THE UK CONTACT CENTRE DECISION - MAKER S GUIDE E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y 221 U K C O N T A C T C E N T R E S S U R V E Y E D V E R T I C A L S : F I N A N C E ( 2 1 ) H O U S I N G ( 2 0 ) I N S U R A N C E ( 2 5 ) M A N U F A C T U R I N G ( 1 2 ) O U T S O U R C I N G ( 2 8 ) P U B L I C S E C T O R ( 2 3 ) R E T A I L & D I S T R I B U T I O N ( 1 7 ) S E R V I C E S ( 3 0 ) T E C H N O L O G Y / M E D I A / T E L E C O M S ( 2 5 ) T R A N S P O R T & T R A V E L ( 1 0 ) U T I L I T I E S ( 1 0 ) S I Z E B A N D S ( A G E N T P O S I T I O N S ) : 11-50 ( 9 3 ) 51-200 ( 7 0 ) 2 0 0 + ( 5 8 ) C H A P T E R S C L O U D C O N T A C T C E N T R E P E R F O R M A N C E C O N T A C T C E N T R E S T R A T E G Y C U S T O M E R E F F O R T & E N G A G E M E N T C U S T O M E R E X P E R I E N C E M A N A G E M E N T & I M P R O V E M E N T D E S K T O P A U T O M A T I O N & A N A L Y T I C S E M A I L G A M I F I C A T I O N & A G E N T E N G A G E M E N T H E A D S E T S H O M E W O R K I N G I N T E R A C T I O N A N A L Y T I C S I N T E R A C T I O N R E C O R D I N G I N T E R A C T I O N R O U T I N G M O B I L E & S O C I A L M U L T I C H A N N E L W O R K F O R C E M A N A G E M E N T O M N I C H A N N E L O U T B O U N D & C A L L B L E N D I N G P C I C O M P L I A N C E P E R F O R M A N C E & Q U A L I T Y Q U E U E M A N A G E M E N T & C A L L - B A C K S E L F - S E R V I C E V I R T U A L C O N T A C T C E N T R E S V O I C E B I O M E T R I C S & S E C U R I T Y W E B C H A T H R M A N A G E M E N T & M E T R I C S
CLOUD More than half of respondents from the outsourcing, utilities, retail & distribution, TMT and insurance sectors are using at least one cloud-based contact centre solution. Unlike previous years where there was fear of insufficient security about cloud Despite the concerns of some respondents, cloud is generally seen to have improved functionality, flexibility and to have reduced the cost of ownership. To receive the full chapter on Cloud-Based Contact Centre Solutions, CONTACT CENTRE PERFORMANCE Metric Mean average Median average Average speed to answer 35.0 seconds 22.8 seconds Call abandonment rate 5.4% 4.9% First-call resolution rate 7 80% Call duration (service) 298 seconds (4m 58s) 274 seconds (4m 34s) Call duration (sales) 394 seconds (6m 34s) 358 seconds (5m 58s) Call transfer rate (excl. receptionists) 8.4% 5.2% Cost of inbound call 3.55 2.95 Cost of outbound call 3.30 2.60 To receive the full chapter on Contact Centre Performance,
CONTACT CENTRE STRATEGY More than 60% of respondents felt that technology was holding them back from achieving the contact centre s full potential both through lack of investment, and the inability to replace bespoke and highly-customised existing systems. Non-integrated and siloed channels were also seen as a major problem. To receive the full chapter on Contact Centre Strategy, CUSTOMER EFFORT & ENGAGEMENT Interaction characteristic most valued by customers 17% 1 54% First contact resolution Polite & friendly agents Short queue times To receive the full chapter on Customer Effort & Engagement,
C U S TO M E R E X P E R I E N C E M A N AG E M E N T & I M P R OV E M E N T The most effective way of gathering customer insight was said to be customer surveys, via email and phone call. Speech analytics and IVR/SMS surveys were also said to be useful by many respondents. Despite agents potentially having the best understanding of customers views, it was felt generally that this was less successful than formal surveys. To receive the full chapter on Customer Experience Management & Improvement, D E S K TO P AU TO M AT I O N & A N A LY T I C S The overall expenditure of the UK contact centre sector - salaries, IT, telecoms, building, rent, utilities, etc. - comes to around 23bn each year. Wrap-up time accounts for 10. of the time spent by the industry: usually slightly less in larger contact centres, which account for the bulk of the jobs. As such, wrap-up costs the industry almost 2.5bn each year. This is not to say that all wrap-up is wasted and unnecessary, but this is a segment of expenditure that is ripe for efficiency-enhancement. Metric Respondents using 1 application Respondents using 4 or more applications Average speed to answer 21 seconds 41 seconds Call abandonment rate 4.0% 5.3% Post-call wrap-up as % of call 10.0% 17.2% NB: ASA and abandonment rate apply to # in-call applications. Post-call wrap-up % refers to # post-call applications. To receive the full chapter on Desktop Automation & Analytics,
EMAIL Respondents report that an average of 17.2% of inbound interactions are made through email, by far the most important non-voice communication channel. The proportion of emails answered successfully in a certain timescale has improved very slightly year-on-year. 12% of emails are answered within an hour, and a further 47% within one working day. However, the low levels of automation currently used in many operations means that significant performance improvements will be very difficult without investment. To receive the full chapter on Email, click on the sponsor s logo G A M I F I C AT I O N & AG E N T E N G AG E M E N T When considering the factors and metrics through which agents are rewarded, operational performance metrics such as average handle time feature more frequently than service-based metrics such as first contact resolution rate, despite respondents insistence that the latter matters far more than the former. For 42% of respondents to say that vital customer-focused service statistics such as first contact resolution rate does not play a part in rewarding agents is very short-sighted, particularly when considering that operational performance metrics such as handle time are taken more into account, despite not aligning with businesses own stated requirements of the qualities their agents should have. To receive the full chapter on Agent Engagement & Gamification,
HEADSETS Around of respondents headsets are replaced in a given year, meaning that the average headset will have a useful life of around 5 years. Contact centre size % respondents using wireless headsets % of headsets that are wireless (ONLY in contact centres using them) % of headsets that are wireless (industry-wide) Small 43% 72% 31% Medium 29% 31% 29% Large 34% 21% 7% Average 37% 44% 1 To receive the full chapter on Headsets, HOMEWORKING The proportion of contact centres using homeworkers has almost doubled since 2008, and the overall number of homeworking agents has increased by almost 300% since 2010. Current use of homeworking Don't know 1% We will not use homeworking (i.e. a firm decision has made about this) 21% We use homeworking already 23% No decision yet made 34% Researching / evaluating 12% Are running a pilot / will run a pilot in the near future 9% Proportion of agents to be homeworkers, 2015 & 2017 100% 90% 80% 3% 1% 6% 14% 70% 60% Don't know 2 or more 50% 40% 76% 19% 15-24% 5-14% Up to 30% 0% 41% 0% 2015 2017 To receive the full chapter on Homeworking,
INTERACTION ANALYTICS Focus on improvements in KPIs and activities using analytics Adherence to script Call transfer rates 4% Compliance 4% Cross-selling / upselling Quality scores / agent QA 29% Call duration 12% Automatic analysis of customer satisfaction 16% 14% 1 Identifying & handling unhappy customers 14% 30% First contact resolution 2 19% 0% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Most important 2nd most important 3rd most important Interaction analytics type % respondents using this functionality Historical speech analytics 90% Screen / text analytics (i.e. agent desktop activity) 4 Real-time speech analytics 4 Multichannel analytics (i.e. email, web chat, social media, etc.) 5 To receive the full chapter on Interaction Analytics, INTERACTION RECORDING Survey respondents were asked which interaction recording functionality they would most like to add or improve. Of the seven choices provided, four stood out as the most popular. In order: providing better data management information systems and reporting adding and improving multichannel capabilities. improving the ease of use for supervisors and trainers solving PCI issues (including the prevention and removal of card data). Use of call recording, by contact centre size Average 71% 1 7% 2% 1% 1% Large 82% 11% 7% Medium 69% 2 4% 2% Small 6 1 12% 1% 3% 1% 0% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Use now, no plans to replace/upgrade Use now, looking to replace/upgrade Will implement within 12 months Will implement after 12 months No plans to implement Don't know / NA 31% of respondents that use call recording do so for all calls. 42% of respondents state that they can choose to record based on the call profile (i.e. business rules based on the nature of the call), and almost half will do so based on the inbound number called. Only 26% identify the inbound caller s number and decide whether to record or not based on that. To receive the full chapter on Interaction Recording,
INTERACTION ROUTING DTMF IVR total routing options, by contact centre size 100% 90% 80% 16% 2 3 24% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 0% 11% 21% 4 33% 3 3 23% 2 26% 1 4% Small Medium Large Average 10 or more 7 to 9 4 to 6 3 or fewer Routing strategy Small Medium Large Average Least Idle / Least Occupied 72% 81% 83% 77% Skills-based routing 54% 7 90% 69% Hunt groups 59% 47% 52% 54% Dynamic / service-level routing 2 4 2 Business rules based on customer identity 19% 41% 22% Intelligent routing based on customer history 2% 9% 14% 7% To receive the full chapter on Interaction Routing, MOBILE & SOCIAL Uniquely, social media has taken off as a customer service channel as a result of customer demand, rather than businesses enthusiasm for promoting a cheaper service channel. 100% Survey respondents were asked which interaction recording functionality they would most like to add or improve. Of the seven choices 1% 3% provided, four stood out 4% Letter / fax as the most popular. 90% 80% 70% In order: 9% 11% Social media 14% 12% providing better 14% data management information systems and reporting adding and improving multichannel capabilities. Contact centre 2 improving the14% ease of use for supervisors and trainers existing CPE system customisation and functionality could be replicated Website in the solving PCI issues (including the prevention and removal of card data). cloud environment, and whether any new system would integrate fully with their 1 Face-to-face 60% 50% 40% 30% Preferred method of contacting a business, by customer age Web chat 26% 36% Mobile Email 0% 18-24 65+ Target response times for handling a customer service request via social media No social media service level Next day or longer 4% Within 5 minutes 6% 5-15 minutes 2 Same day 2 15-60 minutes 1 1-2 hours 17% To receive the full chapter on Mobile & Social (Engaging the Customer of the Future),
MULTICHANNEL WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT Use of workforce management systems, by vertical market Average 3 9% 17% 2 6% Finance 40% Housing 22% 22% 2 2 Retail & Distribution 23% 23% 3 Manufacturing 2 3 Public Sector 33% 17% 11% 33% 6% TMT 37% 16% 37% Transport & Travel 3 2 2 Utilities 3 2 Services 40% 12% 4% 24% 12% Outsourcing 5 14% 9% 14% 9% Insurance 60% 1 0% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Use now, no plans to replace/upgrade Use now, looking to replace/upgrade Will implement within 12 months Will implement after 12 months No plans to implement Don't know / NA Half of respondents use a combined voice and multichannel workforce management application. There was a noticeable use of standalone forecasting and scheduling for multichannel activity, usually in larger operations which may run their non-voice operation as a separate part of the customer contact environment, and for whom this segregated approach would make sense. To receive the full chapter on Multichannel Workforce Management OMNICHANNEL 23% of respondents described their operations as omnichannel, with 1 assessing themselves as multimodal and 63% multichannel. To receive the full chapter on Omnichannel,
OUTBOUND & CALL BLENDING The single most popular outbound activity continues to be proactive customer service - a strong brand builder as well as an effective call avoidance tactic. The overall proportion of sales calls grows from 31% to 3 this year the cold-call sub-sector continues to decline this year to 12% (it was 24% in 2013): this will continue to be tracked closely in future years to see whether this is a permanent structural change in the outbound industry. Cross-selling/upselling continues to be an important outbound activity. To receive the full chapter on Outbound & Call Blending, PCI COMPLIANCE 6 of UK contact centres stated that their operations handle card payments from customers over the telephone of contact centres taking payments report that they do not have a PCI compliance programme in place. Card fraud reduction method % respondents using this method Pause and resume voice recording 36% Manual processes and training 27% Screen recording application does not capture card details on-screen Obscure the data entered on an agent's screen 1 Clean desks / rooms - where pen, paper and mobiles are prohibited 1 Detect and block the phone's DTMF tones 9% Take payment via automated IVR at the end of the call Take payment via automated IVR mid-call 7% Specific internal team dedicated to taking card payments 4% Cloud-based solution (card information does not enter the contact centre) 4% To receive the full chapter on PCI DSS Compliance,
PERFORMANCE & QUALITY The greatest challenge to managing performance and quality is caused by not having sufficient time to analyse and use data, particularly in medium and large operations. 1 of respondents also stated that staff using the QA solution did not have the necessary skills to get the most out of the solution. A greater level of automated analysis and insight is required from quality and performance solutions, a view further supported by noting that the secondgreatest challenge to performance and quality is that their current technology simply does not support what they want to do with performance and quality. To receive the full chapter on Performance & Quality, Q U E U E M A N AG E M E N T & C A L L - B AC K UK customers report that not knowing how much longer they will have to wait is the worst part of being in a contact centre queue. To receive the full chapter on Queue Management & Call-Back,
SELF-SERVICE 6 of UK contact centre stated that their operations handle card payments from customers over the telephone Business Cost reduction through improved call avoidance and more accurate routing, improving first contact resolution and decreasing call transfer rates Leveraged existing IVR investments, without having to rip and replace Reusability of existing scripts lowers development costs Contextual information gathered in the visual IVR session can be popped to agents Customer Greater granularity of routing, and improved functionality means that callers are more likely to arrive at the place where they need to be. Consistent functionality shared across IVR channels Significant decrease in customer effort to access self-service or call routing capabilities If the agent has contextual information, there is less likelihood of the caller having to repeat information As customers find the correct information without having to call, this means lower wait times To receive the full chapter on Self-Service, VIRTUAL CONTACT CENTRES The most important reason for multi-site contact centres not virtualising is the difficulty of integrating the different IT systems at each site. To receive the full chapter on Virtual Contact Centres,
VOICE BIOMETRICS & SECURITY The unnecessary cost of caller authentication Using figures from this report and other ContactBabel research, it is possible to estimate the industry-wide cost of customer identification authentication using an agent. 59% of all calls require a security and identification process to be completed first. This year, 99% of respondents may require some agent input even if IVR or speech recognition is also used. On average, it takes 33 seconds to go through security. Using these statistics, it is possible to estimate how much UK contact centres spend each year on screening customers by using agents. Inbound calls per year (handled by agents): 7.9bn Proportion of inbound calls that require security and identification checks: 59% Average length of agent-handled security and identification check: 33 seconds Average call duration: 290 seconds (therefore 11.3% of the call is ID&V) Mean average cost per inbound call: 3.55 Cost of time spent on agent-handled security & ID check: 40.1p per call Overall cost of agent-handled security and identification checking: 1.87bn p.a. To receive the full chapter on Customer Identity Verification, WEB CHAT Only of web chat sessions use any sort of virtual agent or chatbot One of web chat s traditional strengths is seen as the ability to have agents handle multiple chats concurrently (of course, it only seems this way to a customer, as the web chat agent uses the time that the customer is typing their response to handle other chats). Some vendors have stated in the past that agents could run five or six concurrent chat sessions: the reality seems to be that two sessions is a reasonably consistent average, with a peak of three or even four if required, but which is not sustainable on a long-term basis. Web chat cost Mean 2.58 1 st quartile 3.93 Median 2.40 3 rd quartile 0.93 To receive the full chapter on Web Chat & Beyond,
HR MANAGEMENT Detailed analysis of agent attrition, including historical patterns and segmentation by vertical market, contact centre size, region and activity type is included in "The UK Contact Centre HR and Operational Benchmarking Report". Role 2015 mean average salary Change 2014-2015 New agent 16,808 5.1% Experienced agent 19,036 4.1% Team leader / supervisor 24,851 2.7% Contact centre manager 39,375-2.0% More details on The 2015-16 UK Contact Centre HR & Operational Benchmarking Report are available here TAKE PART IN 2016 S RESEARCH RECEIVE THE 2016 UK CONTACT CENTRE DECISION-MAKERS GUIDE & THE 295 UK CONTACT CENTRE HR & OPERATIONAL BENCHMARKING REPORT FREE CLICK HERE TO START SURVEY The complete 2015 UK Contact Centre Decision-Makers Guide is available to download, free of charge, from here (registration required)