Often considered a company cost center and the Rodney Dangerfield of departments, contact centers were historically overlooked and underfunded when it comes to digital transformation initiatives. But doing nothing today is only driving costs even higher - to the tune of millions of dollars - as disconnected agents spend their time trying to get information to resolve issues and improve the customer experience.

Aberdeen estimates that siloed contact center agents spend almost 15% of their day trying to find information and that a 200-agent contact center loses $1.5 million annually in this type of lost productivity alone (Click to Tweet). If there ever was a time for contact center transformation, 2020 is making the case. Here’s what modern contact centers are realizing about untethered collaboration and what yours could realize, too:

  1. Improved customer experiences. While 88.3% of organizations consider customer experience a competitive differentiator, more than half (53.5%) of CX operations are still managed in silos. Those that are not - unified communication-enabled contact centers - are seeing a 2.9x average handle time improvement year-over-year and an 80% decrease in customer complaints, according to Aberdeen.
  2. Noticeable productivity gains. Aberdeen’s research reveals that unified communication-enabled contact centers see a 50% increase in agent productivity. That’s no small change. Neither is the next reason for contact center transformation.
  3. Cost savings. If a 200-agent contact center loses $1.5 million in labor costs annually from siloed communications, imagine what the whole company is losing. A recent Planview survey shows that all knowledge workers lose around 20 hours a month due to siloed communication tools. Imagine the recouped savings in increased productivity alone, then think about what your company could save from a reduced real estate footprint and hardware costs if your contact center could operate from anywhere.
  4. Reduced employee turnover. Siloed tools created employee frustrations. In a 2020 State of Work survey, 88% of workers said the technology their company uses is an important part of the employee experience, and 91% say they crave modern technology solutions. 84% say businesses today are missing opportunities by not moving to more modern solutions.
  5. Higher quality talent. Modern contact centers are attracting tech-savvy agents who can meet tech-savvy customers’ high expectations, as well as more experienced employees who want long-term remote options with the ability to collaborate just like they’re in the office.
  6. Greater visibility and actionable insights. According to Dimension Data’s 2020 CX Benchmarking Report, customer analytics is the #1 factor that respondents think will reshape the customer experience in the next five years, followed by AI and digital integration. When contact centers are easily able to communicate, collaborate, and share information with the rest of the business, it informs customer experience, product, and service improvement. Most importantly, this informs potential new business models are the key to true digital transformation.
  7. Agility. Sadly, according to the same benchmarking survey, only 15% of respondents say their current customer experience technology will meet future needs. It’s time to raise that percentage.
  8. Positive culture change. Another recent survey shows that for more than half of employees (58%), culture is more important than salary. For companies working to build a customer-centric culture, the number one challenge is functional silos that are preventing customer data sharing.

Looking for options to prepare your contact center or entire organization for the future? Watch this webinar to see how companies like Acer have adapted - or learn how yours can too. Want to read more? Check out this eBook on operating from anywhere.