In today's experience economy, quality is more important than ever. Consumers are much less tolerant of low quality customer service experiences. On the flip side, they'll reward exceptional customer experiences (CX) with more purchases and referrals. Under these circumstances, contact centers can't afford to have agents who are indifferent about or resentful of quality improvement efforts.

An ACD is essential contact center technology. Without an ACD, the operation would be in disarray, which is why it is indispensable for every contact center. However, ACD capabilities vary widely across vendors, meaning just because a call center uses an ACD doesn't mean they are reaping all the benefits that the best ACDs can provide. Learn the capabilities of industry-leading ACDs and how those capabilities positively impact operations and customer experience (CX).

Interactive voice response (IVR) systems are the gatekeepers to the contact center. As such, they set the tone for the entire interaction. Does your gatekeeper welcome everyone in with little friction, or is your IVR system more like the troll under the bridge, barring the way until customers answer the riddles correctly? Contact centers can meet self-service goals with their IVRs while still delivering good CX.

There are numerous reasons to record calls, but leading the pack is quality. Call recordings play a central role in monitoring, measuring, and improving call quality. A quality management program without call recordings is like macaroni without cheese. The pair belong together.

An outbound call center is a customer service or sales operation that makes outgoing calls to customers or prospects. It's staffed with specially trained agents who work on-site, remotely, or may work for a business process outsourcer (BPO). Outbound call centers require unique technology, KPIs, and compliance requirements.

The Kansas City Chiefs, who won the Super Bowl in 2020, had to come back from double digit deficits in two other post-season games leading up to their Super Bowl victory. You might say coming from behind is a competitive advantage for them. In the business world, success often depends on having a competitive advantage over your rivals. Maybe your business is successful because you have the most innovative products and services, or perhaps your competitive advantage comes from low operational costs.

Most contact center leaders have access to data that enables them to assess just how busy their agents are and if they have capacity to take on additional work. They also have the ability to optimize results that impact customer experience (CX). This balance of efficiency and CX is made possible by strong workforce management practices.