LAURA SIKORSKI
MANAGEMENT
MANAGING T0 ADAPT WHERE ARE CONTACT CENTERS GOING POST-COVID-19 PANDEMIC ?
BY BRENDAN READ , CONTACT CENTER PIPELINE ; Q & A WITH LAURA SIKORSKI
ILLUSTRATION PROVIDED BY ADOBE IMAGES
Four years ago , the COVID-19 pandemic struck with a deadly ferocity and impact that had not been experienceed since the 1918 influenza outbreak at the tail end of World War I . And contact centers - along with countless lives - were upended with it .
One of the biggest impacts from this pandemic has arguably been with where and how we work .
• The shift from corporate offices to home offices , either full-time or hybrid , appears to be permanent for many workers who enjoy their freedom from costly , dangerous , and stressful commutes , even in the face of strenuous return-to-office ( RTO ) efforts by many employers .
• The online “ Zoom calls ” have displaced many in-person meetings , which has reduced expensive , time-consuming , and delay-prone travel .
LAURA SIKORSKI
But what have been the lasting effects in the contact center from the pandemic ? How are they being managed in this socalled New Normal ?
To find out , we interviewed our newest Advisory Board member , Laura Sikorski .
ARE CONTACT CENTERS DIFFERENT TODAY AND GOING FORWARD COMPARED WITH BEFORE THE PANDEMIC AND IF SO , HOW ?
A : I really do not care for the catchphrase “ New Normal ” when it relates to contact center management .
Our contact center industry is the most adaptive to change as their responsibility is to satisfy their customers no matter what the situation is .
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