience, driving growth, and ensuring employee satisfaction. By avoiding all of above mistakes, organizations can optimize their capacity planning process and deliver efficient and reliable services to their customers.

ABOUT AUTHOR:

Jawad Abid, is a highly skilled professional with extensive experience in the fields of business, technology, and customer service. Throughout his career, he has worked with major telecoms, banks, outsource service providers, startups, and Fortune 500 companies in various capacities. Jawad is deeply passionate about acquiring knowledge on new technologies, understanding how they enhance businesses and improve lives, and sharing his knowledge with the community as a way of giving back.

Be sure to check out his Insightful Blogs at Blogs Section

You can follow him on:
LinkedIn at Jawad Abid
Twitter at Jawad Abid

August 2, 2015August 19, 2023

Fantastic Four to Improve Customer Satisfaction

Blog on Fantastic Four to Improve Customer Satisfaction - Blog by JawadAbid.com

Improving customer satisfaction is crucial for any organization in the Business Process Outsourcing industry. With the goal of lowering operating costs, many large organizations have turned to outsourcing, but this can pose a challenge when it comes to maintaining customer satisfaction. To overcome this challenge, organizations must focus on what we call the “Fantastic Four”: the right resource, with the right information, at the right time, using the right solutions.

Right resource, with Right information, at Right time, using Right solutions.

Right Resources

One of the key factors in ensuring customer satisfaction is having the right resources in place. In many BPO organizations, there is a tendency to hire cheap labor, which often results in inexperienced and unskilled employees. This can lead to a low first call resolution ratio and overall dissatisfaction among customers. To address this issue, organizations should focus on retaining experienced resources by providing them with benefits and improving their overall employee experience. By doing so, these resources become invaluable assets for the success of the organization.

Right Information

Providing the right information to resources during customer interactions is another important aspect of enhancing customer satisfaction. Empowering resources with the right information allows them to provide personalized interactions that add value to the customer experience. On the other hand, the unavailability of complete information or reliance on manual processes can result in unnecessary hold times and delays in providing the right answer to customers. This can significantly impact the level of customer service provided by the organization. Having access to customer information and history of previous interactions or tickets allows resources to better understand the customer’s needs and position the organization accordingly.

Right Time

The right time is when resources are able to provide answers instantly and accurately. Achieving customer satisfaction at the first interaction enables resources to upsell or cross-sell, ultimately leading to increased customer loyalty and retention. Without customer satisfaction, it becomes challenging to improve sales and retain customers. Organizations must ensure that information is available instantly from the moment the customer reaches out, and this can be achieved through the implementation of the right set of processes and tools.

Right Solutions

Lastly, having the right solutions in place is essential for improving customer satisfaction. World-class, creative, robust, and innovative solutions are necessary for organizations to meet their customer service goals. Market leaders with proven technologies understand the features that are required through their extensive market research. Without the right features, customer service teams struggle to effectively utilize the tools and platforms available to them. For example, integrated computer telephony interfaces and self-service options can significantly cut overhead costs compared to traditional PBX or hardware-based platforms.

In conclusion, focusing on the Fantastic Four – the right resource, with the right information, at the right time, using the right solutions – is crucial for organizations in the BPO industry to improve customer satisfaction. By investing in skilled and experienced resources, empowering them with the right information, ensuring timely responses, and implementing proven solutions, organizations can provide exceptional customer service and drive business success.

ABOUT AUTHOR:

Be sure to check out his Insightful Blogs at Blogs Section

You can follow him at:
LinkedIn at Jawad Abid
Twitter at Jawad Abid