Where do you see yourself in 5 years? This is a common but seemingly unnerving question from the interviewer. How can one correctly predict his future? Yet, having a vision, a goal, and prudence is essential. The same thing applies to outsourcing business. No one can predict what the future has in store for the global outsourcing industry, but one can indeed have an idea –
As per the outsourcing experts, over the period next five years –
- Offshore vendors will differentiate themselves more depending on the service and industry verticals served. To be in the market, they must demonstrate specific skills and knowledge, not just cost arbitrage.
- Certain industries, like retail, education, and travel, continue to lean heavily on outsourcing, while others may not significantly increase their offshore functions.
- Non-voice contact centers will increasingly be performed offshore, and the growth rate will be significantly higher than the low growth experienced in the total voice sector.
- Outsourced vendor clients will have a better idea of what works offshore and what does not, which will reflect in their outsourcing pattern.
- Offshore remote-based agents will not rise significantly. However, offshore call centers that focus on cold call sales, appointment setting, customer support, and IT support will continue to thrive.
- Offshore vendors will be the main beneficiaries of non-voice contact center activity, including email and chat support, order processing, social media communications, email marketing, etc.
- India and The Philippines will continue to be the main benefactors of the global outsourcing industry.
- Low-end outbound activity will continue to be a vital area of growth for offshore
In other words, as Rob O’Malley points out, there will be no place for weak offshore vendors in the next five years. Only those offering differentiating services will remain in business in the long run. With a track record of offering services specific to different industry verticals, Fusion CX strongly believes that to remain in business; an outsourcing vendor must stress more on specialized services, agent training, and cost handling.
Fusion CX also believes that in another five years, cloud-based systems will dominate the call center industry. Everything from customer data to telephony software will be available on the cloud, giving call centers greater flexibility and savings. Since Fusion CX has contact centers in the US, Canada, India, and the Philippines, it will also be easy for them to manage their operations through the cloud.
In other words, five years from now, intelligent call centers that can adapt to ever-changing technology and customize the requirements of their clients and customers (who will be reaching the call centers through various channels, including telephone, chat, email, social network, etc.) will continue to operate. This vision has led Fusion CX to adapt some important changes in its operational strategies. It plans to give special attention to the following areas.
Intelligent call routing
Social media and web 2.0 channels have over 50% penetration in different contact center operations, while around 25% of smartphone users use the internet on their phones; the role of a contact center is changing rapidly. To adapt to such changes, every contact center needs a BYOD intelligent call routing based on the following –
- Language
- Type of request
- Communication channels or device
This will essentially reduce the call transfer by 1-2 minutes per call and thus will help offer better service.
Role of Agents
Owing to the various needs of the customers, the role of agents will also change. They need to be
- Product or service specialist
- Multilingual
- Expert in social engagement and response
- Expert in Conflict resolution and crisis resolution
- Specialist in cross-selling and up-selling
Training agents to handle all kinds of issues and specialized services can help clients provide better service for their customers. Fusion CX will benefit from an intelligent routing system with multilingual and French-speaking agents on board.
Broadening Of Social Media, Web, and Email Support
With customers using different communication channels, contact centers need to broaden their social media and web support approaches. As non-voice operations are going to have a bigger share of contact center operations, Fusion CX is stressing non-voice services as well.
Specialization to Cater to Different Industry Verticals
Fusion CX has long experience offering customized services specific to different industry verticals. The company caters to travel (including Timeshare), education, financial services, and retail.
Apart from these, Fusion CX also recommends maintaining a customer-centric approach in the work culture. To achieve this, one needs to
- Adapt new technologies
- Create a proper data management ecosystem and use the right person at the right place at the right time.
- Empower agents to offer a unique user experience
- Use new channels to offer great customer service.
If a contact center can adapt to these changes, it can emerge as the next-generation contact center that is here to stay.
