The contact centre, much like many other business environments, has changed permanently in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis. Many companies have been closing their physical sites and allowing agents to work more consistently from home. The catalyst supporting this switch to remote agents, is the arrival of CCaaS, or Contact Centre as a Service.
CCaaS was growing as a popular tool long before the pandemic of 2020 arose. It offered companies the opportunity to tap into all of the benefits of the cloud for customer service and engagement. It offered opportunities to reduce costs and improve productivity at the same time. The rise of the pandemic means that today’s organisations need the functionality of CCaaS more than ever.
With Contact Centre solutions delivered through the cloud, organisations can effectively deliver a secure, reliable, and scalable omnichannel operation for the work from home landscape.
How CCaaS Helps Home Agents
Allowing employees to work from home with access to CCaaS technology could be a powerful step forward for many business leaders. Agents and employers across UK contact centres are already seeing the benefits, according to one study, home-based contact centre operations lead to 75% of organisations reporting lower attrition rates. Additionally, 61% reported better productivity.
CCaaS enables the work from home agent by allowing them too access all of the same tools they would use for customer service and engagement in the office, in a cloud, or browser-based environments. All the agent or supervisor needs to remain productive is a device connected to the internet, and the right headset or deskphone for managing calls.
Cloud-based solutions can even combine the functionality of a standard voice-based contact centre with the demands of an omnichannel environment, where agents need to manage conversations through chat, SMS, video, and various other platforms.
The Right Strategy for Continuity
CCaaS isn’t just a great way to open the door for more productive and cost effective agent experiences. It could also be a crucial tool in a world where companies are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of having a contingency plan. With CCaaS, business leaders can make sure that the smallest and largest contact centres alike have an easy way to access home working.
If, for any reason, the traditional contact centre environment suddenly became unavailable, a CCaaS strategy will keep the lights on for your entire organisation. Before the pandemic struck, companies were already beginning to turn to the cloud for it’s benefits regarding cost savings and flexibility. However, now that organisations are increasingly aware of how dangerous it can be to rely exclusively on the on-premises environment, a cloud contact centre is key.
Going forward, the likelihood is that the contact centre as a service will become a must-have tool in the quest for better customer engagement, improved satisfaction, and enhanced opportunities for the modern workforce. Only with CCaaS can today’s companies get the freedom and scalability that they need.
