Multichannel viewed as the biggest contact centre challenge of 2014

Nearly half of contact centre managers believe that managing the customer experience across multiple channels represents their biggest challenge in the coming year. 

A new report from Magnetic North questioned 100 call centre managers to find out what they consider to be the biggest tests heading their way in the coming 12 months.

The top issues managers are preparing to square up to are:

1. Managing the customer experience across multiple channels (44%)
2. Ensuring technology keeps pace with changing customer behaviour (40%)
3. Driving operational efficiency and cost savings (34%)
4. Developing agent skills-sets (31%)
5. Making the transition to a Cloud-based contact solution (28%)

Topping the average manager’s to-do lists is the issue of improving customer experience across multiple platforms, which means moving towards an omnichannel service. Interestingly though, while this is to be the main focus for 60% of on-site-solution users, it is far from the minds of those making use of Cloud technology. Their number one concern seems to be agent training, with 67% identifying it as their main priority for 2014. For 60% of those planning to make the transition to cloud technology this year, the big switch over is to be their most fret-inducing feat. Social media, it seems, won’t be keeping any managers up at night this year, however. Only 14% are bracing themselves for the task of integrating it into their service.

David Ford, managing director of Magnetic North reviewed the findings: “As customers and the technology they are using to communicate with businesses evolves, it is no surprise that keeping up the pace with that evolution is considered to be the biggest challenge facing contact centres. It is also not surprising that contact centre managers in organisations still using on premise solutions with no plans to switch are more concerned about multichannel communication than others, indicating that legacy technology remains a sticking problem when it comes to servicing today’s demanding customers.

“But it is interesting to see that contact centre managers using Cloud-based solutions are less concerned about the technology, and are more focussed on agent skills. This highlights the issue that while cloud based contact centre technology can help you manage communication with customers across different channels; you need your agents to have the skills to do this. Finally, for those moving to a cloud-based solution this year, their concerns over managing the transition are misplaced – we can routinely get new customers live within a matter of days.”