In his iconic poem, W.B. Yeats wrote,
“Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;.”
His now widely quoted line, “the centre cannot hold,” was remarkably prescient – and stark – in its sentiments.
After World War I, who could not sense the long shadows and tragic consequences of “war to end all wars”?
So, here we are one hundred years later, living in challenging times once again when we can take solace in the imagery of Yeats’ masterpiece “The Second Coming.”
But when it comes to centers holding, Yeats couldn’t have imagined that another center – the contact center – is managing to hold its own. And it’s on the brink of transforming the enterprise in profound ways.
When 1 + 1 = Exponential Power
Chemistry shows us that big things can happen when certain compounds come together. Cesium reacts violently with water.
In physics, a nuclear fusion reaction combines two atoms, generating tremendous energy.
The union of things, ideas, and people can suddenly spark entirely new and unexpected events with transformative implications.
So, consider the possibilities when UCaaS and CCaaS come together. Enterprises can become much greater than the sum of their parts. Customer experience becomes more meaningful. And that translates to meaningful revenue.
The Dawn of CX for Everyone, by Blair Pleasant
In a recent interview, Blair Pleasant, an expert on UCaaS and CCaaS, discussed the challenges and benefits of merging these technologies to create better experiences for customers and employees.
She refers to this period as the beginning of “CX for Everyone” (CXE), breaking down the barriers and silos between unified communications and contact centers.
We’re All in the Contact Center Now
Pleasant emphasizes the need for contact center agents to collaborate with subject matter experts within an organization to address more complex inquiries.
She explains, “Contact center agents don’t necessarily have the skills, knowledge, and expertise to handle the more complex inquiries. And this requires leveraging tools like unified communications to engage with knowledge workers or experts within an organization.”
The integration of UCaaS and CCaaS technologies addresses the problem of disconnected systems and departments within companies, she said.
The merging of these technologies results in what Pleasant calls “Contact Centers without Walls,” or CCW, in which “customer engagement and customer experience capabilities will be available to everyone in the organization.”
Technologies Reorder Societies and Company Cultures
“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.” Carl Jung
Jung should have been a contact center manager because his observation contains a grain of truth about the interaction between a highly trained agent and a customer. Or, say, when two team members share ideas. Collaboration leads to the liberation of ideas.
And for businesses, a contact center without walls, blows the roof off of traditionally structured companies where functional roles are kept within ‘walled gardens,’ separate from other departments and from the contact center itself.
But the map isn’t the terrain.
There remains a significant challenge in merging UCaaS and CCaaS. Overcoming cultural resistance within organizations remains unfinished.
Pleasant explains that this change requires every employee to recognize the importance of customer experience, and that’s “the responsibility of everybody in the organization,” she emphasized.
As UC and CC technologies become more closely integrated, companies are breaking down these walls, leading to better first-contact resolution and happier customers.
Pleasant notes, “We’re starting to see the agent saying, ‘let me bring in John and make this a three-way conversation. You can talk directly to John, and we can have a video interaction in this collaborative workspace.'”
The benefits of merging UCaaS and CCaaS are numerous, from improved customer satisfaction to more effective problem-solving.
But as Pleasant points out, the most significant shift involves changing how organizations view their responsibility towards customers, leading to a more seamless, collaborative approach to customer service.
In conclusion, integrating UCaaS and CCaaS represents a new era where every employee becomes part of the transformative power of the contact center without walls.
Meet with Blair and learn more about the unification of UCaaS and CCaaS at UCX USA this September 13-14, in Austin, Texas. Click here to register.
