FEATURE
DAN WALLIS VICE PRESIDENT , SHARED SERVICES CONTACT CENTER , VNS HEALTH
We are not done with change Poet and philosopher David Bowie said it best : “ Turn and face the strange …” ( Changes ) That ’ s the situation we have found ourselves in for the past two years . Almost three .
Today we are still normalizing , stabilizing , and adapting from the shift from pandemic-driven agility to new post-pandemic operational realities .
Fortunately , most contact centers were involved , if not fully bought into , remote work . But now we find ourselves adapting to new all-remote or hybrid strategies that have strained organizational norms .
The rules of this game continue to shift and evolve as we pursue the normalization of new strategies while striving to maintain corporate culture .
So , we focus on identifying new ways to effectively engage our staff in their work , helping them see the value of providing high-value experiences , while keeping the impact on the consumer journey front and center . We continue to focus on giving agents the tools , workflows , and knowledge necessary to create repeatable , reliable , high-quality experiences for our patients , members , and their families . Supported by a focus on transparency and accountability . Further , sometimes it feels like some organizations or industries are playing catch up in the world of consumer-centered design . In healthcare , it seems that new features and functions frequently are focused on improvements for the plan or provider , with the impact on consumer experience relegated to an afterthought .
The contact center remains a hub of communication and is a vital partner in developing plans to address the high -friction , often fractured journeys of consumers . Our data and familiarity with the voice of the customer can highlight the opportunities for Change . Because , as Bowie also said in Changes , we can ’ t expect them to “ grow up and out of it ”. We might be sliding into a post-pandemic world … but now the real work begins .
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 .
JANUARY 2023 11