Our assessment and planning projects often carry the recommendation to build out the team of support resources – e.g., business analysts to address forecasting and scheduling, perform analysis to drives actions, and manage knowledge and process automation. Committed resources for quality assurance and training can be a common gap that grows more evident as the power of tools in these areas increase.
In fairness, some passionate leaders begin their technology journeys with great intentions, investing in training for themselves and/or their staff and prioritizing usage. But even with the best intentions, the “tactical swamps the strategic.” When juggling a gaggle of responsibilities, they run short of time to do the analysis, build the new workflow, author the knowledge article, or keep pace with training. Inevitably, the tool sits, gathering dust, with nobody to take the wheel.
Here’s the reality: The support analyst function is not an “in your spare time” role. It’s a mission-critical component of any technology solution. It should not be back-burnered or left to the vagaries of chance when the person who manages it moves on. It’s time to make concrete, sustainable plans to fund the resources that go with technology.
| CC Technology | Who is the “User” | Notes about this User |
| Main Contact Center Platform – Routing, Omnichannel
Reporting and Analytics (R&A) (including Scorecards, Dashboards) |
Business Analyst | As more centers move to the cloud, this role is increasingly handled in the center (not IT/Telecom)
If the reporting and analytics role comes from a corporate Business Intelligence group, make sure someone is focused on (and ideally, immersed in) the center |
| Workforce Management (WFM) | Workforce Analyst | Forecasting, scheduling, and optimization pays big returns for efficiency and the customer experience! |
| Quality Monitoring/Voice of the Customer/ Customer Satisfaction | Quality Analyst | Perhaps the most often prioritized role, yet QA still gets pushed off too often; make sure this role is sized to match the center and does not get diverted |
| Speech/Text Analytics | Business Analyst | If you can get a contact center-focused analytics tool, an Analyst to use it is a “must have”
This person really needs the right aptitude and training This role may be combined with the Quality role and/or R&A |
| Knowledge Management (KM) | Knowledge Manager | Perhaps the most neglected role, and it’s easy to see the result – KM that isn’t up to date, trusted, easy to use…
Newer KM solutions provide powerful tools to manage and automate but still need a focused User to maintain, update, add, and optimize knowledge |
| Customer Relationship Management (CRM) | Business Analyst | CRM is often an enterprise solution but the best use I see of it in contact centers is when a well-trained person in the center can apply its capabilities to the business needs that arise |
| Coaching
eLearning Gamification |
Supervisors, Managers, Trainers, Analysts | These tools have a combination of users and that’s OK – just make sure the responsibilities are clear and ongoing
eLearning in the hands of a great training developer is a powerful combo; Bonus if you have a vendor that includes support on how to use it well |
| Hiring/profiles | HR, Supervisors, Managers | HR may have tools and resources but having CC-specific focus helps tremendously – especially with today’s competitive hiring scene and the challenges of finding best-fit candidates |
| Self-service – IVR, Bots, Online/Web, Mobile | Analyst, Developer | Each self-service tool may have different owners, but regardless you want them to work together for a consistent customer experience and collaborate with the contact center to optimize self-service and the transition to assisted service |
| All things Artificial Intelligence (AI) – bots, process automation, etc. | Data Scientist, Analyst, Developer | A catch-all but a reminder that when you buy powerful AI tools you also need to plan for users – whether in-house, through the vendor or a third party, or some combination |