Among the many impacts of the pandemic on economic life has been the need for brands and customers to figure out how to better interface with one another from a distance. In the short term this usually meant greater reliance on phone and chat-based interactions, however when 2020 hit, the world quickly learned that these services – typically delivered via tightly packed contact centres – were themselves untenable.
Companies specialising in providing outsourced customer experience (CX) support that had previously adopted cloud-based solutions rapidly transitioned their centralised workforces to home-based and rushed in to fill this gap.
This move seemed to suggest a relatively straightforward approach to more resilient CX, and at a pivotal time. However, Manila, capital city of the Philippines and an offshore location heavily relied upon by outsourcers, remains in the process of cleaning up from Typhoon Vamco, which cut power and internet to most of the region for days, leaving hundreds of thousands of home-based CX agents offline. Refuges for the homeless will undoubtedly accelerate the spread of the virus which may impact recovery efforts and workforce availability.
The juxtaposition of Covid and Vamco makes clear that in a time of increasingly severe and unpredictable global climate, social and viral disruption, CX resilience demands more than just cloud technology investment to power a remote workforce.
Judd Bagley, Vice President of Marketing at Everise, a CX experience company offering up cutting-edge customer service solutions for high-growth businesses gives his forecast into key cyber security predictions for 2021.
He expects enterprises maintaining strong CX connections into the next year will be those that understand the following six points and either incorporate them or partner with outsourcers that already have.
The Need for Remote and Socially Distanced Workplace Options
True disruption proof CX strategies will require both a mix of onshore, nearshore, and offshore, with each of these leveraging remote and socially distanced workplace options. These will need to dynamically route volume in response to short term needs, while cross-training and re-deploying talent as needed over the medium term - as global conditions and seasonality demand.