Some companies find it difficult to take advantage of the data coming through their call center, according to a recent CIO report. The news source cited several industry experts who suggest options available to help businesses retrieve this valuable information and improve customer relationships and overall operations.
In the past, traditional call center measurements revolved around the number of calls received, the average hold time and the resolution rate, CIO reported.
"Over time, companies added more sophisticated workforce management tools including global scheduling information – to help with network call handling, scheduling, real-time adherence – but the data collected was agent performance- and efficiency-related," said John Magliocca, principal consultant for a management consultancy firm, according to the news source.
However, new analytics tools are helping organizations mine data that may have gone unnoticed with traditional methods. Tony Filippone, HfS Research executive vice president, said there are several factors that have led to this change, including the continued demand placed upon call centers from social media and other online channels, according to CIO.
The news provider also reported that Filippone said companies need greater training and real-time solutions to improve their call centers.
Deepek Advani, vice president of predictive analytics for an IT solutions vendor, asserted that some organizations are using text and sentiment analysis to analyze their unstructured data more effectively.
"Many companies are integrating this call center data with their transactional data warehouse to reduce customer churn, and drive up-sell and cross-sell [activity]," Advani said, according to CIO. "Call center logs can provide invaluable insight on what customers were calling about, and can also provide insights for future product requirements."
Improved equipment, employee satisfaction also needed
A new study conducted by Frost & Sullivan suggested that more companies are searching for more effective equipment and technologies to support their contact center and worker happiness. Of the businesses surveyed, 66 percent of call center managers said improved solutions can help keep their employees' satisfaction rates high, while 60 percent cited career opportunities, since many workers view this position as important advancement chances.
Frost & Sullivan industry analyst Brendan Read noted that contact centers have improved their perception of being difficult places to work, but high turnover rates are still an issue and must be addressed moving forward.