If you believe some of the hype that’s circulating in the industry right now, you probably think that customer service employees and contact centre agents are bound to be out of a job. According to the BBC within the UK, the occupations of the contact centre are some of the jobs most at risk of getting the “robot upgrade”. In fact, they rank at around 109 among 366 jobs.
It’s fair to say that the future’s likely to bring a lot of automation with it, as businesses delegate repetitive and simple tasks to electronic drones, and the benefits of bots are obvious. For instance, a robot can work 24 hours a day, every day, and it doesn’t take more than a couple of seconds for it to learn all about a new topic.
However, it might not be time for the rise of robots just yet. At least, I think that people in the industry of communications will always play a vital part in its growth. To write people off entirely would be to ignore just how important human interaction is to the business world.
Interaction in a World of Autonomy
Take a look around at the world today, and you’ll see that the contact centre is emerging as one of 
the only places that customers have left to interact directly with the “people” behind a brand. This is a particularly significant matter for eCommerce companies that lack the physical presence of a bricks-and-mortar store.
In an era that’s all about defining brands by the services that they offer, the actions of a contact centre team are crucial. In fact, you’d be forgiven for thinking that your contact centre is what makes your brand more human. These centres are full of knowledgeable, highly-trained people who know how to problem-solve. It’s tough to replicate this kind of people-pleasing skill with a robot. Machines struggle with things like charm and empathy. That human element is crucial when you consider the fact that customers commonly contact centres in search of help.
The Key of Customer Relationships
We’re all familiar with the computerised approach to business, when human call centres start showing off robotic traits and refuse to deviate from scripts. We all know that a robotic experience is an annoying one. Creating a relationship with your customer is crucial to getting to the root of a problem and ensuring issues are managed properly. Yet, under-investment in technology continues to be a big problem for the humans that are in control of contact centres.
Because contact centres are the front line for a customer’s brand experience, it’s crucial to implement the right technology and ensure great service. The right technology makes sure that customers get connected to the right agent. Tech can link customers to agents anywhere in the world that can answer their specific questions. By taking care of these technology basics, we can preserve the customer relationship, and stop the rise of the bots.
Automation Yes: Robots No
The fact is that automation is likely to be here to stay. It’s a common feature of many aspects of our lives, from helping us to pay for our shopping to ensuring that we can get directions on our smartphone. There’s no doubt that contact centres will be affected by automation, but that doesn’t mean that we’re all going to be overtaken by the robots.
Sure, automation is going to eliminate a few occupations over the next decade or so, and it’s probably going to affect portions of almost every job. However, the successful contact centre should know how to harness new technology alongside the human element to offer customers the experience they’re looking for.
