Computer telephony integration (CTI) first emerged on the market as simple “screen pop” technology. These screen pops allowed business telephone systems to serve as the input for searches within customer databases and to automatically populate the screens of customer service representatives with your customer’s latest records. This functionality drastically improved the customer experience and changed the way contact centers operate.
And while we often think about the benefits of CTI in terms of the role it plays in shaping the customer experience and the impact it has on the bottom line of the business, there are a number of often overlooked advantages this technology poses your business’ most important asset: your people.
Let’s explore three unique ways you can leverage CTI technology to positively impact the employee experience.
- Improve employee engagement and job satisfaction
Did you know that only 38% of contact-center agents are ‘extremely satisfied’ with their job? This certainly leaves a lot of room for improvement. And the impacts of employee engagement and satisfaction in a call center environment are huge.
Engaged and satisfied call-center employees are…
- 4x more likely to stay with their current employer than dissatisfied colleagues
- 16x more likely to refer friends to their company
- 3x more likely to feel extremely empowered to resolve customer issues
So how can companies address this gap in employee engagement within their contact centers? There are a few simple steps call center managers can take right away, such as removing job frustrations and increasing agent autonomy.
Using CTI technology, contact center managers can remove inefficiencies and enable better problem solving for their agents. Tasks related to call logging can be automated, for example, removing some of the more tedious parts of the job for agents. CTI also enables more job autonomy and decision-making confidence for agents as they are fully equipped with all the information and tools they need to quickly and efficiently handle caller concerns and do their jobs well without seeking assistance elsewhere.
- Remove silos and foster team collaboration
Many organizations face challenges related to siloed operations and inefficiencies resulting from a lack of collaboration. For example, how many of your contact center agents are struggling to address the same frequently asked caller questions, while the answer is in fact known by select team members but not shared? This type of work environment makes it difficult for teams and agents to perform at their peak and best serve your customers.
CTI and contact center productivity solutions like knowledge management software allow agents to easily store and share information across teams and geographic locations for quicker case resolution times. Features like automated call log templates make recording, sharing and reporting on frequent call topics part of the everyday operations at your contact center. This type of visibility and information sharing allows teams that use CTI to collaborate much easier and work together to solve problems in the fastest time possible instead of reinventing the wheel each time a call comes in.
- Streamline employee onboarding and increase employee retention
New contact center hires are estimated to cost businesses between $10,000 and $20,000 per head in recruiting, training, and lost productivity according to research from McKinsey. And since longer-tenured agents have more expertise and institutional knowledge to bring to customer interactions, improving employee retention has a direct impact on the quality of customer care and the costs of delivering it.
Computer telephony integration (CTI) solutions can help streamline new agent training and reduce ramp-up time, as well as have a direct and positive impact on employee retention.
Features like CRM screen pops, click-to-dial and automated call logging all help to automate and streamline call handling processes, making it easier for new agents to learn the processes at your contact center and reduce the amount of information they need to retain.
CTI can be implemented alongside CRM workflows, allowing you to automate standard internal procedures and ramp-up new hires quicker.
Additional features like call recording make on-the-job learning more accessible, especially as work-from-home becomes the new norm for many call center agents.
CTI Benefits the Business and its People
We’ve known for years the benefits CTI technology affords businesses. From reducing call handling time, increasing call center call capacity, and drastically improving the experience for your callers – CTI has many clear advantages. But the more nuanced, people-centric benefits of the technology are often overlooked. And as your contact center agents are your customers’ lifeline to the business, it’s imperative that you keep them engaged, satisfied with their job, and performing at their best.
Learn more about Upland InGenius CTI and how our full suite of contact center productivity tools can be used to positively impact the employee experience at your organization and drive tangible results.