TALKING business
‘‘ colleagues are working from home and are not as visible to those who are less experienced and require assistance .
A cloud-based UC solution provides the tools to tackle the challenges of unprecedented demand head-on . Its resiliency and scalability allow business operations to continue by integrating front and back office operations . With presence sharing and call forwarding , back office employees can be mobilised rapidly , acting as call agents if need be , to ease demand and provide subject-matter expertise . As a result , excellent standards of customer service can be maintained , even in the face of disruption .
Cost-effective technology
With all operations running online , a cloudbased UC solution has the potential to reduce costs and resources by eliminating the need for deploying and maintaining physical equipment and hardware . Furthermore , it is much quicker and more cost-effective to maintain and upgrade cloud solutions over legacy on-premises contact centre infrastructure . With no need to rip and replace – only adding to – existing systems and applications , a cloud-based UC solution is ideal for most businesses looking to streamline and reduce costs . It is much simpler to successfully provide a unified experience that won ’ t break the bank with all customer and business information integrated into one easily manageable cloud-based UC contact centre solution .
Providing for the modern workforce
It is , of course , impossible to ignore the stark reality that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed a lot of businesses in . A vast majority of companies plan to remain working from home for the foreseeable future However , even before COVID-19 , there was a widespread shifting focus to home working across all industries , which has only been accelerated by the current situation . According to research from the Office of National Statistics published prior to the pandemic , 50 % of UK employees were already set to work remotely in 2020 .
Remote working is a subject bound to divide opinions across small to large organisations in every sector , but nowhere more potently than in the contact centre industry . These concerns are perfectly understandable – the contact centre has always been a very physical workplace , with call agents hooked up to a legacy phone system , answering calls on multiple lines , in sight of employers .
Cloud contact centre technology , that integrates UC technology , is browser-based , so agents can access the system wherever they are , whenever they want . The ability to work from home gives employees more flexibility and control over their working hours , making it easier to fit their career around busy schedules in a way that benefits both themselves and the organisation . Their working schedule can coincide more easily around family and home life , as they have the opportunity to log in while the children are at school , for example . This not only delivers something for the reward strategy of a contact centre , but increased satisfaction and happiness for the employee in a more flexible workplace landscape . It is undoubtedly a more progressive setup for a modern contact centre .
Unifying customer expectation and employee satisfaction
In the midst of the confusion and upheaval caused by COVID-19 , it is understandable that businesses may be hesitant about investing in new technology . However , it is clear to see that moving to a cloud-based UC solution is one transition in a company ’ s Digital Transformation that makes the most logical sense right now .
For businesses operating in the contact centre space , it may turn out to be the make or break moment in maintaining relationships with customers , as well as ensuring the long-term satisfaction and wellbeing of employees . Taking the leap with UC will help to meet the ever-changing demands of the modern business – and societal – landscape now and into the future . •
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