Improving call routing has less to do with answering calls quicker, and more with matching those calls to the right agents.
We have all experienced that moment when a crisis hits – whether it is a last-minute flight change, stolen credit card or a billing error that needs urgent attention, when the only course of action is to dial into a contact center for assistance. But instead of the fast resolution you hoped for, you end up on hold, listening to the same Toto song on repeat for ten, twenty, thirty minutes.
Innovations in routing have done much to reduce customer frustration, but with more and more contact centers taking a customer-centric approach to the way they operate, more must be done to improve service levels.
According to Cognizant’s white paper on the 2020 Customer Experience, customers no longer want to remember passwords and PINs or wait a long time for agents to answer. For businesses, metrics such as customer satisfaction (CSAT), first contact resolution (FCR) and average handling time (AHT) have become the new key metrics for success.
Self-Service Empowers Agents
New technology and an upward trend in cloud-migration have made implementing meaningful change possible. Self-service channels, web chat, and automated responses have made it easier than ever for customers to access basic information and find answers to common queries. Agents are free to concentrate on complex queries that require human intervention and deliver a higher quality of customer service. Optimized routing ensures that customers are connected to those agents quickly, which in turn drives CSAT, FCR, and AHT.
The benefits of optimized routing can be seen throughout the organization. Contact centers become easier to manage, as does scheduling of agents. It also makes outsourcing more manageable as business owners gain more control over where their calls are routed to.
The Dawn Of AI Routing
Advancements in AI have essentially eliminated the traditional queuing system. In the case of Zailab’s cloud-based platform, AI matches the customer to the best agent to handle that query. It does this by analyzing past and present data (such as agent skillset, business value, and previous call outcomes) and learns over time what the best action is for optimized routing.
A further advantage of this machine learning algorithm is that priority calls are routed to the front of the queue first, resulting in a higher likelihood of a successful outcome. In essence, the AI is ‘cheating’ the queue and creating a seamless experience for the customer, not to mention a more personalized one. And who would object to spending less time waiting in a queue?
To return to the initial scenario. A crisis hits – you have received an incorrect bill from a retail brand for a service you never signed up for and need to get in touch with them quickly. You dial the number and before you have even finished listening to the call options menu, you are connected with an agent. They greet you by name. Despite your surprise, you get to the point of your call quickly. The agent takes a second to view the information in front of them and spots the error immediately. She apologizes and takes the necessary action to rectify the error. The call is complete in under five minutes.
How does your contact center’s CX match up?
Learn more about Zailab’s cloud-based contact center solution now.