Unified communications lowers hold time by 76 per cent
by Aspect
WHEN you phone a support team to resolve a problem, there are few things more frustrating than hanging on, waiting for your call to be answered. And long hold times aren’t just a customer problem. Often they are associated with problems that impact the effectiveness of the support team itself - such as poor call routing, long average call handling times and poor first call resolution.
If your support operation is suffering from any of these issues then Unified Communications (UC) may be the answer — especially through its ability to quickly bring knowledge experts who are physically located outside your support operation into the customer conversation.
Many companies turning to UC to deliver more integrated assistance to its customers are now targeting these areas — and UC supplier Aspect is one example.
In 2009, Aspect implemented a Seamless Customer Service UC application and Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 within its Technical Services operation, introducing several important new capabilities:
“Ask an Expert” Using the presence detection, instant messaging (IM) and conference calling capabilities of Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2, support engineers use presence identification and skill criteria to find available experts in other departments to rapidly address customer questions. Support staff can call or IM anyone in the organisation, and even route an IM from a customer directly to that expert. The Ask an Expert feature logs and records this entire process, making it available for resource allocation analysis, quality monitoring and regulatory compliance.
Conferencing Aspect Technical Services personnel have conferencing at their fingertips and can escalate from IM to live calls when needed. Seamless Customer Service together with Office Communications Server simplifies remote support with desktop sharing, which increases collaboration to resolve issues more quickly.
Unified Messaging All voice mails are received through Microsoft Outlook email and can be easily forwarded and/or retrieved through mobile devices.
Real-time and historical reporting Consolidated reporting enables the rapid evaluation of team performance, call volume demands and other factors critical to delivering an efficient and high-quality support service.
The impact of these new capabilities has been remarkable.
In less than 12 months, Aspect has seen clear, measurable improvements with communications more streamlined and customer service improved. Call hold times for Aspect Technical Services have been reduced by 76 per cent to just 44 seconds per call, first day resolution rates have increased by seven per cent, and the time to reach a support technician with the correct skill set has improved by eight per cent. Teams using “Ask an Expert” to reach out to Aspect’s experts across the organisation have increased customer satisfaction by six per cent, measuring 4.79 on a scale of five.
For a free IDC white paper, Reducing Operational Costs and Increasing Staff Efficiency by Integrating the Communications Environment with Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2: A Case Study on Aspect, please email marketing.uk@aspect.com