Contact centers have undergone a remarkable transformation thanks to the evolution of intelligent analytics and desktop automation. What used to be monotonous script-based calls has now evolved into a landscape of omnichannel conversational AI. These advancements empower agents with the tools they need to truly understand customers, personalize interactions and elevate the overall customer experience.

The challenge of complex contact center interactions

In today's digital era, routine customer queries increasingly find answers through self-serve channels. However, this shift has led to contact center agents handling a constant flow of complex and emotional customer interactions. Amidst this, inefficient agent systems and platforms have emerged as the primary obstacle to driving customer engagement. Businesses, therefore, must enable all agents, regardless of experience levels, with platforms and frameworks that allow them to manage complex interactions efficiently.

To better serve customers, enterprises must become agent-centric because enhancing the customer experience starts with empowering the CX agents who serve them.

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Introducing HCLTech's ACE Framework for agent enablement

A recent survey by non-profit association Nicsa1 found that over 70% of service agents in the investment management industry had a tenure of one year or less as of June 30, 2022. Our latest whitepaper with Avasant highlights how agents of all skill levels appreciate an environment where they control the conversation. This report also identifies technologies such as voicebots and chatbots, the single customer view (SCV), conversational AI, virtual assistants, intelligent automation, sentiment analysis and predictive analytics as complementing and enriching the service agents tasked with maintaining customer satisfaction and brand reputation.

To better serve customers, enterprises must become agent-centric because enhancing the customer experience starts with empowering the CX agents who serve them. This is where HCLTech's innovative ACE Framework comes into play, empowering the 'super agents' of today's modern contact centers.

1. Agent effectiveness
   1. Custom guided workflows: Step-by-step ticket management and handling complex interactions
   2. Intelligent agent assists: Intelligent chatbots that serve as on-demand SMEs to assist agents, along with HCLTech's digitalCOLLEAGUE automated reusable runbooks
2. Collaboration anywhere
   1. Centralized quality console: Providing agents with insights into their performance, including self-evaluations
   2. Transparent dashboards: Real-time views, NLP-based coaching and performance calibrations
3. Engagement intelligence
   1. Unified desktop: An intelligent agent desktop offering an uncluttered view of support tools
   2. Personalization analytics: Decoding customer lifetime value and mapping agent personas for tailored support

Real-world success story

Here's a real-world example from during the pandemic:

A global publishing and assessment services leader experienced a surge in enrollment and customer onboarding volumes during the pandemic. They needed more customer support agents to efficiently manage complex queries and queues. However, process and technology gaps were hindering agent agility and performance. For instance:

1. Their knowledge base needed to respond more to changing content, new courses and pandemic-related onboarding policies.
2. Call compliance was not being tracked despite regulatory requirements like PCI
3. Multiple non-integrated systems led to high average handle time (AHT) and manual errors

The ACE Framework in action

HCLTech stepped in to create a new desktop interface for agents, driven by three crucial digital enablers:

1. Customized workflows: The system, tailored for diverse customer segments, service inquiries and products, guided agents through current and subsequent steps while customizing scripts and ensuring compliance tracking
2. Agent assist FAQs: Powered by Natural Language Processing (NLP) and SEO, enabling agents to ask and receive conversational answers
3. After Call Work (ACW) desktop automation: Auto-filling call notes using machine learning to reduce ACW time

Measuring success

The dashboard, based on contact analysis and key performance indicators, provided valuable insights:

1. CSAT increased by 11%, with a significant boost in NPS by 7% and CES by 6%, all attributed to enhanced contact handling, customer engagement and personalization
2. AHT reduced by 8%, while FCR increased by 14% by eliminating non-value-added tasks such as toggling between screens
3. Achieved annual savings of $2M due to improved agent productivity, reduced escalations and better workforce management

The path forward

As organizations continue to reimagine the customer experience journey, empowering customer support agents who are the face of the brand and champions of loyalty and retention becomes mission-critical. The convergence of cutting-edge tools and platforms to enhance agent capabilities and remove subjectivity from their resolution skills will serve as a catalyst for customer loyalty.

Download our latest whitepaper with Avasant to learn how to enable your service agents with the right set of tools and technologies that will provide better CX and business outcomes, such as optimized processes, empowered agents, personalized CX and more.

1. https://learn.nicsa.org/products/at-your-service-the-future-of-the-contact-center