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Navigating the Worker Shortage in the Contact Center
- 1. Confidential & Proprietary © SmartAction Navigating the Worker Shortage in the Contact Center CMO Brian Morin Director of Product Marketing Helena Chen Senior Content Marketing Manager Sofia Burton
- 2. Confidential & Proprietary ©SmartAction | 2 About SmartAction AI-Powered Virtual Agents for Omnichannel Self-Service What We Do Our Mission To make life less hard® for brands and their customers #1 Rated Solution on Gartner Peer Insights Achievements Founded as AI research firm & headquartered in Fort Worth, TX Company 100+ Customers across 12 industries
- 3. Confidential & Proprietary © SmartAction Is your contact center struggling to fill open positions? Yes or no?
- 4. Confidential & Proprietary ©SmartAction | 4 # of Jobs Available versus # of People Quitting APRIL MAY JUNE JULY # of Jobs Available 9,200,000 9,480,000 10,100,000 10,900,000 # of People Quitting 3,900,000 3,600,000 3,870,000 3,980,000 - 2,000,000 4,000,000 6,000,000 8,000,000 10,000,000 12,000,000
- 5. Confidential & Proprietary ©SmartAction | 5 The Great Resignation of 2021 1. Employee Disengagement 2. Seeking New Opportunities 3. Coronavirus Concerns 1. Employees are voluntarily quitting their jobs, especially if they cannot work remotely. 2. Gen Z is least likely to work in a call center. 3. Investing in recruiting, hiring, training agents – only for them to quit prematurely or job hop. In the Contact Center: Source: David Filwood
- 6. Confidential & Proprietary ©SmartAction | 6 How Are Companies Coping? • Higher salaries, signing & cash bonuses (Amazon, Walmart, Costco, McDonald’s) • Hybrid workplace -- remote & in-office • Reduce commuting time by structuring your 40-hour workweek to 4 shifts of 10 hours • Poach talent from other contact centers (job hoppers) • Outsource call center operations (BPO) 1. Conversational Self-Service - offload high-volume, repetitive call types 2. Provide software & hardware to facilitate remote work environment 3. Voicemail or callback option when agents are not available Leverage Technologies
- 7. Confidential & Proprietary ©SmartAction | 7 Technologies Shaping the New Normal Entertainment & Gaming Digitization of Services (App-Based Ordering) AI & Cloud Services Remote Work
- 8. ©SmartAction 8 Confidential & Proprietary ©SmartAction | 8 Application Complexity Milestones Our AI Evolution Natural Language Intent Capture 2017 COVID Triage 2020 Scheduling 2019 One-way conversations 2016 Emergency Roadside Assistance 2018 [see next slide] 2021 Authentication 2015
- 9. Confidential & Proprietary ©SmartAction | 9 Pushing What Is Possible 1. Auto Dealership Service Scheduling 2. Complex claim submissions 3. Real-estate showings 6. Cardiovascular Patient Care 8. New customer registration 9. Appliance returns 10. Channel switching 5. Diabetes Patient Care 4. Scheduling for medical clinics and dentists 7. New patient registration 11. Voice -> SMS -> Chat for image upload 14. Tailored experiences (behavioral + demographic) 12. Medical equipment Troubleshooting 13. NLU + Rich Media chat options
- 10. Confidential & Proprietary ©SmartAction | 10 AAA Vehicle Capture ©SmartAction | 10 Calling Conditions: Outside, crosstalk, wind, line noise, bad cell connection, accent, speakerphone Caller intended to say “Ford F250 truck” Speech-to-text heard “aboard have to fifty truck” With confidence scoring, the NLU engine correctly determined “Ford F250 truck”
- 11. Confidential & Proprietary ©SmartAction | 11 Purpose-Built for the Contact Center Audio Input IVA Response Intent APIs “Was that F250 Ford truck?“ Data Sources Automatic Speech Recognition Natural Language Understanding NLU ASR “Aboard to have fifty truck” Text Transcription
- 12. Confidential & Proprietary ©SmartAction | 12 Growing customer base: 1.3 million Americans Challenges Legal & General Policy information, requests for forms, common billing inquiries Payment reminders over voice and SMS One-time payment or enroll in auto-pay Low containment rate for payment call types, resulting in missed payments and lapsed policies Solution
- 13. Confidential & Proprietary ©SmartAction | 13 Start Every Conversation with AI Step 1 Authenticate / verify customer information Step 2 Capture intent and gather information Step 3 Triage to assess situation for the agent Step 4 Transfer call to a human with context
- 14. Next Steps info@smartaction.com o Identify: 1. Call/chat types perfect for automation 2. Expected completion rates 3. Expected call volume deflection o ROI Calculation Free AI–Readiness Assessment Request Demo or What You’ll Get ©SmartAction
- 15. Confidential & Proprietary © SmartAction Confidential & Proprietary © SmartAction Addendum
- 16. Confidential & Proprietary ©SmartAction | 16 Start Every Conversation with AI Virtual Agent Live Agent • Handle common, repetitive interactions • Handle complex tasks that require critical thinking • Authenticate customers, collect information • Diffuse and resolve emotional situations • Act as first line of support: Escalate issues and route accordingly • Offer flexible, creative solutions
- 17. Confidential & Proprietary ©SmartAction | 17 Maturation of Conversational AI Turing Test Apple SIRI IBM Watson Amazon Alexa Microsoft Cortana Messenger Bots ELIZA ALICE Google NOW
- 18. Confidential & Proprietary ©SmartAction | 18 Technologies Shaping the Post-COVID World Entertainment & Gaming Remote Work AI & Cloud Services Digitization of Services (App-Based Ordering)
Editor's Notes
- Brian Finding, replacing, training agents has always been the toughest issue for contact center leaders but right now it’s truly extraordinary. If you feel like you’re the only one having this problem – you’re not. Everyone is having it. This is the single biggest conversation we’re having with every contact center over the last few months. They simply cannot find the workers. And we’re seeing contact centers do extraordinary things they’ve never done before – big increases in salary, cash incentives, outsourcing to offshore countries they’ve never outsourced to. We’ve seen contact centers who have inshore requirements but have had to reach out to inshore BPOs charging them $50/hr Naturally, this has boon to AI companies like ourselves who specialize in self service, but the conversations we’re used to having are business drivers around enhancing the CX and cost savings – not that they can’t find the workers. Some of our biggest footprints are in industries that have seasonality for this very problem. But we’ve never seen a situation where everyone is having the same problem Even worse is some economists saying this problem is here to stay. While most jobs have bounced back since the pandemic, the workers haven’t. There’s still 10-20M fewer Americans working today than a year ago So we’re going to dig into this complex problem and talk about what’s happening, what contact centers are doing, and last - the maturation of the conversational AI toolset and what’s it’s enabled in the last 12-months so you can see if any of that applies to your business
- Sofia: First, it’s important to have some understanding about SmartAction. So, we deliver AI-powered virtual agents as a service. You get turnkey conversational AI technology with omnichannel power. That means we’ve got you covered in voice, chat, and SMS. We incorporate best-in-class AI tools from both Google and Microsoft to augment our proprietary tools — and we are delivering the best experience in the marketplace. What sets us apart from other companies is that we’re not just trying to sell software licenses or seats and then we just wish you good luck on your journey, see you later! Conversations with machines are hard and you need experts for continuous improvement. So we bundle end-to-end CX services with our technology. The design, the build, the ongoing operation after go-live — this technology requires care and feeding to optimize and improve over time. We’re a partner, not just a technology provider. Because of our unique approach, we operate the AI-powered CX for more than 100 brands and we’re currently the top-rated conversational solution on Gartner Peer Insights. I highly suggest checking out those reviews to see why our customers say we’re the best. Now I’m going to hand this off over to Helena to get us started.
- Sofia
- Helena: But what’s strange is that a lot has changed in the last few months – in April of this year, the COVID vaccine became readily available to the general population – we saw businesses open back up and a tremendous spike in the number of jobs available. At the same time, we also saw a record number of people quitting their jobs in April. In fact, for the last four months now, we’re seeing close to 4 million people leave their jobs every month. https://www.businessinsider.com/record-number-workers-quit-fourth-month-labor-shortage-delta-economy-2021-9 ----- In July there are 10.9 million jobs available. In June, there were a record 10.1 million job openings and 9.5 million unemployed people – the latter figure fell to 8.4 million in August – leaving fewer than one jobless worker for each vacancy.
- Sofia Why is this happening? Why are people leaving their jobs en masse? Well, it turns out there are quite a few reasons. According to Gallup, the most common reason was employee disengagement: Not seeing opportunities for development Not feeling connected to the company’s purpose Not having strong relationships at work https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/great-resignation-top-3-reasons-people-are-leaving-their-jobs-according-to-gallup/ #2 – New Opportunities - More money; more flexibility; more happiness This whole pandemic has forced a lot of people into asking the question, ‘What do I want to be doing, and what does my life look like in five to 10 years? Contact centers are experiencing unique pains that have existed pre-COVID but have been exacerbate by the pandemic. Figures highlight that employees are quitting their jobs voluntarily, as we discussed before, to look for new opportunities that offer the benefits they seek. Many want to work remotely, and a lot of contact centers jobs don’t offer that. The competition for employees is so high now that many quit prematurely, or job hop. So all this time and money spent on recruiting, hiring, and training agents is wasted. They lose their investment in the employee, and it demoralizes the company culture and morale. Gen-Z represents about 30% of the total global population, but they’re unlike any generation before them. In 1979, nearly 80% of people between the ages of 18 and 24 had an “entry level” job. With Gen-Z, that percentage is just under 50% because of the push towards higher education. Heavy course loads, unpaid internships, volunteer work are all regular requirements in getting a bachelor’s degree, so focus has been on education, not on jobs. There’s also a saturation rate of 3% within most metro areas in the US and Canada that is contributing to the perfect storm. Competition between employers for new recruiters is intense — plus, getting and keeping quality workers to realize a return on investment is almost impossible. ‘Contact Center Saturation Rate’ Is The Percentage Of The Population In A Metro Area’s Labor Market Working In Call Centers At a 3% ‘Contact Center Saturation Rate’ – competition between employers for new recruits becomes intense. Most Metro Areas in the USA & Canada are now at or well above a 3% Saturation Rate for Call Center jobs. Many employers are struggling to attract quality frontline workers in enough numbers – and to retain them long enough to realize a Return on Investment. ‘Contact Center Saturation Rate’ Is The Percentage Of The Population In A Metro Area’s Labor Market Working In Call Centers At a 3% ‘Contact Center Saturation Rate’ – competition between employers for new recruits becomes intense. At the same time, the figures highlight an elevated number of Americans quitting their jobs to search out new opportunities. Whether seeking more flexible hours, increased pay or the ability to work remotely, the number of quits suggests workers are confident in their ability to find other employment. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-01/return-to-office-employees-are-quitting-instead-of-giving-up-work-from-home https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/07/06/return-to-work-offices/ 4 key factors are driving down the labor force participation rate for Contact Center jobs – driving up wages – and creating a very odd talent shortage in a year with relatively high unemployment: Furloughed workers are waiting to return to their pre Covid19 jobs. The CARES Act & other Government Financial Aid / Unemployment Insurance Programs are making it possible for millions of Americans to receive some measure of ‘Basic Income’ while staying out of the labor force. Contact Center customer service is powered by women. Roughly 80% of CSRs are female & two thirds are working mothers/single parents. Women are currently spending nearly 50% more time on childcare/education/household chores than they did prior to Covid19 – and married women are spending approximately 30% more time on domestic work than their spouse/partner.
- Helena Sofia had mentioned job hopping – which has been an ongoing issue even before the pandemic – but now has become exacerbated by the shortage of workers who aren’t willing to take on hourly, low-wage positions. And so what have companies been doing to remedy this situation? Well, if you’re a large company like Amazon, Walmart, or Costco, and you can up the starting salary and provide a cash bonus or signing bonus. You can also provide more flexibility in the workplace by providing the option to work from home as well as in the office – which realistically only works for some companies and some departments. Other companies have opted to offer more flexibility by restructuring the workweek – rather than coming in 5 days a week, you can come in for 4 days a week with a 10-hour workday. And of course, there are companies that are resorting to poaching talent from other contact centers or outsourcing operating to a BPO provider – which as you know, comes with its own set of pros and cons. So in addition to what some companies have been doing, is the opportunity to leverage technologies that will help ease some of the pressure on your contact center: Provide customers with the option to self serve: Automate customer interactions that are common and repetitive in nature. 76% of consumers try to solve their issues on their own before they seek help – it makes to automate interactions that are repetitive and mundane. (VentureBeat – 46% of customer interactions are already automated) Provide the tools that will enable your workers to work from home – there are many people who have quit simply because of the commute time, so offering the option to WFH will help attract talent that may have transportation or childcare constraints Lastly is offer a callback option if agents aren’t available to answer right away. https://blog.playvox.com/how-to-handle-call-center-staffing-amid-an-agent-shortage https://www.freshworks.com/freshcaller-cloud-pbx/call-routing/manage-staff-shortage-blog/ What are some companies doing? Offer flexibility (remote & in-office) Cash bonuses (signing bonus) Poaching talent from other contact centers
- Helena When it comes to leveraging technologies to help cope with the labor shortage issue – it’s serendipitous that these technologies have become so easy to access during a time when we really needed it. Remote work – tech like zoom, Microsoft teams, and slack have all fostered a virtual collaborative work environment For entertainment and gaming, you have apps that entice you to stay at home We’re seeing the digitization of services – you can pretty much everything delivered to you – from groceries to meals from your favorite restaurant And lastly, the growth of ai & cloud services have enabled businesses to expand and scale – and really circumvent the issues dealing with an on-prem infratstructure (and it’s more accommodating to a dispersed workforce) So with all these readily available technologies and resources, and you combine that with the pandemic – what ends up happening is that businesses accelerated the adoption of technologies by 3 to 7 years. McKinsey – because of the pandemic, we're seeing that at least 80% of customer interactions are now digital in nature. So while the adoption of these technologies isn't all that surprising, it's the speed to adopt the technolgies that is – and they're doing this to remain relevant and competitive in this new economic environment. https://www.mckinsey. com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/how-covid-19-has-pushed-companies-over-the-technology-tipping-point-and-transformed-business-forever https://www.capitalgroup.com/advisor/ca/en/insights/content/articles/five-technology-trends-in-a-post-covid-world.html https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/04/06/eight-post-covid-tech-trends-expected-to-grow-exponentially/?sh=5d5c18f467b4
- Brian So while all these “just in time” technologies had matured to the point where we could do effective video calls, get packages and groceries and take-out delivered at the flick of a finger, and get our entertainment without driving to blockbuster, the tipping point for the contact center has been no different in a couple ways. One was the ability to transition in-office workers to remote in a matter of days. To have the technology to be able to do that was quite astounding Moreover, the maturation of conversational AI technologies was “just in time” and the milestones onscreen shows just how “just in time” that maturation really was. If this pandemic happened 5 yrs ago, the tools just weren’t as evolved as they are today and would have struggled to help most organizations. But you can see the increasing complexity around what AI can handle over recent years, and not just handle but handle as well as your best agent
- Brian Onscreen are examples of what we went “live” with in 2021 or is currently in development to go-live. These are all pushing what’s possible, in fact 4 of these are industry-firsts that have never been done before Customers are calling into auto dealerships to schedule service or repair and aren’t speaking with a human. Even if they’re a new customer and not in the system, we are able to capture all associated data – name, number, address, vehicle. We do the same for retailers and manufacturers as well Diabetes and cardiovascular patients are getting equipment shipped to them, regular refills of prescription and reorders of medical supplies with no human in the loop We work with several large appliance brands on some very complex returns that involve tier-0 troubleshooting, triangulating serial number to date of purchase to make determinations on the warranty and associated next steps We have 3 applications right now that finish the call but require an image to uploaded or SMS or chat. In one case related to claims, it’s a picture of the damaged product. For others it’s uploading a drivers license or insurance card and using OCR technology to transcribe and write into the CRM
- Brian: We’ll showcase an example of just one advancement that has really improved speech technology [play call] What you don’t see here in this call is what the speech-to-text transcription got wrong. It transcribed very literally what it heard. If you recall, when he tried to say the word “Ford,” the “F” was not even audible. What we heard is also what the speech to text heard was “Ord.” Since “Ord’ isn’t a word, it transcribed the closest thing it could find which was “Aboard.” Since “F” isn’t a word, it was transcribed that as “have” and the “250” was transcribed as “to” and the word fifty If the speech to text was so far off, how were we able to get it right?
- Brian And in customer service, you have one advantage - you can predict what a caller might say to even given question. Or at least predict a narrow scope of intents you expect to hear. So in this case, our AI had been tuned to understand that it is listening for vehicle names or anything that sounds even remotely similar to a vehicle name. And this is the secret sauce around good speech technology today. As long as you know the intents you expect to hear, you can narrow the aperture of what you’re listening to only those intents. And that enables special pattern-matching NLU algorithms to run and compare the language acoustic models of what it heard against what it’s listening for
- Helena I’d like to share a customer case study with you, only because they were in a somewhat similar situation of not having enough call center agents to support their growing customer base of 1.3 million people. When they reviewed the investment required to upgrade their contact center and calculated the costs associated with hiring and training new agents – it was just prohibitively expensive. So they wanted to explore other options that would enable customers to self serve routine tasks and wouldn’t require a complete overhaul to their contact center. And what they did was offload the mundane call types such as getting policy information, form requests, and common billing inquiries to an AI powered assistant. They also instituted the option to receive reminders about upcoming payments so that customer policies wouldn’t elapse. And even with this simple feature, they were able The outcome of automating the transactional conversations is that it enabled their existing agents to handle the complex more emotional issues that are typicall in life insurance. And
- Brian This last tip is not really so much a tip anymore as much as it’s becoming a best practice. When people ask where should they start with the AI. The real answer is to start every conversation with AI. You might not end every conversation with AI, but you can certainly take it as far as you need to until a human in required to take over. In some cases, that might just mean natural language intent capture and authentication then hand them to an agent. In other cases, it might be asking the same repetitive questions an agent might ask to gather information At the end of the day what you’re really doing is creating a symbiotic relationship between AI and your agents and upskilling them to do the work that only a human should be doing. Not only does this remove minutes out of your call center to save some dollars, it improves the employee experience so their work is only the most challenging part instead of asking the same redundant questions 50 times a day
- Brian
- Not just stave off hiring more people, but also keep the agents we have Start every conversation – handing off the baton to a live agent
- Brian
- https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/how-covid-19-has-pushed-companies-over-the-technology-tipping-point-and-transformed-business-forever https://www.capitalgroup.com/advisor/ca/en/insights/content/articles/five-technology-trends-in-a-post-covid-world.html https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/04/06/eight-post-covid-tech-trends-expected-to-grow-exponentially/?sh=5d5c18f467b4