Employees prepare to work in automated contact centres

The study of 200 contact centre professionals, commissioned by Enghouse Interactive also discovered that automation is having a real impact on the sector today, with 36% of respondents believing their job could become fully automated within the next five years.

Jeremy Payne, International VP Marketing at Enghouse Interactive said: “New technologies are going to enable employees to upskill in the contact centre. Automation and robotic technologies will give agents enhanced tools to allow them to become more informed about the customer at the point of interaction and better placed to answer their questions and solve their queries quickly, thereby raising levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty.”

The research also found that 73% of employees are concerned that their job could become fully automated at some point in the future, but 80% citied that their employer provides them with the help and support they need to update their skills and adapt to the new age of automation.

Highlighting the fact that businesses are becoming more transparent in these areas, 88% of staff felt they were aware of new technologies being implemented within the business while 85% agreed that their employer gives them the latest tools and technologies to deliver the best possible service to customers.

“It is reassuring to see that employers are continuingly supplying employees with new technologies to help them to carry out their roles to the highest standard. However, these new technologies will only be effective if implemented successfully so it is crucial that business communicate to staff how bots can be used in the correct way”, Payne added.

The study also found that 50% of employees use their in-house IT department for getting staff up to speed with new technologies while 25% rely on documentation and 23% refer to an external solution provider themselves.