Industry Insights:
The Evolving World of Work

5 KEY TRENDS FOR POST-PANDEMIC CUSTOMER SERVICE

The COVID-19 pandemic rapidly and dramatically transformed the way we work, almost overnight. As lockdowns ease, the acute challenges will fade. But it’s clear that there is no going back to normal. This watershed experience has reset agent and customer service expectations — and accelerated several already-occurring shifts in the contact center world. How can contact centers prepare for this new landscape of agent and customer experience? What does working remotely mean for the future of the contact center? We surveyed 300 contact center professionals — and gathered original tips and insights from experienced thought leaders in the contact center and customer experience world.

Get to know the experts

Jay Baer

Customer Experience & Marketing Expert

Meghan M. Biro

Founder & CEO, TalentCulture

Jeanne Bliss

President, Customer Bliss and co-founder of the Customer Experience Professionals Association

Nate Brown

Chief Experience Officer, Officium Labs

Maribel Lopez

Founder & Principal Analyst, Lopez Research

Audrey William

Principal Advisor, Ecosystm

James Dodkins

CX Rockstar

Sheila McGee-Smith

Founder & Principal Analyst, McGee-Smith Analytics

Shep Hyken

Chief Amazement Officer, Shepard Presentations

Mike Aoki

Customer Experience Speaker, Trainer, Writer

Paul Stockford

Chief Analyst, Saddletree Research

Nancy Jamison

Industry Director, Frost & Sullivan

Adrian Swinscoe

CX Advisor & Best-Selling Author

Dick Bucci

Founder & Principal Analyst, Pelorus Associates

3 in 4

The workplace has changed

3 in 4 survey respondents agree that the post-pandemic workplace will be very different

63%

Customer service has changed

63% say customer service will be approached differently after the pandemic

84%

The contact center is more important than ever

84% believe the pandemic permanently elevated the importance of the contact center for their business

INSIDER PERSPECTIVES

Shep Hyken, Chief Amazement Officer, Shepard Presentations

"A new way of doing business"

A new way of doing business

"We have been pushed to a new way of doing business that we would have eventually found in three to five years."

Adrian Swinscoe, CX Advisor and Best-Selling Author

"Service as UNusual"

Service as UNusual

"The brands that are succeeding have figured out that we are in an unusual situation and an amped up business as usual won’t cut it. This is Service As Unusual."

Nancy Jamison, Industry Director, Frost & Sullivan

"Remote work as a business strategy"

Remote work as a business strategy

"Seemingly overnight businesses everywhere have been forced to test their business continuity plans. Unlike the short-term response to an event such as a hurricane, this is different. Work-at-home is now being viewed through the lens of business strategy, not perks."

The State of the Contact Center:
Embracing the Evolving World of Work

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Trend 1

A New Standard in Customer Experience

The pandemic forced consumers to interact with organizations in completely new ways, accelerating already-emerging shifts in customer experience expectations.

TOP 4 CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS NOW

call recording

Seamless Multichannel Communication

quality management

Easy
Video Conferencing

workforce management

Greater Emotional
Empathy

voice-of-customer analytics

To Feel Heard by
Brands

INSIDER PERSPECTIVES

Audrey William, Principal Advisor, Ecosystm

"Not all customers will want to walk into a retail store now or call a contact centre. Therefore contact centers have a role in enabling customers to reach them through more digital channels beyond voice, email and SMS. This is the time to invest in digital channels and technologies such as Conversational AI to drive CX. You need to rethink how to personalise the experience. For example, how can you personalize the experience for your customer on WhatsApp, WeChat, LINE, Facebook etc? How can the FAQ on your website have more information? Are you making the Mobile App experience richer? Are you making sure all your digital channels are aligned?"

Jay Baer, Customer Experience & Marketing Expert

“Clarity is the most important element as we shape the next normal. What was assumed in the past is no longer a safe assumption in many cases. Hours of operation. Product availability. Returns policy. And a LOT more. Today, the world of CX starts by making sure your customer re-learns how to buy from you, and how your business operates.”

Dick Bucci, Founder & Principal Analyst, Pelorus Associates

"The pandemic situation confirms the superiority of human agents versus self-service. During these past 90 days contact center personnel have had to adopt to rapid changes in company policies, services, and products. No automated system can be as adaptive, responsive, and empathetic as a trained and committed customer service representative."

Shep Hyken, Chief Amazement Officer, Shepard Presentations

“Be reachable the way your customers want to reach you; phone, SMS, app, email, etc. – and then have the ability to switch channels seamlessly without having to make the customer repeat information. It is all about creating a convenient, low-friction and low-effort service and support experience."

James Dodkins, CX Rockstar

"Here’s my checklist of 5 things to remember about CX in the post-lockdown landscape:
1. Technology is important but it’s not the most important thing
2. Be there for customers. If you can’t be there for your customers in the bad times, don’t expect them to be there for you in the good times.
3. Needs have shifted, understand them and pivot to deliver them
4. Keep on top of rapidly shifting expectations and work to meet them. Exceeding them would be great — but at minimum, meet them.
5. How you deal with this situation will be a defining moment in your company’s history, don’t underestimate this."

HALF of contact center managers say CX is more
important to brand loyalty than ever before

Success in the Customer Experience Era

DOWNLOAD WHITE PAPER

Trend 2

Workforce Flexibility is Here to Stay

The pandemic rapidly accelerated the shift toward remote work and flexible hours. Contact centers are already seeing the benefits — to both employees and their businesses — of a more flexible work environment.

72%

say a remote environment will continue long term

85%

plan to continue flex hours long term

FLEXIBLE WORK DRIVES ESSENTIAL BUSINESS VALUE

Employee Satisfaction

72% say agents are happy working remotely

Service Flexibility

47% believe remote working will drive long term service flexibility

Team Performance

73% of managers are satisfied with their remote employees’ productivity

Cost Efficiencies

HALF expect to realize operational cost savings through continuing a remote work environment

Employee Retention

47% believe enabling remote work will increase employee retention

INSIDER PERSPECTIVES

“For the employer, working from home opens up new recruitment opportunities for senior citizens, disabled persons, university students, military spouses and others. Plus, less fixed costs — rent, utilities, insurance, maintenance and tax — associated with brick-and-mortar facilities.”

– Dick Bucci
Founder & Principal Analyst, Pelorus Associates

“The main perk of remote working is that breaks mean more and are more mentally refreshing. The casual water cooler chatter is replaced with stepping out into a garden, cooking rather than reheating, and spending time with pets or family members.”

– Nancy Jamison
Industry Director, Frost & Sullivan

A Complete Guide to Managing a Remote Workforce

READ THE GUIDE

Trend 3

Workforce Engagement Will Drive Performance

The pandemic reinforced a simple truth: A contact center’s greatest asset is the quality of its people. No matter where employees are working, contact centers are increasingly recognizing that investing in the skills, job engagement and performance of their people delivers value to their customers and to the business. Moreover, as the pandemic barrels down on world economies, businesses are forced into survival mode. Cutting back is a large part of surviving, but even in this uncertain time, businesses are making smart investments to optimize costs while keeping employees engaged from afar.

7 in 10

contact center managers believe that improved employee engagement will drive cost optimization

INSIDER PERSPECTIVES

Nate Brown Chief Experience Officer, Officium Labs

Nate Brown

"The days of "butts in seats" as both a physical reality and a management style are OVER. Successful contact center leaders will be those with the capability to engage a remote workforce, creating both an exceptional agent and customer experience with a decentralized team.”

Meghan M. Biro, Founder & CEO, TalentCulture

Meghan M. Biro

“It’s so important to have a digital platform that is customizable for each and every person in the company, and to train people to be able to self-track their own results, and optimize their own dashboards to support their best work. Since COVID-19 we’ve put so much pressure on our employees to stay motivated and connected, and we see people step up to the plate beautifully. Now we can keep this paradigm shift going by ensuring people have the integrated platform to continue the evolution, no matter where they’re working from.”

James Dodkins, CX Rockstar

James Dodkins

“Workforce engagement will become even more critical in the coming months. As more people adapt to remote working, making sure they still feel part of the team and are contributing to something bigger than themselves is going to become more vital than ever.”

STEPPING UP INTERACTION EVALUATIONS

1 in 3

contact centers have
INCREASED their evaluations

44%

are using predictive analytics and automation to
enhance Quality Monitoring and WEM

“Old-school Quality Assurance (QA) methods, such as walking the contact center floor, will quickly become obsolete. Analytics will be called upon to modernize and democratize QA, bringing objectivity to the QA process and supporting the career development of remote workers. Like the contact center itself, QA strategies must modernize in order to remain viable.”

– Paul Stockford
Chief Analyst, Saddletree Research

“Agent coaching should focus on:
1. Understanding the customers’ needs and emotions
2. Ability to connect humanly and empathize and reiterate
3. Ability to own the solution and deliver
4. Follow through and ensuring that the customer feels whole”

– Jeanne Bliss
President, Customer Bliss

The Definitive Primer on Contact Center Employee Engagement

DOWNLOAD WHITE PAPER

Trend 4

Contact Center Intelligence has Become Mission-Critical

The pandemic revealed a largely unmet need in most businesses: the ability to understand the voice of the customer in real time — and use that knowledge to drive agile, customer-centric strategies.

90%

of contact managers expect
HIGHER DEMAND FOR CONTACT CENTER ANALYTICS
insights from every department

1 in 4

contact centers are not
collecting the VOC insights they need

INSIDER PERSPECTIVES

Meghan M. Biro, Founder & CEO, TalentCulture

Meghan M. Biro

"BI is a gamechanger – the digital muscle to be predictive, not just reactive. One exciting aspect is how it can light a spark with employees. There’s a huge sense of power and energy involved in being able to understand and leverage data — answer the questions each individual is asking, rather than a cookie-cutter approach. It takes more than analysis to look into the future, it takes intelligence — and right now, that’s exactly what we need to do."

Jay Baer, Customer Experience & Marketing Expert

Jay Baer

"All businesses must relearn what customers want, need, and expect - as all of that may have changed significantly. The organizations that understand their customers better are those that can display customer empathy more consistently. And those businesses will succeed disproportionately in this new set of circumstances."

Maribel Lopez, Founder & Principal Analyst, Lopez Research

Maribel Lopez

“In the wake of COVID -19 companies are realizing it’s never been more important to empower all employees with the right information at the right time. To support this, companies need a contact center solution that uses AI to analyze and help define the next best action from all available data such as email, tweets and previous calls.”

DELIVERING BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION

9 in 10

contact centers are maintaining or increasing their investment in
BUILDING BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE PLATFORMS

Jay Baer: Which 4 Types of Customer Feedback Should You Use?

WATCH WEBINAR

Trend 5

Agility is the Key Ingredient

Perhaps the most essential takeaway from the pandemic is that the future will be defined by rapid evolution — in what customers want, what technologies make it possible, and what unexpected challenges it will require. The pandemic experience has exposed the need for nimble, agile technologies that integrate easily and adapt rapidly — so businesses are prepared for whatever comes next.

CLOUD-BASED SOFTWARE UNLOCKS CRITICAL AGILITY

1 in 10

contact centers made the move to fully cloud-based either before or during the pandemic

78%

plan to increase cloud utilization to enhance agility

INSIDER PERSPECTIVES

Sheila McGee-Smith, Founder & Principal Analyst, McGee-Smith Analytics

Sheila McGee-Smith

"The need for two elements of agility have become clear, one more general the other quite specific. The first is to embrace cloud-based solutions sooner than later. Recent experience shows that waiting for “the right time” to migrate isn’t an option. The second is for AI-driven workforce management solutions which allow companies to quickly create and communicate work schedules to an increasingly at-home workforce."

Paul Stockford, Chief Analyst, Saddletree Research

Paul Stockford

"Contact center executives who have been dragging their heels rather than modernizing their contact centers will now find themselves in a catch-up situation. As the smoke clears from this crisis, how fast can we get ready for the next one? ... The industry needs to modernize, and do it in a hurry. The cloud is no longer a novelty, it is an imperative."

Adrian Swinscoe, CX Advisor & Best-Selling Author

Adrian Swinscoe

"There is an economic pinch coming so budgets are likely to get squeezed. However, resist the temptation to make cuts across the board and, instead, take the time to think about where you will get the best return for your investment … Investing in technology that enables customers to self-serve and helps employees do their jobs better are likely to deliver the best ROI."

Read the Full Survey Report

The State of the Contact Center:
Embracing the Evolving World of Work

How Leading Contact Centers are Turning Forced Changes into Future-Ready Strategies

DOWNLOAD NOW

www.linkedin.com/in/dick-bucci-1a67b66

Website

www.pelorusassoc.com

Industry Insights: The Evolving World of Work

5 KEY TRENDS FOR POST-PANDEMIC CUSTOMER SERVICE

Get to know the experts

Get to know the experts

Jay Baer

Meghan M. Biro

Jeanne Bliss

Nate Brown

Maribel Lopez

Audrey William

James Dodkins

Sheila McGee-Smith

Shep Hyken

Mike Aoki

Paul Stockford

Nancy Jamison

Adrian Swinscoe

Dick Bucci

3 in 4

The workplace has changed

63%

Customer service has changed

84%

The contact center is more important than ever

INSIDER PERSPECTIVES

The State of the Contact Center: Embracing the Evolving World of Work

Trend 1

A New Standard in Customer Experience

TOP 4 CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS NOW

Seamless Multichannel Communication

Easy Video Conferencing

Greater Emotional Empathy

To Feel Heard by Brands

INSIDER PERSPECTIVES

Audrey William, Principal Advisor, Ecosystm

Jay Baer, Customer Experience & Marketing Expert

Dick Bucci, Founder & Principal Analyst, Pelorus Associates

Shep Hyken, Chief Amazement Officer, Shepard Presentations

James Dodkins, CX Rockstar

HALF of contact center managers say CX is more important to brand loyalty than ever before

Success in the Customer Experience Era

Trend 2

Workforce Flexibility is Here to Stay

72%

say a remote environment will continue long term

85%

plan to continue flex hours long term

FLEXIBLE WORK DRIVES ESSENTIAL BUSINESS VALUE

Employee Satisfaction

Service Flexibility

Team Performance

Cost Efficiencies

Employee Retention

INSIDER PERSPECTIVES

A Complete Guide to Managing a Remote Workforce

Trend 3

Workforce Engagement Will Drive Performance

7 in 10

contact center managers believe that improved employee engagement will drive cost optimization

INSIDER PERSPECTIVES

STEPPING UP INTERACTION EVALUATIONS

1 in 3

contact centers have INCREASED their evaluations

44%

are using predictive analytics and automation to enhance Quality Monitoring and WEM

The Definitive Primer on Contact Center Employee Engagement

Trend 4

Contact Center Intelligence has Become Mission-Critical

90%

of contact managers expect HIGHER DEMAND FOR CONTACT CENTER ANALYTICS insights from every department

1 in 4

contact centers are not collecting the VOC insights they need

INSIDER PERSPECTIVES

DELIVERING BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION

9 in 10

contact centers are maintaining or increasing their investment in BUILDING BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE PLATFORMS

Jay Baer: Which 4 Types of Customer Feedback Should You Use?

Trend 5

Agility is the Key Ingredient

CLOUD-BASED SOFTWARE UNLOCKS CRITICAL AGILITY

Industry Insights:
The Evolving World of Work

The State of the Contact Center:
Embracing the Evolving World of Work

Easy
Video Conferencing

Greater Emotional
Empathy

To Feel Heard by
Brands

HALF of contact center managers say CX is more
important to brand loyalty than ever before

contact centers have
INCREASED their evaluations

are using predictive analytics and automation to
enhance Quality Monitoring and WEM

of contact managers expect
HIGHER DEMAND FOR CONTACT CENTER ANALYTICS
insights from every department

contact centers are not
collecting the VOC insights they need

contact centers are maintaining or increasing their investment in
BUILDING BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE PLATFORMS

The State of the Contact Center:
Embracing the Evolving World of Work