FEATURE
ILLUSTRATION PROVIDED BY ADOBE IMAGES
WHERE WFH IS GOING AI MAY SHOW THE WAY.
Working from home( WFH) came into its own five years ago last spring when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. But contact centers were using WFH on a limited scale before then: which was why they were faster to go remote than other business functions when offices were suddenly closed.
Lately, companies and governments have been pressuring remote-working employees to return to the office( RTO). But flexibility, worker appeal, real estate cost savings, and yes disaster responsiveness has given WFH staying power, notably on a part-time hybrid basis. A development that is being aided and abetted by advanced, including artificial intelligence( AI)-driven technologies.
Tim Houlne, CEO of Humach, is one of those contact center WFH pioneers. He used evolving technologies to make that work method successful. So, to understand where WFH has been – and where it is going- here is our( virtual of course) interview with Tim.
TIM HOULNE
YOU HAVE BEEN INVOLVED WITH CONTACT CENTER REMOTE WORK / WFH FOR OVER 30 YEARS. HOW DID WFH BEGIN IN THE CONTACT CENTER? WHAT LED COMPANIES TO LOOK AT IT? WHAT WAS IT USED FOR? WHAT WERE THE BENEFITS AND THE CHALLENGES BACK THEN?
A: You’ re right; I saw the WFH opportunity early on because we thought it could solve a number of corporate objectives, including cost efficiency, talent acquisition, flexibility( like for seasonal demand), and longer service windows.
Once companies realized they could improve the customer experience( CX) with a better cost structure while maintaining workforce control, the rest was easy.
6 CONTACT CENTER PIPELINE