How to Support Remote Contact Centers: Give Agents the Resources They Need to Keep Your Business Functioning at Its Best

As Covid-19 continues to spread around the globe, businesses are finding themselves in uncharted waters. Many processes are changing to ensure employees, customers and communities remain safe. Due to this, customer inquiries are flooding the contact centers. Banks are being inundated with customer queries relating to mortgage breaks, and are receiving as many as 7,000 calls per day. More and more precautions are being implemented, and many contact centers are reducing their workforce. With inbound contact rates skyrocketing, and more limited teams available, many companies are looking for remote contact centers’ solutions.

Remote contact center solutions enable agents to work from the safety of their own homes, and continue to function at their best. According to the Buffer’s State of Remote Work in 2020 report, employees who work remotely, almost unanimously, said that they would like to continue remote work (part-time or more) for the rest of their careers. FlexJobs found that companies who allow remote work reported the following benefits:

• 85% of companies see increased productivity
• 90% of companies improve employee morale
• 77% of companies decrease costs

VoiceSage offer many solutions to help companies continue providing support remotely during this time. Since VoiceSage is a cloud communication platform, it can simply be accessed from anywhere and operates regardless of the agent’s location. Access to the platform is quick to set up, and can easily be used as a standalone, or integrated with any existing system, so that agents can comfortably get started while adapting to their new working environments.

Now that many contact center agents are operating from home, they may no longer have access to their usual systems and diallers, and need to turn to alternative channels. Since processes such as routing calls to remote areas can be very difficult, many companies are opting for Interactive SMS as an effective way to maintain customer communication and satisfaction. Implementing SMS services allows agents to easily have two-way conversations with customers, and answer their queries remotely without the need to make any outbound calls.

How Our Clients Are Using VoiceSage Remotely

Many of our clients are using VoiceSage whilst working from home to keep their businesses performing optimally. Some examples of how companies are utilizing our platform remotely include:

• Driving collections via Interactive Voice Messaging and routing calls to remote agents.
• Running successful marketing campaigns to 2 million customers.
• 35 agents carrying out 2-way SMS conversations with customers.
• Confirming delivery dates using Rich Media Messaging and allowing customers to change the delivery date if required.

Automation Strategies for Remote Contact Centers With SMS

During these uncertain times, contact centers can also experience high volumes of inbound contact, and many are unsure of how to reduce these numbers while adapting to new situations. SMS allows you to automate communications for routine queries, which can drastically reduce inbound call volumes, and help remote agents work more efficiently. This may include sending automated messages regarding:

• Delivery statuses
• Company updates
• Payment confirmations
• Appointment reminders

By automatically sending out routine information, customers will be much less inclined to inquire about it, which gives agents more opportunities to focus on responding to the complex issues they receive.

Reduce Inbound Calls with Interactive Voice Messaging

VoiceSage’s Interactive Voice Messaging also helps to reduce inbound calls, and improve first time call resolutions. When someone calls their customer service, they can be guided through a variety of different self service options for common queries, which can greatly decrease the need for live agents. By automating entire interactions with self-serve options, customers can quickly complete a call to action, make a payment, or carry out a survey, without needing to speak with a member of staff.

Increased and intelligent use of Interactive Voice Messaging is proving to be a highly effective way to improve the productivity of our clients’ contact centers, increasing throughout by individual agents and departments. We typically integrate our software with our clients’ existing hardware and processes, meaning we can achieve significant improvements with very little disruption and minimal capital expenditure.

Learn how to track contact center metrics: Inbound Contact Center Metrics and How to Track Customer Success

How Rich Media Messages Contributes to Remote Contact Centers’ Efficiency

As many people are now spending more time in their homes, they depend on technology more than ever to keep them connected. They expect customer support to be easily accessible and respond quickly to their inquiries.

Our Rich Media Messaging (RMM) makes it easier for customers to receive high quality information fast. RMM allows you to include rich media content such as videos, images, and PDF within messages, which creates a more engaging experience for customers. For example, if a customer is due to receive a delivery, they can be sent an automated Rich Media Message which prompts them to tick a box to confirm the delivery time. This would not only decrease the rates of missed delivery, but it would also limit the amount of customers contacting support to confirm delivery times.

RMM also gives customers the ability to self-serve, such as to conveniently complete surveys directly through their message. This can be particularly useful during changes to business processes, as companies can accurately assess how consumers are responding and ensure that they’re maintaining good satisfaction levels.

As we integrate with existing secure payment providers, customers can also confidently and safely make payments within their RMM. Whether the aim is to provide better self-service tools, reduce inbound calls, or automate communication, Rich Media Messaging is an excellent way to continue to support customers while working remotely.

While adjusting to new working environments and processes, it is crucial to prioritize security and ensure that all the appropriate measures are in place. To avoid any breaches or threats, it is important to only work with providers that adhere to up to date and acceptable security standards. VoiceSage has received ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27018 and PCI DSS certifications, which demonstrates that security is of utmost importance to us, and that we are following a reliable and globally recognized standard. By working with companies with these accreditations, users can have peace of mind in knowing that all personal data handled is safeguarded to the highest standard.

Request a free trial today if you’re looking to find remote contact centers solutions that will help your agents successfully communicate with customers during these challenging times.