Improving Agent Experience is Essential for Improving Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty
June 02 2020 - 6:30AM
Business Wire
Study from NICE inContact finds improving the
agent experience drives contact center efficiency and customer
retention
NICE inContact (Nasdaq: NICE) today announced the
findings from its latest research study, detailing the experiences,
opportunities, and challenges of contact center agents who are a
vital link to improving customer satisfaction and loyalty. The
State of Experience and Engagement in Today’s Contact Centers
study, commissioned by NICE inContact and ICMI, polled over 150
agents across 20 different industries to better understand where
they view their greatest impact on customer experience, serving as
effective brand ambassadors, and inspiring brand loyalty and
lifetime value.
Sitting on the front lines of the customer experience strategy,
agents have an outsized role in ensuring long-term sustainable
growth driven by the contact center. Research firm Gartner has
found that 86% of customer experience executives rank employee
engagement as a top factor in delivering improvements in CX. By
easing key agent pain-points, eliminating skills gaps and handing
agents the tools they need to succeed, contact centers can ensure
consistent, engaging customer experiences that drive positive
business outcomes.
Key findings include:
- The right tools can ensure, or hinder, the speedy resolution
of customer inquiries: While 29% say that the top motivating
factor for agents working in customer service is helping customers,
30% claim that the number one challenge in achieving that goal is
inadequate or hard to use systems – more than double the second
rated choices (management or customer emotions (rude or angry);
each at 14%).
- Half of contact center staff have limited on-the-job
training: Once employees move out of the onboarding phase, 55%
of supervisors and 50% of agents receive under two hours of
additional training a month. Furthermore, of those who do receive
additional training, contact center processes are among the highest
focus areas for both cohorts (52% of supervisors; 59% percent of
agents) as opposed to problem solving skills (33% of supervisors;
32% of agents).
- Business transparency leads to a more motivated and engaged
workforce: Agents whose performance metrics are closely aligned
with those of the overall business are more likely to be engaged
(16%). Furthermore, the agent’s impact on the organization’s goals
is the second highest motivating factor (22%) among those
polled.
“Customer expectations are constantly evolving, from the
digital-first tools they use to engage with businesses to the types
of exceptional experiences they seek on a daily basis,” said
Paul Jarman, NICE inContact CEO. “Best-in-class contact
centers need to support their agents in the same way, delivering
the seamless experiences that enable speedy resolutions. Our study
spotlights the very real need agents have for a solution that
eliminates bouncing between interfaces and windows and supports
solving high-impact issues for customers.”
Contact centers in this study support a wide assortment of
channels, with 69% currently offering five or more different
channels of service. With regard to the size of their contact
centers, 52% represent small contact centers, those with 150 or
fewer full-time equivalents (FTEs); nearly one-quarter represent
medium-sized contact centers of 151-500 FTEs; and large contact
centers (>501 FTEs) account for 25%.
- Agents working in SMB contact centers report the highest
level of satisfaction: 68% compared to agents in large contact
centers with 56% of agents reporting satisfied or very
satisfied.
- Training programs and practices vary across contact center
sizes: Formal training is in place in large contact centers for
agents (97%) and supervisors (95%), compared to small contact
centers with formal training for agents (87%) and supervisors
(82%). Small centers provide more ongoing training for agents on
high-value skills such as communication, problem solving, and
customer service when compared to larger organizations.
NICE inContact CXone delivers the world’s most comprehensive
digital-first omnichannel offering in the Contact Center as a
Service (CCaaS) market aimed at transforming experiences for
customers and agents alike. CXone drives greater efficiency,
satisfaction and retention among agents while improving customer
acquisition and growth metrics.
Organizations looking to better support their agents and provide
effortless experiences are invited to take the NICE inContact Agent
Experience (AX) Maturity Assessment to determine AX readiness and
ultimately grow customer satisfaction: take the online
assessment.
About NICE inContact NICE inContact works with
organizations of all sizes to create extraordinary and trustworthy
customer experiences that create deeper brand loyalty and
relationships that last. With NICE inContact CXoneTM, the
industry’s most complete cloud customer experience platform, we
combine best-in-class Customer Analytics, Omnichannel Routing,
Workforce Optimization, Automation and Artificial Intelligence, all
on an Open Cloud Foundation to help any company transform every
single customer interaction. See how our customer-centric expert
services, innovative software, extensive ecosystem of valuable
partnerships, and over a decade of global experience can help you
transform every experience and customer relationship for lasting
results. NICE inContact is recognized as a market leader by the
leading industry analyst firms. www.niceincontact.com
NICE (Nasdaq: NICE) is the world’s leading provider of
both cloud and on-premises enterprise software solutions that
empower organizations to make smarter decisions based on advanced
analytics of structured and unstructured data. NICE helps
organizations of all sizes deliver better customer service, ensure
compliance, combat fraud and safeguard citizens. Over 25,000
organizations in more than 150 countries, including over 85 of the
Fortune 100 companies, are using NICE solutions. www.nice.com
Trademark Note: NICE and the NICE logo are trademarks or
registered trademarks of NICE Ltd. All other marks are trademarks
of their respective owners. For a full list of NICE’s marks, please
see: www.nice.com/nice-trademarks.
Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains
forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking
statements, including the statements by Paul Jarman are based on
the current beliefs, expectations and assumptions of the management
of NICE Ltd. (the “Company”). In some cases, such forward-looking
statements can be identified by terms such as “believe,” “expect,”
“seek,” “may,” “will,” “intend,” “should,” “project,” “anticipate,”
“plan,” “estimate,” or similar words. Forward-looking statements
are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause
the actual results or performance of the Company to differ
materially from those described herein, including but not limited
to the impact of changes in economic and business conditions,
including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; competition;
successful execution of the Company’s growth strategy; success and
growth of the Company’s cloud Software-as-a-Service business;
changes in technology and market requirements; decline in demand
for the Company's products; inability to timely develop and
introduce new technologies, products and applications; difficulties
or delays in absorbing and integrating acquired operations,
products, technologies and personnel; loss of market share; an
inability to maintain certain marketing and distribution
arrangements; the Company’s dependency on third-party cloud
computing platform providers, hosting facilities and service
partners;, cyber security attacks or other security breaches
against the Company; he effect of newly enacted or modified laws,
regulation or standards on the Company and our products and various
other factors and uncertainties discussed in our filings with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). For a more
detailed description of the risk factors and uncertainties
affecting the company, refer to the Company's reports filed from
time to time with the SEC, including the Company’s Annual Report on
Form 20-F. The forward-looking statements contained in this press
release are made as of the date of this press release, and the
Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise them, except
as required by law.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200602005422/en/
Corporate Media Cheryl Andrus, +1 801 320 3646
cheryl.andrus@niceincontact.com
Investors Marty Cohen, +1 551 256 5354, ET
ir@nice.com
Yisca Erez +972 9 775 3798, CET ir@nice.com
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