From a podcast interview with Florian Schröder, the Head of Customer Success at Stepstone, Europe’s online recruiting company.
Transforming Contact Centers: From Cost Centers to Value Centers
Contact centers have long been perceived as cost centers, but the industry is shifting towards recognizing their value in driving customer success and revenue. Florian Schroeder, Head of Customer Success at Stepstone, shares insights on transforming contact centers into value centers and managing the customer journey.
Managing the Customer Journey
Managing the customer journey is a relatively new concept that has become essential in today’s competitive market. Companies must proactively manage the customer journey and bridge the gaps between departments to differentiate themselves. By understanding the customer journey and identifying areas for improvement, companies can enhance customer loyalty and influence future success.
The Hygiene and Motivational Factors
Florian introduces the concept of the hygiene factor and motivational factors in customer experience. Hygiene factors are customers’ basic expectations, such as resolving issues and providing timely responses. Meeting these expectations does not create happiness, but failing to meet them leads to dissatisfaction.
On the other hand, motivational factors are unexpected actions that create happiness. For example, contact centers can reach out to customers to check on their satisfaction or offer additional services they may not be aware of. By emphasizing hygiene and motivational factors, contact centers can enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Promoting Contact Centers as Value Centers
Florian suggests several strategies for transforming contact centers into value centers. First, it is crucial to hire the right people with a service-oriented mentality. These individuals should be trained to understand the impact of their work on the company’s success and customer satisfaction.
Promoting the value of contact centers internally is also essential. By aligning contact center performance with overall company success, leaders can demonstrate the impact of contact centers on revenue generation. Key performance indicators like customer satisfaction scores (CSAT) and net promoter scores (NPS) can be used to measure and promote the value created by contact centers.
Addressing Agent Turnover
Agent turnover is a significant challenge in contact centers but should be accepted as something other than the norm. Florian emphasizes the importance of reducing agent turnover by addressing key factors. Competitive salaries, removing repetitive tasks, and leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to empower agents are crucial steps.
Competitive salaries ensure contact centers can attract and retain the right talent. Removing repetitive tasks through process analysis and AI implementation frees up agents’ time for proactive customer engagement. AI can assist in automating responses and identifying customer needs, allowing agents to focus on delivering exceptional service.
Reducing agent turnover is vital because happy employees lead to happy customers. The correlation between employee engagement and customer satisfaction highlights the importance of creating a positive work environment and providing opportunities for growth and development.
Conclusion
Transforming contact centers from cost centers to value centers requires a proactive approach to managing the customer journey and promoting the value of contact centers internally. Contact centers can reduce agent turnover and enhance customer satisfaction by hiring the right people, providing competitive salaries, and leveraging AI to empower agents. Ultimately, this shift will increase revenue and customer loyalty, solidifying contact centers as valuable organizational assets.
