Jane Edwards
A new Deloitte report recommends seven strategies the government should consider to enhance the contact center experience and one of those is seeing government contact centers as experience hubs, not cost centers.
Contact center managers should pursue the delivery of great service by resolving a customer’s issues through a single interaction with the aid of technology and redesigned processes, according to the report.
“Creating a great experience doesn’t need to be about hiring more people but redesigning the process and technology to create an entirely different experience. Depending on the situation, a great customer experience could be fully automated, on an online self-service tool, or in the form of an extended conversation with a knowledgeable representative,” the report reads.
Another strategy government agencies should consider is making the shift from call center to contact center by delivering omnichannel service and two-way communication, such as proactive reminders.
“Modern digital contact center infrastructure can enable these kinds of ‘omnichannel’ interactions, where the citizen can transition seamlessly from a chatbot to voice to text. This is enabled on the back end by a platform that integrates all relevant information and shares it with the agent through an integrated information cockpit,” the report states.
Other strategies outlined in the report are adopting well-designed, tech-based self-service tools; advancing tech-supported human interactions; pursuing integrated service workflows; delivering an enhanced employee experience; and providing emphatic tech that “combines the efficiency of digital with the warmth of human understanding.”
The Deloitte report noted that the contact center of the future should serve as a “customer experience hub” that provides services via multiple channels and should be equipped with a “smart, technology-powered agent cockpit” that gathers information from all touchpoints and a cloud-based “secure technology foundation” that backs emerging technologies.
