Employee job satisfaction is amongst the most important elements in the success of any business. But there are several factors that have made it more difficult for employees to achieve this. Let’s take a look at companies that provide any kind of service to a customer. Most rely on call centers to maintain their customers’ needs, but how efficient are they?
Call centers in the US have a turnover rate of around 42%, while the average is 12-15% for other industries. A turnover rate this high comes with huge setbacks. The estimated cost of replacing a frontline employee costs around 20% of a full annual salary. A call center with 50 employees could spend more than $100,000 annually to replace them. So how can companies that heavily rely on call centers reduce their turnover and empower employees? Process automation.
Process automation is the use of technology applications that reduce human intervention in business operations, helping boost employee morale. Utilities, customer service, manufacturing, and professional services are some industries that can benefit from automation and a high return on investment.
At this point, you may ask yourself what advantages businesses can benefit from when implementing automation. Here are a few worth mentioning.
1. Provides the opportunity for growth
There is little to no room for growth and agents that repeat these tedious tasks are more likely to call it quits.
Manual data entries and managing customer records with little to no automation doesn’t sound like anyone’s dream job. In a survey, over 40% of workers reported spending at least a quarter of their work week on repetitive tasks. There is little to no room for growth and agents that repeat these tedious tasks are more likely to call it quits. In fact, employees who engage in more stimulating day-to-day tasks are 63% less likely to resign than those who perform repetitive tasks. But this isn’t the biggest downside of manual labor. It can result in costly errors that threaten client trust and lead to a contract non-renewal.
Repurposing your employees enhances efficiency and encourages a proactive culture among different departments, paving the way towards innovation. For example, an employee identifies an issue before a customer has the chance to call and complain about it. This results in an increase in customer satisfaction and empowered employees as they solve issues that are outside of their usual scope of knowledge.
2. 360-view of customer data
By digitizing customer records and making them more accessible, agents are reinforced by centralized data.
Even the most motivated agent can find it challenging to be productive if systems aren’t both centralized and digitized. For example, when information is not stored in one convenient location, visibility is reduced, leading to less accurate information.
To make matters worse, an agent may need to open several tabs or work their way through a pile of paperwork to obtain a single piece of information. This prolongs the process of solving a customer’s issue and causes unnecessary frustration from both ends.
Digitizing, centralizing, and making data, such as a customer’s basic information, transactional history, and past interactions easily accessible allows agents to resolve issues faster. This also serves as an essential touchpoint that determines how efficient a company’s business processes are and thus, its overall success.
Our partner reduced their average handle time by 63% and saved 34,000 hours every month by eliminating the steps needed to access information. Employees are no longer wasting time on collecting data, but rather supported to be more efficient and thus repurposed to more meaningful customer interactions.
3. Enhances productivity and proactivity
Essentially, employees are equipped to handle more demanding aspects of their job, especially those in need of human intervention.
Agents supported through streamlined processes no longer waste time and effort on mundane tasks. Instead, their focus is shifted on being proactive and delivering value-driven solutions to ultimately better serve customers and build stronger relationships with them. This provides a great opportunity for agents to expand their skill set. In a study, 27% of workers surveyed believe that automation would enhance their creativity and an equal number said it would enable them to concentrate on more long-term strategic planning. Essentially, employees employees are equipped to handle more demanding aspects of their job, especially those in need of human intervention. Today, employee proactivity remains the main factor that contributes to happy and loyal customers.
An investment in automation is an investment in the success of your business. Whether interacting with customers, sending emails, entering data, or switching between multiple applications at once, agents are managing multiple workflows that could each be automated. Averting their effort and attention from those menial tasks to more meaningful work will help unlock their true potential.
If you are currently seeking out a vendor, our company provides state-of-the-art products and services that streamline your business, while empowering your employees, customers, and business.
Take a leap with us into the future and let’s work together to mitigate some of the obstacles that are preventing your business from realizing its true vision.
