These factors place additional pressure on companies to rethink scheduling, compensation, and overall work environment.
But something interesting is happening in the higher-skilled labor segment.
As automation absorbs more of the rote work, available customer contact roles are requiring stronger communications skills, higher technical acumen, and robust problem-solving abilities. Foundational skills must also be higher. This has a direct impact on both labor availability / cost and site selection.
SHOULD CONTACT CENTERS RECRUIT FROM LABOR POOLS THEY MAY HAVE OVERLOOKED IN THE PAST FOR THESE HIGHER-SKILLED WORK- ERS? EVEN IN THE FACE OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION( DEI) PUSHBACK?
A: Contact centers need to tap all available labor pools. These include the marginalized( e. g., lower income on social assistance), second chancers( e. g., previously incarcerated), individuals with disabilities, and older workers approaching or at retirement age.
Given protracted labor shortages throughout the U. S., contact centers need to cast a wide net for staffing open positions with either full- or part-time workers. Pushback on DEI programs should essentially be considered irrelevant for staffing contact centers.
ARE CUSTOMER CONTACT ORGANIZATIONS BRINGING THEIR AGENTS BACK ON-PREMISE( I. E., RETURN TO OFFICE [ RTO ])? OR ARE THEY HAVING SECOND THOUGHTS AND KEEPING MANY OF THEM REMOTE?
A: We are definitely seeing a clear recalibration in how customer contact organizations approach RTO strategies. Many companies initially attempted full or partial RTO mandates, but the response from the workforce has prompted organizations to rethink those plans.
Right now, most customer contact employers are landing somewhere in the middle. They recognize the advantages of on-site operations, but they also understand that remote work has become an essential component of talent attraction and retention.
Organizations that are bringing agents back on-premise tend to do so for specific reasons: quality control, training consistency, security needs, and team culture development.
In these cases, companies are typically leaning toward hybrid models rather than a full return. Understandably, hybrid scheduling is more attractive for many workers.
Simultaneously, we are seeing a growing number of companies reconsider the strict“ fully remote” approach. Some organizations experienced challenges early on with remote labor models and are now redesigning their remote strategies to be more structured.
However, I would say the biggest shift we are witnessing is the rise of location-aware remote models.
Many contact center employers are moving away from hiring anywhere in the country and are instead geofencing their remote labor pools within a defined radius: often two hours or less. This allows companies to maintain the benefits of remote work while having the option to collaborate in-person.
Looking at this holistically, I believe that a modest proportion of contact center employers will rely on a fully remote workforce irrespective of a specific location. An even smaller proportion will mandate being in the office five days a week.
The preponderance of employers will follow either a hybrid work model( typically two or three days in the office) or a location-based remote workforce( e. g., all employees residing within a responsible distance of a central office: that might also house other functions).
THE BPO OPTION
Taking the business process outsourcing( BPO) highway has long been a popular route for contact centers, instead of setting up on-premise facilities or managing remote workers.
So, we asked Dennis Donovan,“ Will contact center organizations increase or decrease their use of BPOs?”
“ Companies with contact center operations will rely to a greater extent on outsourcing over the foreseeable future,” says Dennis.“ The call center outsourcing market is expected to grow by almost 7.5 % per annum from 2025 to 2030( according to Morder Intelligence).”
The rationale for greater reliance on BPOs includes technology integration( AI and automation), cost reduction, scalability, global reach, and enhanced customer acceptance( e. g., BPOs can offer specialized skills, data driven performance, and innovation).
“ But in choosing BPOs, contact centers will display a preference for U. S.-based agents and not an overreliance on automated customer response systems,“ says Dennis.
8 CONTACT CENTER PIPELINE
“ Regarding the latter a survey by Data for Progress revealed that 70 % of customers were dissatisfied with automated voice systems. Also, there is pending national legislation titled‘ Keep Call Centers in America Act’ to address both offshoring and overreliance on AI.”