Do you use Salesforce? Enghouse Interactive CTI for CRM is a CTI application using telephony integration that adds Screen Pop and Click-to-Dial capabilities to contact centers and call centers in organizations using Salesforce.
The following three features allow sales and support teams to leverage the data from Salesforce to help them quickly resolve customer issues:
Deliver call details and/ or the customer’s history to the agent along with the call using the Screen Pop feature.
Reduce wasted time and errors by calling customers directly from within a Salesforce contact using the Click-to-Dial feature.
The Coordinated Call and Data Transfer feature enables notes attached to a call record by one agent to be used by other agents when the call is transferred to them, enabling seamless support by more than one agent during a single interaction
So what are the benefits?
-Leading CTI product in the market
– Support for Contact Center Agents and back office Knowledge Workers
– Supports a wide range of PBXs
– Supports many Enghouse Contact Centers
– Snaps into most existing PBX/ACD solutions
– Unmatched price/performance
– Minimal set-up and training
CTI for CRM significantly enhances team efficiency and performance by providing agents with click-to-dial and screen pop capabilities that can reduce call time and help personalize customer service. CTI for CRM provides customer information to an agent’s desktop as they simultaneously receive a call. Armed with this information, agents can personalize their interactions, respond more precisely to customer inquiries and can resolve customer issues on a single call.
To learn more about Enghouse Interactive STI for CRM click HERE
How AI can help your business to be more productive
All businesses long to be more productive, regardless of shape, size or industry. Artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to boost productivity in the workplace for all.
The first step to increasing productivity is to move your business into the cloud (that’s if it’s not there already). As a small business owner, you probably have to work long hours to keep up with the challenge of maintaining and growing your business – what with the need to manage admin and find new customers, among plenty of other things.
However, cloud computing can help to manage those processes and tasks more efficiently meaning you can do business anywhere in the world – be it at home, on the sofa or on a sunbed at the beach – and ultimately be more productive.
With cloud computing comes the ability to integrate AI into your business. Watch the short video below to find out more about AI.
From the report Optimism and Ethics – An AI Reality Check, respondents identified the clearest benefit of AI as the elimination of repetitive workplace tasks. In fact, this was the most selected response, with almost half (48%) of respondents from the UK tech community marking the elimination of repetitive tasks as a key benefit.
Here are four ways you can use AI to reduce the time required to manage your admin, leaving you with more time to be productive.
1. Set up a smart assistant to respond to your customers
Whether you call it a smart assistant or an AI chatbot, this tech is being used by businesses across the globe. From Google and Apple to the Marriott International, businesses are beginning to reap the benefits.
How can AI help you to respond to customer queries quicker? Customers can ask their questions and instead of having to repeat your answers to common queries each time, you can programme a smart assistant to answer for you.
That will mean your customer services team will have more time to deal with escalated issues and other problems that are less frequent, therefore making you more efficient.
And if you can reply quickly, you’ll keep your customers on board. Remember, from happy customers flow increased sales. It’s a win, win!
2. Use AI to reduce your business admin and be more productive
We rely on our mobile phones for everything: the weather, directions, music and more (including making the occasional phone call…). So, why are so many businesses still carrying out administrative tasks on the likes of spreadsheets, fragmented datasets or even pen and paper?
It’s not uncommon – 55% of SMEs are still using these methods to track their data. It’s no wonder our Sweating the Small Stuff report revealed small and medium businesses spend 120 days per year on admin alone.
That’s just over a third of each year that they are losing to tasks that add no value to their business to the external markets. However, this doesn’t have to be the case.
AI can enable you to do business efficiently. Communicating with a smart assistant is as easy as sending a message to a friend on a mobile phone. However, your new (smart assistant) friend will deal with your admin requests so you don’t have to.
3. Use an accounting smart assistant to manage your expenses
Let’s face it, admin leaves you with less time to focus on what matters to you most. The reason you set up your business. Your passion. With accounting smart assistants now capable of managing everything from money to people, you can do just that.
Imagine your average day running your business. Now imagine it again but this time without the need to dedicate hours to file your expenses, or having to wait in line to speak to a customer services assistant. It’s a no brainer as to what you would prefer, right?
Not everyone desires to be an accounting professional. Often entrepreneurs and small business owners take on this role without fully understanding the practice. However, accounting smart assistants, programmed by specialists, are there to minimise human error and soundly complete your books first time round.
4. Use an AI-enabled CRM to compile your data
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions with AI embedded into the software could be the next insightful step your business takes. This investment could lead to your business better understanding the market you operate in and the customers you are trying to please. It’s another win, win.
A staggering 90% of start-ups fail with the key cause being a lack of market need – if customers are aboard your journey, this won’t determine the fate of your business. You won’t get caught out by not truly understanding how you can improve and adapt to suit the current market.
Communication is key. A further 14% of businesses fail due to not regularly communicating with their customers. You can’t keep customers happy without honest feedback. Don’t do it alone, make communicating with customers a priority for your whole team.
In short, AI can benefit businesses that are willing to take the leap. So why not be an early adopter and set the new norm for the business builders in the making? Futureproof your business today with any, or all, of the four methods above and ensure your business stays ahead of the competition.
Have you got any examples of how your business is using or planning to use AI in the future to be more productive? Please share your stories in the comments below and inspire your fellow business builders to get on board.
Saturday, February 24, 2018
ARE YOUR OMNICHANNEL EXPERIENCES DRIVING THE RESULTS YOU WANT?
Well, are they?
We all probably understand that in today’s highly competitive and personalized marketplace, customers want to engage with you on their terms—whenever and however they want.
However, one omnichannel size does not fit all.
What works for one company may not work so well for another one—everyone has a different set of customers. So finding what works for your organization is critical for success today—and success well into the future.
Check out this blog from Verint’s Andrew Smith that offers insight into the mind of today’s customer and explains why good old human interaction, in many cases, really can enrich customer experiences.
THREE SIMPLE WAYS TO SHOW YOUR CUSTOMERS SOME LOVE
This week as we celebrate Valentine’s Day, it’s a good time to remember the role that emotion plays in customer service.
Have you thought about that before?
If you haven’t, consider how your positive feelings about a brand partly arise from the good feelings you had about a customer service experience—or several of them.
In a new article for Contact Center Pipeline, I discuss some simple, practical ways that organizations can demonstrate to their customers that they matter. You might just be amazed where that can lead.
100 days until GDPR: A quick-start guide for small businesses
Believe it or not, it’s just 100 days as of Valentine’s Day until the GDPR comes into force on 25 May 2018. Whether you’ve fallen in love with GDPR or not, you might want to use this date as a milestone to measure how well your GDPR preparations are progressing.
For example, you might want to tune into one of our GDPR webinars to better understand GDPR and some of the steps businesses like yours can take.
However, below are some headline examples of how GDPR will affect the typical functions and/or departments of a small business, with the following caveats. Firstly, this is not an exclusive list and nor is it a substitute for receiving legally qualified advice or examining your own procedures and methods in depth (see the Sage Legal Disclaimer at the end of this piece).
Secondly, at the time of writing the exact impact of the GDPR isn’t yet known. For example, we lack practical examples of what agencies such as the Information Commissioner’s Office are likely to find acceptable or objectionable, and some of the wording of the GDPR legislation is open to interpretation.
Therefore, what’s detailed below can only be considered as educated guesses at the very best.
Sales and marketing
The GDPR’s new, stronger requirements for consent can hit marketing and customer processes in a particularly harsh way.
Existing marketing data
Put simply, with existing databases for marketing leads you will have to undertake two tasks, at least, prior to the GDPR’s implementation:
Legally review the consent that was used originally and see if it’s compatible with the GDPR’s requirements.
In the likely event that your existing consent isn’t sufficient, and there’s no other basis for lawful processing of the data, you will have to contact each and every one of the individuals in the database to seek new consent. If you don’t receive fresh and specific consent for the ways in which you’d like to process the data then that individual’s data must be supressed or deleted.
It’s been estimated that the above requirements could mean databases such as those for sales and marketing are reduced by as much as three quarters. However, it’s also been pointed out that those customers who respond with fresh consent are proving themselves more valuable because of their willingness to engage with your business.
Remember that consent is only one possible requirement for lawful processing. If an ongoing contract between you and a customer or client already exists – or is likely to do so soon – then you don’t necessarily have to get consent, for example, where that processing is necessary for the performance of a contract or in the legitimate interests of your business and/or the customer.
Consent moving forward
Of course, you will need to create new GDPR-compatible processes for any personal data you gather from individuals moving forward and this may involve getting consent.
Remember that you can no longer assume consent or use a single consent as carte blanche for all processing activities, or use a pre-ticked box on a website to assume consent is given.
Before purchasing any marketing leads, you will need to ensure the consent of each individual contained within complies with the GDPR – which is to say they will have given clear and individual consent for their details to be sold on in this way. Considering most people are unlikely to agree to this, the sale, purchase or transfer of marketing leads is likely to become a rare activity.
Data minimisation
The GDPR says you can’t simply grab lots of data from an individual without justification, so marketing can no longer be a “fishing expedition” where you present checkboxes or a questionnaire with a view to somehow using the data you collect in future.
Your processes will need to show what data you’re collecting and explain what you intend to do with it – and you may need to gather consent for using that data in a specified way. You should also document when you intend to suppress or erase it.
Dealing with customer enquiries
The GDPR gives your customers and/or clients new rights to know what you’re doing with their data. They also have the right to withdraw consent, subject to certain exemptions, or the absolute right to withdraw consent from certain uses of it (such as direct marketing).
You will need to put in place procedures and possibly staff to deal with this, such as a Data Protection Officer, and your staff will need to perform tasks such as documenting such requests and clearing any future marketing lists against the internal suppression list.
Human resources and payroll
Considering people management and payroll involve processing massive amounts of personal data, it’s incredibly likely that existing processes will have to be revised significantly for the GDPR.
Consolidation and security
With its additional security requirements, businesses should consolidate all their personnel and payroll data into as few locations as possible to prepare for the GDPR. This is because of the requirement for data to be secured. Effectively securing personal data and/or payroll data that’s spread across a range of Excel spreadsheets, for example, is likely to lead to disaster.
The GDPR-compliant processes you create will need to consider all sources of data, which can be challenging with people management. For example, how will you securely store sick notes or even emails or text messages requesting holiday leave? How can timesheets be securely handled and stored? How do you restrict access to personal data to ensure only those who have a “need to know” can access it?
Similarly, and as before, payslips must be provided in a secure way. This is prompting many businesses to switch to online rather than printed payslips, wherein an employee must securely authenticate online before being able to view the information.
Individual rights
Because the employee has entered into a contract with you, and you’re processing their data on the basis of the employment contract or for your legitimate interests, it’s not necessarily appropriate to get consent in the day-to-day employer-employee relationship.
You may however need employee consent for any processing not directly connected to that relationship, e.g. if you want to see an employee’s occupational health records. This includes consent for sensitive data, although the GDPR here bows to national laws. At the time of writing, the implications of this are not yet fully understood.
GDPR means you potentially have to give staff full visibility of the data you hold about them. You must respond to subject access requests (SARs). Notably, you retain the right to refuse unfounded or excessive requests but will need to demonstrate how they are unfounded in your compliance documentation.
You’ll need to create clear and GDPR-compliant privacy notices to ensure you provide all the information to which they are entitled under GDPR’s requirement for transparency. You may need to provide easy-to-access functionality to allow employees to opt out of the various ways you use their data. You cannot use their data for any other purpose without notifying them.
Recruitment
From the moment a potential employee submits a curriculum vitae (CV) or application form, you’ll have to start to record when and how you obtained this data and on what lawful basis it’s held.
Speculative CVs received out of the blue from jobseekers also present issues as HR departments won’t be able to hold them on file unless they can tie them to a clear record of consent that includes an agreed time limit.
You might want to think about requesting explicit consent from candidates about keeping their CV on file for a period of time. As above, you’ll also need to provide clear GDPR-compliancy notices for jobseekers.
Data deletion
The GDPR means you should not hold on to employee data once that individual has left unless there’s a lawful reason to do so. This must be considered within the right to be forgotten, but this is not an absolute right if there’s a lawful reason for you to hold the data. For example, if a former employer is taking you to an employment tribunal then you will need to keep hold of that data.
However, you will need to ensure that your systems and processes are able to remove all data about that individual, which suggests another reason to aim for consolidation of data across as few systems as possible.
Accounting and finances departments still need to prepare for the GDPR
Accounting and finances
Of all departments within a business, the accounting department is perhaps hit least by GDPR preparations and requirements. A good rule of thumb is that, unless the accounting data is linked to an individual, then there should be no issue.
If your accounting data is linked to an individual then in most cases you’ll already have a contract with them (for example, a sales contract), and for accounting purposes will be processing the data for their and your legitimate interests.
If there’s a need to get consent to use an individual’s data then the requirement for processing it for accounting purposes should be specified during the process of gaining consent. This might involve the accounting person or team reaching out to all departments to ensure GDPR compliance has occurred further upstream.
Where problems might arise is if you hire a bookkeeper or accountancy firm in any capacity. You should ensure they are GDPR compliant, that the technology and software they use is GDPR-ready, and that how and where they store data is also GDPR-compliant.
Information technology
IT departments are the facilitators of a lot of GDPR compliance considering most work within a business is done via technology nowadays. For example, with the increasing use of cloud services, the IT department will have to ensure that anywhere data is stored complies with the security demanded by the GDPR.
However, this isn’t necessarily about providing software or hardware for GDPR readiness. The IT department might have to securely dispose of existing data, such as customer databases that lack adequate consent notifications, and put in place ongoing methods for data to be deleted securely to meet the GDPR’s much more strict guidelines about data retention and use.
The IT department should also take the lead by implementing robust processes for reporting data breaches or other forms of GDPR non-compliance. Considering this might involve contacting customers, the IT department will need to reach out to all departments to ensure they understand the GDPR’s reporting requirements.
As before, duplication of live data for testing and pre-production purposes are impacted by the GDPR in that using the data in this way might not be possible without explicit consent.
Sage Legal Disclaimer
The information contained here is for general guidance purposes only. It should not be taken for, nor is it intended as, legal advice. We would like to stress that there is no substitute for customers making their own detailed investigations or seeking their own legal advice if they are unsure about the implications of the GDPR on their businesses.
While we have made every effort to ensure that the information provided herein is correct and up to date, Sage makes no promises as to completeness or accuracy and the information is delivered on an “as is” basis without any warranties, express or implied.
Sage will not accept any liability for errors or omissions and will not be liable for any damage (including, without limitation, damage for loss of business or loss of profits) arising in contract, tort or otherwise from the use of or reliance on this information or from any action or decisions taken as a result of using this information.
How technology can keep passion for your business alive
People start their own business in pursuit of a personal interest or passion — or so suggests IDC’s Tech‐Savvy Businesses Do It Better white paper, produced in association with Sage, which shows that half of small businesses (53%) are founded this way.
However, a closer look at the data tells an interesting story. It appears that the business owners who continue to be happy with their work are the ones who change and adapt. The report found that almost all (94%) tech-savvy businesses enjoy their work — but this falls by 31% when compared with businesses that continue to utilise traditional methods and practices.
More importantly, businesses willing to invest and commit to technology across all areas of the workplace not only experience the highest level of happiness in work but they also experience far greater levels of revenue growth and innovation.
As for why this is, it seems that using modern technologies in the workplace can be fun. It can also give business owners incredible insight into business performance, customer differences and where the opportunities are for improving the yield or turnover across the portfolio of products or services.
Above all, by automating many administrative tasks, tech-savvy businesses are able to communicate the passion — and this will always bring rewards.
Using the right tech can help you maintain your passion for your business
Enhancing passion for your business
However, while technology can be used to reduce your admin overload, it’s a truly sublime business tool when it’s also used to further the passion that fires you — to magnify the things that you care about and that caused you to start a business in the first place.
Consider these following tips to keep the passion burning for your business:
1. Look around you
Put simply, look at the way others are using technology to communicate their own passions – especially those in the same industry or sector as you. If you know your competitors personally, you can literally look at how they use technology.
A somewhat less invasive method is simply to monitor discussion feeds on social media such as Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.
People are habitually keen to tell others about the technology they’re using (and some apps and services will identify themselves via a label if they post to social media on the user’s behalf). But on LinkedIn or Twitter, you might also find links to blog posts where people learn about the smartest tech tools and practices.
2. Connect with people
Passion burning in isolation is useless and it’s by connecting with people that you can communicate how you feel – and make best business use of what drives you.
This might be customers but it can also be suppliers or indeed anybody else you might encounter –such as thought influencers, the people who others look up to in order to discover important trends, concepts or nascent ideas.
3. Start simple
As the slogan goes, “There’s an app for that” – and in fact, there’s an app for just about everything nowadays. While it might be tempting to download or sign up to them all – the digital equivalent of jumping in at the deep end – you’ll very quickly find they add up to an overwhelming experience.
Apps or digital services can be like children or pets. For the best results, they require your attention – and will nag you via notification messages if you’re not giving them what they need. So, start with just one or at most two apps — and work to get good at it.
For example, if your research outlined above shows that LinkedIn is a natural outlet for your type of business, then ensure you get good at that before moving on to something like Instagram or Facebook.
Ensure the technology you embrace forms a core part of your business strategy across a number of months or years and include it in any goals you set.
You might set a goal for the degree of customer engagement you want to achieve across the entire business, for example, and might therefore include within that a figure for the average number of likes and shares your posts achieve when using social media apps.
If nothing else, this kind of planning will help avoid apps that might superficially appear useful but that actually have little if any business value.
4. Invest time
Although all technology has the goal of saving time and effort – which will free you to follow your passion within your business – most of them will need a little time upfront for you to learn their ways, and learn how to get the most out of them.
This is the point at which you’ll have to not just make time for the app or service but find a way of building it into your daily schedule. So be prepared to give the technology the benefit of the doubt, especially if you hit a difficult patch when you perhaps aren’t getting the immediate results you want.
Technology is not too different from employing people in that you need to be clear about what expectations you have for that role, and need to constantly measure and evaluate effectiveness, making changes and adaptations where necessary.
In summary, keep your eyes on the goal of communicating your passion and let that guide you in what you do and how much effort you invest in technology.
How is your firm using technology to keep the passion for your business alive? Let us know in the comments below.
Reacting after the fact to an unforeseen security event used to be the only option for bank officials.
But now, as financial organizations are facing a new risk paradigm that encompasses both cyber and physical threats, the level of intelligence needed to be fully prepared has increased tremendously.
And, this expansion has led to a new and smarter type of security approach: one that is proactive rather than reactive.
At an ATM, branch, corporate campus or even an online banking website, the minute a security incident begins, officials have no time to waste. The trend toward a proactive approach allows security teams to identify an event before it occurs or assess and respond more quickly to one that has already begun.
The key to being proactive is knowledge: the more pieces of data gathered, the greater the likelihood of recognizing a vulnerability. Financial institutions must go beyond simply utilizing video surveillance for security. Tools such as embedded network video recorders, IP cameras, integrated analytics, and powerful notification capabilities can be used cohesively to create a holistic security system—from capturing information inside and outside of a facility to conducting investigations.
Trends such as Big Data analysis, deep learning, and the Internet of Things (IoT) have greatly elevated the ability to proactively look at security. These concepts also bring with them an expanded risk for threats and breaches, requiring a dialogue between IT and physical security teams to help leaders gain a greater knowledge of how to best collaborate to help ensure complete protection.
With more people and devices involved in analyzing a financial institution's security risk, the opportunity to be proactive grows.
In today's world, where banks and financial organizations have become primary targets for threats and breaches, determining a security weakness and taking action—before an intruder does—is critical to preventing attacks and helping to ensure the safety of assets, customers and employees.
Learn how to use a variety of security technologies to help achieve immediate intelligence and unprecedented protection from fraud.
WEBINARS: HOW MORE AUTOMATION = BETTER QUALITY, MORE ENGAGED EMPLOYEES
Maybe you haven’t thought about this yet, but are you aware that contact centers are now using automation to modernize quality management?
Automated Quality Management automates scoring of up to 100 percent of agent calls, ensuring modern, employee-empowering and cost-effective quality management.
If that sounds too good to be true, keep reading.
Automation capabilities can actually empower employees and make their lives—and those of your customers—even better. Using technology to automate your quality program—from scoring through coaching—can produce real-life benefits to your quality team, as well as your frontline employees, your customers and your company.
What’s not to like?
Sign up today for Verint's Ask the Experts: AQM Webinar Series—interactive, Q&A style webinar sessions designed with you in mind. It’s your turn to have your specific automated quality management questions answered by our panel of experts. We invite you to submit them in advance when you register.
You can sign up for either or both sessions in the Ask the Experts AQM Webinar series.
Webinar 1: How More Automation = Better Quality, More Engaged Employees
February 14 | 2 p.m. ET | Duration: 30 minutes. We’ll explore:
What is Automated Quality Management?
Automation at your own pace
Getting better data for better coaching, better performance
See it in action
Webinar 2: Use Automated Quality to Make Every Agent Your Best Agent
March 8 | 2 p.m. ET | Duration: 30 minutes. Building on the first webinar, we’ll discuss:
The transformative power of automation in improving work (not eliminating it)
Engaging employees, giving them the tools and transparency they expect (and need!)
Shifting effort from scoring to coaching, and from reporting to improving performance
See it in action
Join us for both of these webinars. Our 'Ask the Experts' sessions are designed to be interactive to facilitate a healthy discussion. Space is limited—register today and submit your questions! We look forward to having you join us.
VERINT EXECUTIVE TO HOST CIO ROUNDTABLE ON ROBOTICS AND AI
AI is a reality today because recent advances in AI technology have made machines more intelligent. By itself, AI technology doesn’t provide much value.
However, when incorporated into an organization’s customer engagement strategy and overall business operations, AI can power automation and help deliver significant results.
Automation powered by AI technologies can leverage areas such as robotics, natural language processing, machine learning and cognitive capabilities. As a result, automated solutions can better understand customers—their words, context, intent or even emotions. Recent advances in artificial intelligence technology have resulted in new automation opportunities that can help revolutionize customer engagement, manufacturing, consumer appliances and a whole host of other areas.
However, as recent McKinsey Global Institute research points out, there’s a yawning divide between leaders and laggards in the application of AI, both across and within sectors. Executives hoping to narrow the gap must address AI in an informed way, understanding not just where AI can boost innovation, insight and decision-making that can lead to revenue growth and capturing of efficiencies—but also where AI cannot yet provide meaningful value.
Read up on this by checking out “What AI can and can’t do (yet) for your business,” McKinsey Quarterly, January 2018. To capture the power of CIO and technology executives’ voices, insights and experiences around robotics and AI, Verint’s John Goodson, SVP & GM, Products, Customer Engagement Solutions, will host an invitation-only CIO/Executive Roundtable and Dinner on the topic of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in conjunction with The Select Group—to be held on Wednesday, February 21 in Atlanta’s Perimeter area. Executives from more than 20 leading organizations will take part representing healthcare, financial services, building products, technology, global logistics, manufacturing and other industries.
Artificial intelligence and robotic technologies can augment existing business processes and operations—and ultimately help deliver more business benefits to customers. Through research and interactive discussions, executives can gather more knowledge and insights regarding planning and execution of robotics and AI strategies.
MODERNIZING THE ENTERPRISE WITH BACK OFFICE AUTOMATION
In my last post on automation and AI, I discussed how conversational AI-powered intelligent virtual assistants (IVAs) are generating a large amount of interest in the customer engagement industry.
That post continues a theme that we see in the media every day: organizations are looking at using automation and AI for business and workforce optimization—however, applying these technologies and processes needs to be well thought-out.
One area where many organizations are seeing strong uptake in automation innovation is the back office. What is the back office? According to Wikipedia, the back office in most companies is where tasks dedicated to running the company itself take place. Back-office operations are seldom prominent; however, they are a major contributor to a business and can make or break its success.
Work performed in the back office in industries such as banking, healthcare, outsourcing and insurance includes processing claims, managing logistics, maintaining records, ensuring compliance and handling prescription orders. As a rule of thumb, for every contact center agent at an organization, there are typically three associates who handle back-office work. So, an organization with 1,000 contact center agents would have 3,000 back office employees—and therefore three times the opportunity to optimize the business and provide customer experience excellence.
Productivity in the back office requires integration, modernization and automation. Back office automation enables organizations to allocate work to the right employees at the right time. With a standardized back office automation framework for people, processes and technology, organizations can unlock new opportunities, create additional resource capacity and drive efficiencies.
One of my favorite back office automation examples is a financial services firm with more than $700 billion in assets and more than 6,200 employees in 15 countries. The organization improved efficiency by 10% in 18 months—saving $1.5 million through reduced headcount, idle time and overtime—as well as increased associate productivity and same-day work completion rates. They did it by:
Creating automated processes and workflows that reduced associate idle time (time where no work is performed) by 50%
Reducing overtime by 37% and increasing associate work activity by 9%
Gaining management insight into whether or not associates were following standards and best practices and adhering to compliance requirements.
The overall result? The organization transformed how resources, performance and work are measured and managed. They automated repetitive back-office processes and created additional resource capacity to focus more on the customer.
My blog post next month will focus on a key concept mentioned above: determining how to leverage automation to optimize the business and decrease costs—while simultaneously focusing resources on how to invest a reasonable percentage of those cost savings back into the business.
After all, if you look at some of today’s leaders in innovation and customer experience—Amazon, Netflix, Disney, Starbucks and Chick-fil-A—they have an eye for cost containment and a demonstrated passion for their customers. They invest heavily to drive customer experience excellence.
