The flooding tragedy that unfolded in Asheville, N. C., last year for example, was devastating for WFH workers in that area. But if they were part of a distributed workforce, the company could continue to operate.

This year we’ ve seen hurricanes, flooding, wildfires in urban areas, and massive winter events. Businesses would be well-suited to consider the likelihood of these events in continuity planning.

So, here’ s what companies need to ask:

• Where are your workers?

• What technology can empower and protect their work?

• Where is your data stored? What redundancies do you have built in?

• How can AI agents help pick up slack when there are inevitable interruptions?

WHAT ARE YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS TO CONTACT CENTERS THAT ARE LOOKING TO MAINTAIN AND GROW THEIR USE OF WFH?

A: I think contact centers should be thinking more broadly beyond WFH. How can new technologies, particularly Agentic AI, help those workers- including remote workers- be more effective? How can AI help provide a better CX overall? And what can call centers do to help upskill workers to participate in the AI economy?

The truth about AI is that it can’ t operate today in a vacuum. It needs training and tuning and oversight. That’ s where call center employees can come in if they are properly upskilled in so-called,“ AI Tuner” or“ AI Whisperer” programs.

Brendan Read is Editor of Contact Center Pipeline. He has been covering and working in customer service and sales and for contact center companies for most of his career. Brendan has edited and written for leading industry publications and has been an industry analyst. He also has authored and co-authored books on contact center design, customer support, and working from home. Brendan can be reached at brendan @ contactcenterpipeline. com.

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