Susan Hash

Contact Center Pipeline Magazine — 2020 was a tough year for contact center supervisors. While the quick shift to work-from-home was a shock to almost every level’s work routines, no role has transformed as much as that of the frontline supervisor. Network and technology glitches aside, contact center agents can perform the majority of their tasks as well at home as they do on-site. After all, agents are used to interacting remotely with customers. Supervisors, however, had to travel a more difficult road. Many have been trained in line-of-sight management techniques that are incompatible with the remote-work environment.

Contact Center Pipeline Magazine — As COVID-19 restrictions ease, contact center leaders are planning what their future work environment will look like. The hybrid work model, in which agents work at home but come into the center a few times a week, is gaining prominence as a way to meet agents’ demands for more flexibility, better work-life balance and the desire to spend some face time with co-workers and supervisors.

Contact Center Pipeline Magazine — The sudden shift from on-premise to work-from-home (WFH) last year was an eye-opening experience for contact centers and employees alike. Understandably, there were some early stumbles among companies that had no previous remote-work model in place and those that had not transitioned to cloud platforms. Overall, though, companies reported seeing the benefits of having a remote workforce in a fast-changing, unpredictable business climate.

Contact Center Pipeline Magazine — Many organizations weathered the COVID-19 crisis by focusing first on the welfare and well-being of their employees. The quick shift from on-premise to work-from-home (WFH) last year helped to safeguard companies' human asset. Yet in the scramble to ramp-up the distributed workforce, security measures often took a back seat to business continuity.

Contact Center Pipeline Magazine — Agile thinking became the key to business survival during the COVID-19 crisis. Companies that could adapt quickly and creatively in the face of complex and unpredictable challenges proved that breaking with convention often can lead to a giant leap forward.

Contact Center Pipeline Magazine — 2020 was marked by multiple pivotal moments, most of which have been embraced as long-overdue turning points for businesses and the work environment. A raging global pandemic accelerated the transition to digital technology and cloud solutions, permanently altered consumer behavior and expectations, sped up the move to a work-from-home model, and emphasized the demand for more scheduling flexibility among contact center workers. The last year also will be remembered for the nationwide protests and civil unrest that brought to the forefront the systemic racism and inequality that exists within our society and the workplace.

Contact Center Pipeline Magazine — Even as coronavirus cases continue to surge around the world, the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines has more companies planning for the eventual transition back to the physical workplace in some form. After nearly a year of working at home in isolation, employees are understandably concerned about their safety at work, especially amid recent well-publicized COVID outbreaks at workplaces, including call centers, across the United States. Many workers simply don’t feel safe being in an environment that they have no control over. While employers may fully comply with local and national workplace safety guidelines, businesses are operating in uncharted territory—and the risks have never been higher for employees and their families.

Contact Center Pipeline Magazine — Welcome, 2021! The new year always brings hope for new beginnings. Although COVID-19 is still the central focus of our everyday lives, the contact center industry appears to be moving forward with optimism, lessons learned and plans for delivering customer service in a business environment that looks nothing like the previous years. Certainly, the pandemic forced companies to swiftly change, streamline and innovate customer service operations. There have been many positive outcomes that will no doubt shape a better future for the industry, including a deeper appreciation of frontline agents, a shift in mindset about how and where work gets done, increased visibility for the contact center’s role, and a better understanding among senior leaders of its value to the organization.

Contact Center Pipeline Magazine — You would be hard-pressed to find an executive who is a greater champion of contact center agents than Michael Lawder. When he talks about the frontline agent experience, it is easy to see that he has a genuine appreciation and respect for the role-after all, it comes from first-hand knowledge doing the job day in and day out. Lawder has a long and impressive record as an industry practitioner, having led customer care and customer experience operations for global service-oriented brands like Apple, Samsung and Electronic Arts. Yet his views on what it takes to run a world-class contact center were not honed in C-suite meetings or executive boardrooms but on the front lines working as a call center agent for Apple in the late-1990s.

Contact Center Pipeline Magazine — We are finally at the end of a turbulent 2020. It has been quite a journey-with many more months of market uncertainty and workplace challenges ahead. Over the past eight months, like many of our readers, we have been forced to pivot our editorial coverage to focus on the impacts of COVID-19 on the contact center industry, how to manage through the crisis and the many unforeseen issues that have surfaced.

Contact Center Pipeline Magazine — Everyone could use a little more empathy these days. The desire to feel heard and understood is a basic human need, and one that has a proven impact for companies. Numerous studies have linked empathy in the workplace to increased revenue and higher employee and customer satisfaction. It’s no surprise then that the demand for empathy in the business world has been on the rise. Consumers increasingly patronize the brands that practice volunteerism and demonstrate compassion for their employees, communities, social causes and environmental issues. Within the workplace, employee loyalty and retention is highest at companies where leaders regularly demonstrate that they put the needs and well-being of their employees first.

contactcenterpipeline.com — Like so many companies, PFS' customer care team had to make the quick shift from a fully on-premise operation to a work-from-home model during the coronavirus pandemic shutdown. Also, like many companies, the global provider of e-commerce services had been considering a work-from-home initiative for the contact center for several years but had not yet put anything in place when COVID-19 struck.

contactcenterpipeline.com — This has been a grueling year-a marathon of fear, uncertainty and constant course-corrections. Throughout it all, frontline customer service staff across industries have stepped up to help companies and brands maintain a positive, reassuring presence for their customers. Admittedly, at this point, company leaders, employees and customers are feeling the strain associated with a prolonged crisis. If ever there was a time for showing frontline staff the value that they provide to customers, to co-workers and to the company, this is it. And the month of October provides the perfect opportunity to do so.

contactcenterpipeline.com — It has been months since the COVID-19 crisis suddenly shifted entire frontline teams home to work. Customer service operations in the hardest-hit industries are still struggling to perform at the most basic level. Customers have taken to social media and have even reached out to the media to share accounts of their time-consuming efforts spent navigating convoluted service mazes, often without finding a resolution or receiving any type of response or acknowledgment from the company. The pandemic’s disruption of service operations has been an unprecedented source of friction for customers and employees alike.

contactcenterpipeline.com — We are now midway through the third quarter of a year that will surely be remembered as one of the most chaotic in history. Many of us would like nothing better than to simply fast forward to 2021 or beyond. But how to get there? As contact center leaders plan for the post-pandemic recovery—both short- and long-term—where can they turn for reliable insights for informed decision-making? The pandemic outbreak created volatile market conditions and unpredictable customer behavior.

contactcenterpipeline.com — In 1979, when musician and entrepreneur Chuck Surack founded Sweetwater Sound, a mobile recording studio in the back of his VW bus, he never imagined that one day his humble venture would grow into one of the largest online retailers of musical instruments and audio equipment in the world.

contactcenterpipeline.com — Work-related stress has been steadily climbing over the years due to an always-on workplace culture, 24/7 connectivity and the erosion of boundaries between work and personal lives. In recent weeks, however, COVID-19 has created a continuously elevated state of stress that is manifesting in the form of intense emotional reactions—both inside and outside of the workplace...

contactcenterpipeline.com — The Customer Experience Professionals Association (CXPA) defines an outstanding CX practitioner as someone who "inspires excellence in all aspects of the CX discipline and elevates everyone involved to a new level." Speaking with Ian Stokol, CCXP, Senior CX Manager in the Strategic Marketing and Communications Team at Monash University, gave me a very clear picture of the type of professional who embodies those qualities.

contactcenterpipeline.com — As the global economy gradually reopens under evolving guidance and safety protocols for companies, employees and customers, business leaders are contemplating a vastly altered vision of the future of work from just a few months ago. For many service and support operations, the sudden impact of COVID-19 exposed critical flaws and vulnerabilities in processes and operating models. Executive discussions are currently focusing on concepts like agility and resiliency, along with the mantra that “we can’t make the same mistakes again.”

contactcenterpipeline.com — The impact of the coronavirus pandemic has been multilayered, creating widespread fear and stress over health and safety, income, finances, child care, elder care and the economy. In just a matter of weeks, lifestyles were dramatically altered, businesses shuttered and global markets tanked.

contactcenterpipeline.com — It takes a skilled service professional to deliver a quick, competent response to a customer complaint. When an escalated issue has been resolved with empathy, efficiency and grace, it is an experience that uplifts the customer and instills a sense of loyalty for the company that often translates into brand advocacy. Just ask the Customer Experience Team at Purchasing Power (PPC), an Atlanta-based voluntary benefit provider that offers financial flexibility options to cash-strapped U.S. workers.

contactcenterpipeline.com — The impact of the coronavirus pandemic continues to unfold, shifting last quarter’s priorities to the back-burner. As more communities around the world go on lockdown, company leaders are focusing their resources on stabilizing the operations. Without doubt, the top priority for contact center leaders during a crisis is the human element—taking care of your agents and your customers. Customers are seeking reassurance from companies and they need it to be delivered with the empathy and emotional intelligence that only another human can convey. Meanwhile, many agents have been thrust into a work-from-home situation without the proper preparation, tools or support processes in place. And everyone everywhere is trying to cope with heightened levels of stress, anxiety and isolation.

contactcenterpipeline.com — Human emotions are a tricky business. Researchers have been trying to understand and interpret emotions since Charles Darwin first theorized that human facial expressions and body language were simply innate traits and a process of evolution in "The Language of Emotions" (1872).

contactcenterpipeline.com — Digital technology has enabled a feedback ecosystem of direct and indirect touchpoints through which companies can gauge customer preferences, sentiment and emotions. Yet when it comes to rating service delivery and collecting insights on performance improvement opportunities, customer surveys remain an essential feedback tool. Done right, customer surveys offer myriad benefits for businesses.