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Published on: July 2007
Type of content: ANALYST REPORT
Format: Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) (493 kb)
Length: 25 pages
Price: FREE

Overview:
The traditional call center supports four separate channels; web self-service, email, chat and voice. Moving forward the role of the multi-channel call center agent will be to support all of these channels in a homogeneous way. Technology is on pace with this evolution by enabling web self-service, intelligent routing, real time chat and other similar advances. Best-in-Class companies are those demonstrating the highest levels of customer satisfaction, agent retention and cost reduction. Aberdeen has defined Best-in class as:
• Year over year customer retention improvement greater then 26% and current retention levels 95-100%.
• Year over year customer satisfaction improvement greater then 25% and current satisfaction greater then 85%.
• Year over year Average call waiting time improvement and response times averaging less then 60 sec.

These companies utilize single agents to support multiple channels and differentiate themselves from Industry Average and Laggards as a result.

Migrating to a multi-channel call center agent model is no small task.
• Forty-eight percent of companies surveyed cite a lack of integrated data as a major impediment to satisfaction as customers traverse between channels.
• Forty-six percent of all respondents found that their agents didn’t have the necessary skill set to support multiple channels.
• Thirty-eight percent of call centers surveyed did not have the necessary software systems in place to support the access via multiple channels.

Aberdeen research indicates that companies who address these issues of data integration, agent training and system upgrades are reaping the benefits of the multi-channel call center agents.

Aberdeen research shows that companies evaluating methods to reduce costs recognized the efficiencies of utilizing a single agent across all of the traditional channels. This drives the need to evaluate the techniques and methodologies used to support a multidimensional, multi-channel call center agent and answer such questions as:
• Is the multi-channel call center agent concept scalable?
• Will key performance indicators be negatively impacted by the move to a single agent dealing with multiple channels?
• Are the necessary technologies available to support this initiative?