Weatherproof Your Contact Centre

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Exacta Weather, a non-profit organisation of meteorological experts, are stating (with very little ambiguity!) that we can expect prolonged sub-zero conditions AND extreme snowfall in this winter across the UK. So wrap up warm!

Many contact centres were hit hard by the unexpectedly treacherous winters over the last couple of years. Most of them also experienced a dramatic increase in the amount of incoming telephone calls – which was also coupled with fewer staff being able to reach their place of work. Transport difficulties, accidents, burst pipes and power failures resulting in office and school closures across the UK inevitably had an effect on the availability and productivity of contact centre staff. No wonder then that businesses are taking precautionary measures in the coming months…and it’s not a moment too soon.

Recently, contact centres are choosing to opt for self service options such as web and IVR to provide anxious callers with access to information, status updates, and to steer priority calls quickly to the right advisor. IVR systems handle high volume, repetitive requests from callers extremely well, making them ideal for dealing with high call volumes during crisis situations. IVR also provides an instant response, which is the first priority in any highly emotive situation and promotes a far better caller experience than waiting in a queue. And, when used in tandem with real agents, IVR provides significant business benefits by enabling call centre staff to focus on high-value, priority or emergency calls.

Another solution for avoiding the chill of an empty call centre and irate customers this winter, is to provide agents with access to their contact centre applications from home. Cloud-based solutions are perfect for supporting homeworkers, enabling organisations to benefit from a pool of agents dispersed across a geographic location that can ramp up quickly in the event of one or more facilities going down. Staff can keep working despite conditions that would typically have stopped them from coming into the contact centre.

So when the weather outside is frightful, ensure your service is delightful!