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There’s more demand on the contact center workforce now than ever before. Customers no longer rely on the phone to reach out to brands. They interact over text, chat, email and more. Half of all contact centers use at least nine different channels and this proliferation is only expected to continue. NICE research suggests contact centers anticipate increased activity on these channels in the coming years:
- Live chat (in-app): 71%
- Live chat (web): 67%
- Live video conferencing: 64%
- Mobile (in-app messaging): 61%
- Email: 60%
There’s a misconception that with the surge in digital channels, agents are less important. That couldn’t be further from the truth: The rise of digital makes them even more important. Yet, while the range of digital channels elevated the importance of agents, it also created new worries and challenges for agents and supervisors. And while digital adoption and AI are top priorities driving the contact center’s transformation, the human element remains key.
In an increasingly complex contact center, agent empowerment programs are crucial in creating and nurturing “super agents.” These super agents have elevated roles that make a critical difference in the brand’s ability to deliver a unique customer experience.
In an increasingly complex contact center, agent empowerment programs are crucial in creating and nurturing “super agents.” These super agents have elevated roles that make a critical difference in the brand’s ability to deliver a unique customer experience. Recent NICE research explored the building blocks needed to boost agent engagement and the impact of super agents in the contact center.
Boost Agent Engagement and Performance
You can create and nurture the super agents needed to meet today’s digital consumer demands by following a few key steps.
1. Empower agents with the right information and tools.
Leading firms are focusing on empowering agents with the right information and tools. The vast majority (82%) of contact centers with agent engagement and empowerment programs proactively supply agents with learning materials to maximize their time.
Empowering agents creates prepared agents, saving the contact center millions. Consider that on average, the contact center has a 38% annual attrition rate. Assuming conservatively that the cost of attrition is $6,000 per agent, a 500-agent contact center incurs $1.14 million annually. (Many contact centers have higher costs.) The costs increase with the size of the contact center, making agent empowerment a critical business lever.
2. Monitor interactions and automate coaching.
Contact centers are improving by monitoring calls and interactions to identify areas where agents need guidance. Over 76% of organizations with agent engagement and empowerment programs do this. When agents fall behind on their KPIs, two-thirds of contact centers with agent engagement and empowerment programs leverage automation to automatically initiate coaching. Ensuring the coaching is personalized to the agent’s preferred time and channel increases training effectiveness.
3. Offer a formal supervisor training program.
Supervisors are responsible for implementing coaching and training programs and directly empower agents. Companies that consider their supervisors while empowering agents will excel in delivering great customer experiences.
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Among contact centers with agent engagement and empowerment programs, 83% offer a formal supervisor training program to continuously enhance supervisors’ skills and help them empower their agents.
Achieve CX Gains Through Agent Engagement and Empowerment
As contact centers become more digital and intelligent, agents are managing more channels and handling increasingly complex issues. The contact centers that effectively engage and empower these super agents are realizing superior CX results, operational efficiencies and financial outcomes.
Companies with best-in-class practices for agent engagement and performance management outperform others in terms of customer satisfaction by 70%. They achieve a 2.3x greater annual improvement in agent productivity, a 2.4x annual improvement in customer profit margins, and a 2.3x annual improvement in customer spend compared to organizations without these practices. In a chronic labor pinch, companies can reduce the time and money spent on recruiting, training, and replacing the agents who serve as the voice of the organization.
Engage and Empower Your Super Agents to Transform Your CX
Events of the last few years made us all digital natives, raising consumer expectations for streamlined experiences and fueling preferences for digital communication channels. The need for more self-service channels doesn’t mean live agents aren’t necessary — they’re more important than ever. Research by Aberdeen found that contact centers with defined agent engagement and empowerment programs achieve superior business results than those without these programs.
The increased usage of digital channels is accelerating consumer expectations for instant gratification and frictionless experiences. However, the agent’s role has become more important than ever in delivering personalized, top-notch service in complex interactions. Meeting heightened agent expectations is essential to satisfying escalating consumer demands.
You can counteract the labor pinch and equip agents to succeed in every interaction, everywhere by boosting agent engagement and performance. This empowers super agents, eliminates friction and reaps the benefits of better CX.
Read the whitepaper Empowering Agents for the Digital-First Contact Center at nice.com.
