Key findings from a new study commissioned by Enghouse Interactive and conducted by ContactBabel revealed that 98% of UK businesses today are using at least one team collaboration tool. Microsoft Teams is by far the most popular collaboration tools, as over 90% of UK businesses are currently using it.
The results also showed that 53% of respondents that use Microsoft Teams do so for both communication with their team and for customer-facing contact, whether for voice, chat, video, messaging or a combination of these. This reflects the integration between the platform and the contact centre environment in many organisations.
Jeremy Payne, Group VP, Marketing and Alliances, Enghouse Interactive, said:
“As businesses prepare for a hybrid working model in the future, with many agents continuing to work from home, having a collaborative platform like Microsoft Teams will be key not just in connecting with end-customers but also in communicating internally with an extended team. The survey results demonstrate the importance for customer-facing businesses to have these kinds of collaborative tools in place.”
Improving communication and collaboration within the contact centre team is what led to the integration of contact centre functionality with Microsoft Teams. Almost everyone (91%) surveyed saw this integration as important and during the current crisis, 88% see the ability to enable long-term remote working as a key driver.
One of the multiple benefits of using Microsoft Teams in a contact centre environment is its role in enabling more effective remote and hybrid working, according to 83% of survey respondents. Two-thirds of those using this team collaboration tool said that it led to an improved and more efficient experience for both team members and customer. 59% believe that it has helped with integrating the contact centre with the wider business.
Of those who have not yet integrated Microsoft Teams with their contact centre environment, there is a mixed response when it comes to plans of integrating it in the next two years. 18% state they have definitely or probably do so, while 22% believe they probably will not. These responses reveal that not enough is known about the benefits yet, while some showed concerns around performance issued or an existing relationship with a supplier.
