December 27, 2018 by Siobhan Climer
Contact centers are more important than ever to the customer experience. From PCI, HIPAA, and TCPA compliance to AI and omnichannel, the top contact center stories of 2018 are filled with the biggest contact center struggles and solutions. Here are our top ten reads from 2018 for you so you can be prepared for 2019.
Top Contact Center Stories – #1
8 Key Performance Indicators To Achieve Contact Center Success
Management consultant, educator, and author, Pete Drucker, once said, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” Despite the sophisticated technology and resources at our disposal, the same is true today. Without a real, measurable awareness of how a contact/call center is truly performing, it is impossible to know where the team’s strengths and weaknesses are. Any initiatives to increase the revenue generated by the contact center will be conjecture at best.
8 Key Performance Indicators to Achieve Contact Center Success
Top Contact Center Stories – #2
Which To Choose? Cisco PCCE Vs. UCCE
In the world of Cisco contact center platforms there are three options: Unified Contact Center Express (UCCX), Unified Contact Center Enterprise (UCCE), and Packaged Contact Center Enterprise (PCCE). When seeking to deploy a new contact center platform, sometimes the choice is easy. UCCX is the obvious choice for contact/call centers with fewer than 400 agents; however, with larger contact/call centers, the choice between Cisco PCCE vs. UCCE isn’t as clear.
PCCE is a more compact version of UCCE, so there is a lot of overlap in their use cases as a result. Choosing between the two is largely based on a few factors
Top Contact Center Stories – #3
2018 Gartner Magic Quadrant Report CCI: Overview And Analysis
The release of Gartner’s 2018 Magic Quadrant for Contact Center Infrastructure (CCI) is here. Gartner’s thorough analysis of the specific contact center market positions leaders, challengers, visionaries, and niche players in a visually representative format. As part of a larger market analysis, the Gartner Magic Quadrant is the first step in understanding the top contact center technology providers and how well they are performing.
It’s important to remember the Gartner Magic Quadrant is just the first step in analyzing which technologies might align best with your business goals. Here at Mindsight, we recognize that context can be everything. The 2018 Gartner Magic Quadrant is part of a larger report that includes critical capabilities, the hype cycle, the IT market clock, the market guide, vendor ratings, IT scores, market share and forecast information. Before making a final decision about cloud providers, use the full reach of the report and the expert eye of a Mindsight roadmap architect to ensure you have the full, contextualized picture.
2018 Gartner Magic Quadrant Report CCI: Overview And Analysis
Top Contact Center Stories – #4
HIPAA Compliance And The Contact Center: Protecting PHI
Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in 1996. In 2013, the Final Omnibus Rule went into effect, and since then any service provider directly or indirectly processing, storing, or handling patient health information (PHI) must adhere to the standards and policies set forth in HIPAA.
For contact or call centers, this means every verified name, address, social security number, diagnosis code, provider’s name, and any other PHI data must be securely handled, whether in a recorded phone call, in a forwarded email chain, or in an appointment reminder text message. Understanding the relationship between HIPAA compliance and the contact center is essential to protecting patients and contributing to the overall patient experience.
Top Contact Center Stories – #5
Call Center Etiquette: Dos And Don’ts Of The Contact Center
Technology is racing ahead, and the contact center is doing its best to keep up. As new channels are added and new customer care solutions are employed, there are some fundamental basics you need to maintain to provide the best call center etiquette, both on the phone and through the other methods you use to achieve an omnichannel presence in your industry.
We’ve outlined some of the fundamentals to successful call center etiquette in the infographic below. DO: Smile when you answer the phone – humans can hear someone smiling! DON’T: Exacerbate a situation by losing patience, interrupting, or offering reactionary discourse. Is there something we missed?
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Top Contact Center Stories – #6
Contact Center PCI DSS Compliance Checklist: Annual Review
Are you preparing for an audit of your contact center? The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) protect cardholder security and ensure the consistent application of data security standards; however, to remain PCI DSS compliant, contact centers need to maintain and monitor several interweaving systems and processes. Use the contact center PCI DSS compliance checklist to ensure your contact center checks all the boxes.
Top Contact Center Stories – #7
This Call May Be Monitored Or Recorded – Legal Or Not?
“This call may be monitored or recorded for quality assurance and training purposes.”
We’ve all heard the recording when calling in to speak to a customer service representative (CSR) about auto insurance, medical bills, student loans, or manufacturer complaints, but what do those words really mean?
Contact centers rely on the metrics and data gathered from their various channels to improve customer service and build an ironclad customer experience strategy, so recording calls makes sense. Plus, recorded calls provide support in training, legal response, and product or service improvement. But is there a legal risk to recording calls?
Top Contact Center Stories – #8
Emerging Technology In The Contact Center
The 1980s and 1990s saw the rise of toll-free telephone numbers, telephone sales, international expansion, and the use of computer systems to create efficiencies.
But what about 2000? And 2010? And 2020? The future is upon us, and emerging technology in the contact center isn’t slowing down. In fact, as the Age of Convenience creates a new era of contact center technologies, their development only seems to be speeding up.
Top Contact Center Stories – #9
6 Ways AI Impacts The Contact Center: Futures Report
Artificial Intelligence (AI) isn’t relegated to the niche science fiction realm anymore. In fact, AI is anything but fiction. In healthcare, robots assist in complex surgeries, and they create efficient processes in manufacturing. In education, AI helps differentiate instruction on a per-student basis, and AI conducts algorithmic-based trading, outperforming human stock pickers and changing the nature of Wall Street in the financial sector. AI is everywhere.
So, as it turns out, are contact centers.
At least 3.4 million call center workers are employed by one of the thousands of contact centers in the U.S., according to A.T. Kearney. And the way AI impacts the contact center comes down to strategy and leadership.
Top Contact Center Stories – #10
Millennials In The Workplace: How To Capture And Keep Your Call Center’s Millennial Workforce
It’s no secret that retention rates for millennials in the workplace are in decline. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, workers between the ages of 20 and 34 stay with an organization for an average of just a little over 2 years. In contact and call centers, the rates are even worse. Turnover in most call centers averages around 33% but can skyrocket into the triple digits.
While these rates vary by region and industry, it is the responsibility to capture and retain critical millennial talent by examining the data and implementing a human capital retention strategy. By understanding the driving factors within your market’s workforce, you can better meet the needs of your customers, both those you serve and those who provide that service. Millennials in the workplace now make up the largest generation. By understanding this large socio-generational group, you can respond better to them and to the society they represent.
Millennials In The Workplace: How To Capture And Keep Your Call Center’s Millennial Workforce
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About Mindsight
Mindsight, a Chicago IT services provider, is an extension of your team. Our culture is built on transparency and trust, and our team is made up of extraordinary people – the kinds of people you would hire. We have one of the largest expert-level engineering teams delivering the full spectrum of IT services and solutions, from cloud to infrastructure, collaboration to contact center. Our highly-certified engineers and process-oriented excellence have certainly been key to our success. But what really sets us apart is our straightforward and honest approach to every conversation, whether it is for an emerging business or global enterprise. Our customers rely on our thought leadership, responsiveness, and dedication to solving their toughest technology challenges.
Contact us at GoMindsight.com.
About The Author
Siobhan Climer, Science and Technology Writer for Mindsight, writes about technology trends in education, healthcare, and business. She previously taught STEM programs in elementary classrooms and museums, and writes extensively about cybersecurity, disaster recovery, cloud services, backups, data storage, network infrastructure, and the contact center. When she’s not writing tech, she’s writing fantasy, gardening, and exploring the world with her twin two-year old daughters. Find her on twitter @techtalksio.