It seems like 99% of call centres I have observed come to a grinding halt when the call centre manager isn’t present to make a change on their setup. If the call queues are spiralling out of control, if the manager or supervisor isn’t sat at their desk, nothing happens until they get back.
As Akixi adds additional functionality to its mobile analytics application, it was great timing to meet with Colin Gill, Product Manager at Akixi, to talk about analytics and keeping the call centre ticking over whilst on the move.
New Akixi functionality
“When we looked at upgrading the app, we asked what one thing would best enhance the user experience? Ultimately, the mobile app is a wallboard app, but to add the agent control functionality would change the way call centre managers managed their agents whilst on the move”.
On the latest release of the Akixi app, you can:
- Add/remove agents to call queues
- Set them to ‘Do Not Disturb’
- Change agent status in real-time to ‘lunch’ or ‘away from desk’, etc.
- Amend wrap up times and states
“One of the problems our customers report is that they don’t know what they want or need to report on. Also, KPIs are often dependent on the business sector, so being able to offer over 300 different metrics means each Akixi customer can work to their own priorities and customise reports according to their specific requirements.
That said, lost calls, missed calls and return rate are often top of the list. The common position is: we have a problem – but we don’t know how bad it is. Once businesses have detected the problem, they get Akixi involved to quantify it. That’s often the starting point for many people”.
Challenges with real-time analytics on the move
I asked Colin what the main challenges were to capture real-time information and report on this on the move. Colin pointed out that the only real challenge surrounds connectivity.
“Pulling your reports in real-time and taking control of the call centre is simplified with Akixi. As the world of mobile apps has been well established for a long time, relatively speaking, the only real challenge when building the app was related with connectivity more than the operation of the app itself. Generating call and agent data from the comms platform through the Akixi servers and then on to the app, all in real-time, was vital if the app was to be a credible tool for contact centre managers. Which is why most of the work went in to optimising the traffic and keeping network traffic to a minimum.”
Colin surprised me when he mentioned that the Akixi wallboard uses as little as 1.8Kbps to display its stats. This means even the poorer connection environments – like on a train between meetings – can power the Akixi mobile app.
By comparison, a typical voice calls uses 100Kbps bandwidth and often suffers from jitter when used on shared or weak WiFi connections and when going through patches of poor mobile connectivity. Being 50x less bandwidth heavy provides call centre supervisors with the closest thing to a true “use anywhere, anytime” platform. Perhaps this could be the beginning of call centre agents and supervisors being able to adopt remote working?
Colin went on to say: “There’s no difference to reporting on an end user in the office or working from home. Because Akixi is a cloud-based platform, the service is the same whether users are part of a dispersed workforce or in a single office. It’s all about the process, not the location. There are no special requirements for remote workers as it’s just standard.”
What should businesses be measuring on the move?
Colin said that the key thing with analytics on the move is that businesses utilise the real-time aspect.
“If customers want to analyse yesterday’s reports, this might as well be done at the end of the day or from a scheduled email. Seeing the real-time status of your agents and your department is key”
The enhanced ACD features that Akixi has just launched arrive on the back of the thought: “How much time is a call centre manager’s time worth?” Being able to get up and about without losing the control and visibility of their call centre boosts productivity to the Nth degree.
I then asked Colin whether the addition of analytics on the move could drive more mobility in the workforce, so that users could adopt working on the move as well as being tracked on the move.
Colin referenced the trends in flexible working. “It almost has to be the norm that real-time information, analytics and access is available. It’s refreshing to see that finally businesses are coming around to allowing teams to work where they are most productive”.
Push back from end users
I asked Colin whether the security and privacy aspects of recording and reporting on personal devices, in your own home or on the move was a concern. Colin said that the issue didn’t reside in the technology, but the policy.
“It’s something that the businesses need to manage. One of our partners has a facility where users on their platform can use their mobile phone as either their desk extension or their mobile phone. You could be reporting on a number that shouldn’t be logged. Fundamentally this is a company policy matter and businesses need to apply some basic governance principles to ensure a process that is transparent and understood”.
The same lack of push back applies to resellers of Akixi. Being cloud-native, adding an Akixi license is simple and efficient to setup. I concluded my chat by asking Colin what was coming next to the Akixi mobile app? His answer was: everything!
Over the next 12-18 months, the full Akixi experience will become available on the mobile app. For call centre managers on the move, and for resellers looking to exploit this market, Akixi remains a leading light in analytics on the move.
