You'd almost think that Charles Dickens was writing about us in his 1859 novel, “A Tale of Two Cities.” After all, his now famous quote about the uncertainties of mid-19th century Britain eerily echoes today.
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity" . . . "we had everything before us, we had nothing before us."
Welcome Inflation. Hello Recession, My Old Friend
First was the pandemic, which immediately ignited remote work at scale.
Then came post-pandemic, when most employees decided the office wouldn't work for them like it once did.
Then the supply chain disruptions, and now, the war in Ukraine.
All of that is the perfect storm for inflation and recession fears.
We've seen this movie before, but now it's playing on a split screen.
To paraphrase the 1960s hit song by Simon and Garfunkel, "Hello Darkness My Old Friend,” "Hello inflation my old friend, welcome recession once again."
Companies must confront this significantly complex economic landscape while simultaneously reducing risk and investment and remaining technologically relevant.
That's no small feat.
"The economy is in uncertain times with contradictory indicators," said Donna Fluss, CEO of DMG Consulting LLC, during a recent Calabrio webinar. "Inflation remains high, while there's the possibility of a recession. It's a strange combination.”
"Depending on what newspapers you read, employment rates are either really high, or just where they need to be."
Welcome to the age of conundrums.
The Uncertain CFO Casts an Eye on the Contact Center
In periods of uncertainty CFOs have one aim: conserve cash.
"That impacts the investments they make, Fluss said. "They still invest because they have to invest. So, they look for rapid payback," she explained.
When it comes to the contact center, CFOs and IT managers focus on three goals:
- Deliver great CX.
- Improve productivity.
- Reduce costs.
And do all that at once, in a hurry, please.
Responding to a quick poll conducted during the Calabrio webinar, 49 percent of participants said their contact center goals for 2023 are to improve productivity, followed by 29 percent who aim for enhanced customer experience.