Driving Excellence Using Work From Home Agents

White Paper cxperts by Ryan strategic advisory image

A white paper for cxperts by RYAN STRATEGIC ADVISORY

Introduction

If one clear point has emerged from the past twelve months, it is that massive changes are taking place in the CX delivery space. Enterprises can no longer exclusively support their products or services in large facilities concentrated in a small number of locations. Instead, home based working, the concept of agents supporting consumers from their homes, is now part of mainstream customer experience management. This method of providing end-users with the support they need will only grow in prominence in 2021 and beyond.

It is within this dynamic that leading contact center outsourcer cxperts is pivoting to support its current and prospective clients with a Work From Home offering that is positioned to respond pragmatically to the needs of enterprises across industries. By concentrating on business continuity, compliance and engaging the best agents, cxperts is disrupting positively in all aspects of home-working.

Work From Home As The New Customer Experience Normal

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The ongoing shift to home based working

Gone are the days of customer experience management that was concentrated around the call center farms of the late-90s, where literally hundreds if not thousands of agents supported end-users from a single or small number of locations. This business model is no longer viable, due to concerns about public health and the impact on business continuity.

But, while the move to Work From Home delivery has been brisk of late, this form of managing customer experience has been gaining traction for some time. There are a number of reasons for this shift, including:

Better outcomes with experienced agents

  • One of the primary reasons why so many enterprises are opting for home-working customer experience management is the reputation of this business model for delivering superior interactions with end-users. This owes to the traditional Work From Home employee profile, which tends to employ people with more professional experience and higher levels of education. This translates into proactive solutions when dealing with consumers, resulting in superior outcomes.

Improved employee morale

  • Employees that work from home tend to be more responsive to consumers, due to the boost in morale that comes from the flexibility that this business model affords them. With less time spent commuting and increased savings on food / transportation expenses, home-working employees are better equipped to support end-users. This was recently quantified by leading consultancy 5th Talent, which published a study that indicated Work From Home agents most appreciated the cost savings and more time with loved-ones that home-working provided them.

Better agent retention drives improved consumer outcomes

Happy agents based at home are more likely to stay with their existing employer. This means that there is an immediate cost savings associated with recruitment and retention. This is important, especially in the context of the 2021 Ryan Strategic Advisory Front Office BPO Omnibus Survey, in which 628 enterprise contact center operators identified agent recruitment as their 2nd biggest operational pain points.

By using the Work From Home model in which agents feel more fulfilled, the potential savings that can be derived is significant. This is on top of the clear reduction in overheads by not needing to operate a physical contact center. In fact, more enterprises are looking to outsourcing providers that use the virtual model, as the reduction in expenses around facilities management for one or more sites is significant; these savings can be passed back to the client in the form of lower price points.

RYAN STRATEGIC ADVISORY - A white paper for cxperts
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