Customer service professionals are wired to help. Giving them a way to fix causes, not only symptoms, improves morale, reduces burnout, and makes the job worth staying in.
When agents see that their notes and tagged calls lead to real change, you get better data, ideas, and retention. It doesn’ t just help your customers; it helps your teams too.
WHEN AGENTS SEE THAT THEIR NOTES AND TAGGED CALLS LEAD TO REAL CHANGE, YOU GET BETTER DATA, IDEAS, AND RETENTION.
Beyond this, many in the business are predisposed towards eliminating agent positions.“ Why can’ t we just automate that cost center away?” is damaging thinking that must be countered. That requires a clear plan, with leaders articulating why automation for cost reduction only further rips the net.
CONTACT CENTER ISSUES
REPAIRING THE NET
Customer service and AI are now board‐level priorities. That opens the conversation about what is preventing the experience you want to deliver.
The data you need is available, and if the leadership is predisposed to believe there’ s a business case, the technology makes it possible.
Crucially, customers can now be involved in the overall workflow in ways that future-proof the investment. Involving them sets up the constant iteration and enhancement needed to keep pace.
The contact center will always be a safety net: and it will still catch what slips through the system. If you build and run the loop, the net stops tearing. It becomes a signal that makes the whole organization stronger, and it aligns the business towards the value you deliver to customers.
Fail to make the shift, and the contact center remains the punching bag. We in the industry continue paying for everyone else’ s mistakes on a fraction of the budget.
But make the shift, and the contact center becomes the engine that drives customers on their journeys, and which guides how the organization designs, delivers, and learns.
Chris
Marron is an independent communications-industry analyst and advisor who helps leaders understand the customer service technology market. With over a decade in the field, he has led customer service and communications research for multiple analyst firms. His commentary centres on the intersection of people and technology.
We
hope you didn’ t miss Kathleen Peterson’ s From the Sidelines article in our January issue. That’ s right … Kathleen came out of retirement just for us to discuss the Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025.
FEBRUARY 2026 37