by Interactive Northwest, Inc.
Effective contact center automation is focused on designing a customer experience that is efficient, concise and as pleasant as possible; however, peaks in call volume that lead to prolonged hold times pose a threat to customer satisfaction and retention, all the while undermining contact center efficiency.
Of the options available to contact center managers, callback technology is the clear frontrunner when it comes to alleviating the frustration callers experience when having to wait for an available agent. In a survey conducted by the Future Foundation, 97% of customers questioned stated that they would use a callback service again and indicated that they believe more contact centers should employ the technology.
While the evidence for employing callback technology is substantial, many contact centers have not yet incorporated this highly effective tool. Callback service provides a number of benefits both to the caller and the contact center.
- Greater levels of customer satisfaction and retention
- Increased agent productivity and satisfaction
- Improved contact center efficiency
- Decreased number of abandoned calls
- More even distribution of calls
- Reduced toll charges associated with queuing
When assessing how callback technology should be implemented and leveraged in your environment, the following considerations are helpful to keep in mind.
1. Give Your Callers Options
Select an application that provides callers with options for how they will be called back. Some callers may want to receive a callback as soon as an agent is available, while others may prefer to schedule a callback at a more convenient time. Not only does this enhance the customer experience, it also has the added benefit of shifting some calls to less busy times, optimizing contact center performance.
2. Give Your Callers Confidence
It is important that callers have confidence that their place in the queue and service levels will be preserved when choosing to receive a callback. If a caller who has requested a callback chooses to call the contact center before their request has been processed, your callback application should be able to inform them that they still have thier position reserved in queue, assuring the caller that they have not been forgotten and are still scheduled to be called back.
3. Keep Your Agents Productive
Some contact centers deal with high volumes of short duration calls while others must field more complex calls that demand a greater level of input before the agent can provide effective call resolution.
In most situations, it is ideal for the callback application to automatically contact the customer and ensure they are on the line before presenting the caller to an agent. This “caller first” type of callback provides the greatest level of contact center efficiency by eliminating the need for agents to initiate calls.
When calls are more complex and agents benefit from a higher level of input prior to engaging with a customer, it is best to employ an “agent first” callback type. Here, the agent is presented with information prior to launching the callback to the customer.
4. Make Sure the Solution is Easy to Use
Administration of the callback application should be easy to manage. Web-based menus that integrate seamlessly into your contact center system are ideal, providing a familiar look and feel.
5. Make Sure the Solution is Adaptable
Robust callback applications have the flexibility to integrate with other applications and back-end systems to provide better customer interaction and agent efficiency. Options like screen-pop, which eliminates the caller’s need to repeat information, web service API’s for click-to-callback functionality, automatic speech recognition, and touch-tone capabilities provide the ability to adapt an IVR system to changes in your contact center requirements.
6. Make Sure the Solution Provides Reporting
A callback application should work seamlessly with your platform, maintaining accurate handling of metrics that does not create problems with the Call Management System (CMS) reporting. Ensure that the interface provides contact center administrators with easy access to reporting and control of how usage and performance data are monitored. Features like roles-based administration allow for more granular reporting and better visibility of contact center performance.
INI SureConnect™ 2.0 provides a full-featured callback solution for contact centers built on the powerful Avaya Voice Portal (AVP) and Avaya Aura® Experience Portal platforms. INI SureConnect’s easy-to-use, web-based interface provides access to its highly configurable features engineered to enhance the caller experience, maximize agent productivity and optimize contact center efficiency. Features of INI SureConnect™ include:
- Both “CallerFirst” and “AgentFirst” callback methods for maximized flexibility
- Options for callers to remain on hold, receive a callback when an agent is available or schedule a callback at another time
- Integration with IVR applications and back-end data for an enhanced customer interaction and optimized agent productivity
- Roles-based administration for near real-time reporting