From a new challenger NPS and CSAT challenger to significant acquisitions, here are some extracts from our most popular news stories over the last seven days.
Genesys Unveils Its Experience Index, a New Approach to Measuring Customer Experiences
The Genesys Experience Index launched today, hoping to change how businesses measure and monitor customer experiences.
Currently, most businesses still use the same metrics to manage CX as they did ten years ago. These typically include customer satisfaction, a net promoter score, and/or customer effort.
Yet, Genesys aspires to reimagine customer experience measurement by combining sentiment analysis with industry benchmarks and data from the Genesys Cloud CX platform.
In doing so, it will not offer a single score. Instead, according to a Genesys press release, users will gain insights such as: Where is the experience going wrong, and how can we fix it?
The Magic Quadrant leader for CCaaS also promises that companies can gather this information with “unprecedented precision to deliver stronger end-to-end experiences.”
Yet, perhaps most interestingly, the Index takes customer experience measurement out of glass-case confinement – enabling deeper analysis against other organizational priorities.
As Peter Graf, Chief Strategy and Operations Officer at Genesys, states:
With the Genesys Experience Index, we’re giving organizations a new way to action what matters most to improve end-to-end experiences and drive better results for their employees, customers, and business alike.
These are the three critical stakeholders for any contact center leader.
Recognizing this, Graf and his team developed an Index that not only monitors the customer experience but places it against broader agent and business objectives.
As such, experience teams do not prioritize one stakeholder. Instead, they understand the holistic impact of their actions. (Read on…).
Zendesk Snaps Up Tymeshift, Enters the Workforce Management Market
Zendesk has acquired Tymeshift, a WFM provider that builds solutions exclusively for its platform.
Having previously received funding from Zendesk, Tymeshift has developed a solutions suite that covers the four cornerstones of WFM: forecasting, scheduling, intraday management, and review.
Noting this, Matt Price, Senior Vice President at Zendesk, stated:
Tymeshift has proven to be a comprehensive and intuitive WFM solution, enabling companies to streamline their scheduling, forecasting, and reporting, ultimately leading to better customer service.
Consider its forecasting capabilities. Tymeshift uses AI to automate the process while segmenting the expected traffic across various subject matters.
Not only does this save considerable time, but that segmentation allows WFM teams to take a more granular approach to workforce planning.
For instance, if they expect a flood of one contact type across a particular period, they can offer extra hours to team members who – according to QA data – are excellent at handling those contacts.
Automatic scheduling features within Tymeshift may also help here – taking all that forecasting and agent data to mechanize the process.
Other critical features include historical and real-time reporting, which allow planners to analyze particular staffing decisions and continually evolve WFM processes.
Excited to pull these capabilities into Zendesk, David Birchmier, former Tymeshift CEO and current Director of WFM Strategy at Zendesk, stated:
Having the right people on the right channels, at the right time, all based on real-time data, allowed us to provide immediate value to customers, and I’m looking forward to expanding our impact by officially joining Zendesk.
A press release suggests the expanded impact – which Birchmier references – will involve mixing Tymeshift’s predictive capabilities with Zendesk’s AI to “power the next generation of AI-assisted CX productivity.”
In doing so, the helpdesk leader may signal its intent to move deeper into the WFO market. (Read on…).
Cyara Acquires CentraCX, Gains VoC Capabilities
Cyara has announced its acquisition of CentraCX, which will add advanced Voice of the Customer (VoC) capabilities to the company’s portfolio.
CentraCX is a SaaS-based VoC solution that is specifically designed for contact centers and integrated with Genesys Cloud CX.
Describing itself as a “leading AI-led Customer Experience (CX) Transformation Platform provider”, Cyara says the new customer insights will help to enhance customer satisfaction, agent engagement, and brand reputation.
Moreover, the added capabilities make Cyara the first tech provider to offer a combination of customer feedback and CX assurance solutions.
Alok Kulkarni, CEO and Co-founder of Cyara, said: “Today, with rapidly changing technology and ever-increasing customer expectations, delivering a great CX means continuously transforming.
“This requires the ability to both design a great CX and to deliver it with speed and quality.
With the acquisition of CentraCX, we are uniquely able to offer an AI-enabled CX transformation platform that informs CX design with customer insights and feedback and enables delivery of those designs with speed and quality through automated testing and monitoring.
CentraCX’s insights provide direction for company CX strategies. By combining it with Cyara’s CX assurance expertise, businesses harness new data to improve CX initiatives and customer satisfaction.
The newly acquired solution can analyze feedback, allowing for results tailored to the needs of different organizations and stakeholders across the business, enabling managers to use the data to manage their teams more effectively.
Indeed, CentraCX collects data from various channels, including SMS, voice, email, and web.
Tribal Analytics sets CentraCX apart through its ability to put customer opinion at the heart of decision-making. It combines customer feedback with the agent’s view, creating a system that results in tangible change.
Furthermore, it adds a framework supporting a program of continual improvement, according to Cyara. (Read on…).
Avaya Adds New CFO, Vonage Alum to Its C-Suite
Avaya has added a former Vonage employee to its C-Suite, as well as a new CPO and CMO.
Amy O’Keefe is taking over as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Omar Javaid is the new Chief Product Officer, and Josh Mueller has become Avaya’s Chief Marketing Officer (CMO).
Avaya’s CEO Alan Masarek has been waiting for the conclusion of Chapter 11 proceedings before introducing any key hires at a senior level and putting his new CCaaS-focussed business strategy into effect.
Alan Masarek, CEO at Avaya, said: “As Avaya enters a dynamic new chapter, the extensive industry and management experience of these executives will help us rapidly build on the leadership position we have established in customer experience.
“We operate in a very competitive technology industry, and seasoned executives like Amy, Omar, and Josh could choose to work anywhere.
Their decision to join Avaya is strong affirmation of the company’s potential and validates that we have set Avaya on the right path for our customers, partners and employees.
The shake-up in C-Suite leadership positions comes as no surprise; it has been on the company’s to-do list since entering the 90-day Chapter 11 bankruptcy period. (Read on…).
