The modern workplace is changing in a multitude of different ways. Today, employees have a wide variety of new technology solutions to tap into, from cloud-based collaboration services, to video conferencing. At the same time, the locations that we work from are evolving. We’re discovering that the latest tools in the industry make us more efficient and productive wherever we go.
Indeed, deskless employees are set to make up 72% of the American workforce this year, and half of the UK workforce is expected to be working remotely by the end of 2020.
The question for business leaders is how they can successfully manage their evolving workforce and make team members as effective as possible in this new environment. As the digital era changes the way that customers want to engage with brands, companies like Tollring are providing the analytics that businesses need to understand their own performance as well as understanding their customers’ behaviour.
I spoke to the CEO of Tollring, Tony Martino, to get his thoughts on how analytics and call recording can help businesses to better manage the remote workforce.
Are More Companies Embracing Remote Teams Today?
Tollring, as a market leading software developer for data visualisation solutions, interacts with a large number of digitally-transforming companies on a daily basis. I asked Tony whether the demand for remote working solutions is growing in this new landscape, and what kind of challenges that presents for business leaders.
“We’re seeing a lot of growth in remote working. In the Australian market, about 1 in 3 people are working remotely, and the numbers are similar for the UK. We’re using remote technology in our own business too”
According to Tony, for companies to stay competitive today, they need to be able to provide service and support from a range of different environments, time zones, and landscapes. This means that companies are increasingly creating global workforces full of remote workers. However, in order to ensure that those remote teams are delivering the right solutions to customers, businesses also need to be able to track the quality and performance of the conversations.
“You need to be able to make sure that your team members are delivering the customer journey that’s suitable for your brand. Having access to analytics and call recording from every part of the business is crucial for that purpose.”
How Can Businesses Manage Remote Teams?
Lots of companies, from small organisations to large enterprises, are using remote working solutions as one of the many methods that they rely on to stay competitive. “These companies need the option to set up multiple sites around the world. However, they also need a solution for measuring, understanding, and figuring out how these systems work.”
As remote working becomes a more common consideration for businesses of all sizes, companies need to reach as many people as possible in a variety of ways, and the cloud can help them to do that. Tollring believes that upgrading cloud applications with the analytics and call recording solutions that allow companies to understand which conversations are working best for their team is a crucial part of making every kind of workplace thrive.
“You need to be constantly looking at how you can provide the best possible experience to your customer. We’re in a very competitive landscape right now. A happy customer will stay with you. However, if you’re not keeping your customers happy, then they have more opportunities than ever to look for alternative services.”
As examples, Tony explained that you can analyse team members’ inbound and outbound customer interactions regardless of where each individual is based.
“The key is to look at patterns for high level performance and dig deeper with call recording evaluations. Who is spending the most time on the phone? Is it with the right customers?”
Tony stresses that a major focus should be the non-returned missed calls list and caller tolerance. “Are there patterns for when more calls are missed? How long are customers prepared to wait to be answered? How many missed calls are returned? And what is the cost of a nonreturned missed call?”
Armed with this information, organisations can resource their teams effectively by considering busiest hour analysis, or longer term peaks and troughs of activity. It helps determine if more staff members are needed, or if their working day could be reorganised to solve a problem.
What Advice Would You Give CX Leaders?
As the digital era continues to change the way that customers want to engage with brands, I asked Tony what advice he would give CX leaders to compete in the world of first-class customer service. He told me that setting up and managing remote teams is something that all businesses will need to think about in the years to come.
“CX leaders will need to think about how they’re going to build their communication strategy and use analytics to adhere to a CX-first mindset. We’re a company of more than 100 staff, and we have a lot of teams dealing with different interactions every day. The way that we keep track of everything that’s going on, and ensure that experiences remain excellent, is by collecting as much information as we can.”
According to Tony, call analytics and call recording in your UCaaS environment will help you to get to the heart of understanding every interaction between agents and customers – whether they’re remote or otherwise. Whether businesses have formal contact centres to consider or not, they need to think about how to get the right level of business intelligence set up.
“Understanding your customer in this landscape, and what they need, is pivotal”
“At the same time, knowing your employees and how you can make their tools more accessible will ensure that your team remains efficient and productive.”
