| How can companies support their distributed | | | | – The main driver is cost reduction and this |
| agents operations or virtual contact centers more | | | | approach is recommended for small companies |
| efficiently and, at the same time, consolidate the | | | | that do not have to provide 24x7 support. |
| technology infrastructure and achieve important | | | | 2. Manage multiple sites with intelligent routing |
| cost savings? | | | | – Supported by intelligent routing, many |
| That is the challenge for many contact centers | | | | companies are deploying agents in offshore |
| managers and finding an answer is not risk free; | | | | locations taking advantages of the cheap labor |
| however, a successful path being followed by | | | | and technological advancements that allow a |
| companies has proved itself. | | | | transparent and efficient management of this |
| A recent report conducted by the industry’s | | | | type of operations. |
| leading analyst, The Aberdeen Group, surveyed | | | | 3. Manage multiple sites with a single vendor |
| over 175 companies to see whether contact | | | | platform – For contact centers that reached a |
| center infrastructure technologies can be | | | | certain level of maturity, the resulting effort of |
| consolidated to provide consistent and accurate | | | | implementing this strategy will significantly reduce |
| information while supporting distributed agents and | | | | integration and communication issues. |
| applications. | | | | 4. Place virtual contact centers on a single logical |
| The report outlines the results that Best-in-Class | | | | platform – This strategy is suitable for more |
| organizations have seen across several key | | | | sophisticated operations allowing the creation of a |
| contact center metrics and compares the results | | | | contact center without walls where agents can be |
| with those of Industry Average and Laggard | | | | connected, for example from their homes, |
| companies. The consolidation of the contact | | | | without any service disruption or impact on the |
| center infrastructure by Best-in-Class companies | | | | service level provided to customers. |
| will reduce contact center expenses and improve | | | | The consolidation path is not easy and some |
| contact center uptime. | | | | inhibitors can delay or stall your efforts. When |
| How can companies achieve consolidation? | | | | embracing such project it is critical to assure that |
| According to the report, developing a culture that | | | | the necessary corporate support is in place and |
| supports standardization, training, vendor | | | | the different stakeholders have the same |
| management, and virtualization is critical to the | | | | understanding of the overall strategy. Some |
| success of the contact center. Specific | | | | common problems may include: |
| recommendations to develop this culture and | | | | - Vendor performance issues |
| achieve Best-in-Class performance include: | | | | - Lack of access to the necessary resources by |
| - Standardize customer support across all channels | | | | the Implementation Team |
| - Develop a ROI for consolidation projects | | | | - Underestimated data transfer requirements |
| - Implement e-learning to train agents | | | | - Site preparation |
| - Implement a virtual contact center platform. | | | | - Partner training issues |
| Aberdeen Implementation roadmap framework | | | | Reducing costs is the main goal for all companies |
| There are several options to drive your | | | | undergoing a contact center consolidation effort |
| consolidation efforts; however, you need to | | | | and the results can be rather astounding. Although |
| identify your goals and the characteristics of your | | | | cost reduction is important to the entire |
| organization before choosing a specific option. | | | | organization, specific areas, such as maintenance, |
| Some examples of different strategies, which can | | | | agent headcount, IT, and management greatly |
| be complementary, in the report are as follows: | | | | benefit from it. |
| 1. Move all contact center agents to a single site | | | | |