As the pandemic triggered a seismic shift over the past few years, businesses shifted to WFH, driving up the rate of digital acceleration.
Consequently, plans for a measured digital rollout over two to three years were disrupted as CX centers had to deploy cloud-based platforms to support a remote workforce overnight, setting the CX industry on a new digital-first trajectory.
Read on to explore the five key trends that will change the CX industry.
Three trends that could change the direction of CX
The workforce will be agile and adaptable
The change in the industry’s trajectory forces you to adjust the skill set your workers need to thrive in the industry’s new norm.
CX agents, for example, can no longer follow a rote script when interacting with customers. Instead, they would need to have higher emotional equity and be less scripted in dealing with people.
Moreover, they need to have more comprehensive technical knowledge when operating an omnichannel CX solution.
WFH will continue into the foreseeable future
While the pandemic disrupted CX operations, the industry has managed to adapt to a new industry norm, and we can expect the contact center arm of most businesses to continue with WFH.
Today, over 70% of agents are working from home, and we can expect this trend to continue in the next few years.
This enthusiasm for WFH arrives from the many business benefits, for they reported better employee engagement, higher positive agent experiences, improved retention, and happy customers.
Automation is a game-changer that empowers agents
Automated systems have become an integral part of CX solutions within a short time. This is because customers experienced frequent delays in customer contact and service, and automation was used to alleviate the burden on CX agents while reducing wait times for customers.
Whether it be used to streamline CX management activities or using automation applications, such as chatbots, automation has become and will continue to be an integral part of CX operations.
What is the direction of the CX?
Given recent developments, we can expect the future of CX to go in a new direction driven by automation and omnichannel technology.
This could redefine how we see the CX industry and will have significant ramifications on the way key personnel operate within this industry.