A Guide to Call Deflection Strategies

For those working in contact centers, the term 'call deflection strategy' is likely familiar territory. Companies design a call deflection strategy to redirect incoming customer service calls to appropriate channels, aiming for high efficiency and customer satisfaction. Well executed call deflection strategies create a more streamlined contact center operation that empowers both agents and customers.

In our previous blog, Mastering Contact Center Operations: Key Principles For Successful Call Center Management, we highlighted the key principles for managing these contact center operations, including Intelligent Virtual Assistants (IVAs), Computer Telephony Integration (CTI), and advanced reporting. These are critical components when designing your organization’s call deflection strategy and omnichannel engagement, and it goes beyond that.

Benefits of Call Deflection

Call deflection offers a multitude of advantages, including:

Reduced Average Handle Time (AHT) & Agent Call Volume: By automating repetitive tasks with IVA self-service applications or chat applications, customers can perform simple tasks more quickly and easily without having to wait for an agent to pick up the call. This reduces hold times for callers, improves overall efficiency, and significantly lowers call center operational costs.

Higher Agent Engagement: With IVA automation, agents are now freed to focus on resolving intricate customer concerns and problems, leading to increased sense of achievement, job satisfaction, and improved performance. Agents are now regarded as true customer experience experts and service partners that deliver critical business value.
Reduce Burnout: Agents can burnout quickly from performing the same, repetitive, task every day. Simple password resets aren’t stimulating work. Creating self-service solutions for these types of tasks allow agents to focus on more stimulating work.
24/7 Availability: Call deflection and automation also ensures consistent support, regardless of agent availability or time zone limitations. With 24/7 support via chat, voice, SMS, and the web callers can be served anytime they need. This also helps businesses navigate through seasonality and avoid high overhead costs due to ebbs and flows of their call volume.
Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: With a variety of service channels, touchpoints and automated processes at the their fingertips, customers are now free to choose the best channels convenient to them and enjoy higher self-service autonomy. This leads to a higher CSAT score.

Call Deflection Strategies and Considerations

A successful call deflection strategy requires careful consideration of your unique goals. How can a call deflection strategy benefit your business? Reduced call volume? Improved customer satisfaction metrics? Clearly defining your objectives requires careful evaluation of trade-offs and practical measurements. No self-service option or deflection strategy works for every customer or business.

IVA Self-Service: Consider how many customers contact you for repetitive tasks. Can these tasks be automated while maintaining good customer service? Can you leverage your IVA architecture for these transactions? IVA self-service flows allow customers to complete the tasks they desire with pre-recorded prompts or touch-tone selections. It empowers customers to resolve a lot of issues, such as resetting a password, managing a profile, checking on the status of an order, completing a payment, and more.
Routing Architecture: What is your organization’s call distribution strategy? Are your customers satisfied with the average wait time today before they are connected to an agent? How much does it cost when a call is misrouted to the wrong agent? An efficient routing system connects customers with the agent or channel for their needs. Factors like account details, agent expertise, past interactions, and customer intent should be considered for optimal routing.
Omnichannel Engagement: What are your customers’ demographics and persona? Do they prefer to talk over the phone, engage online or via social media? Omnichannel engagement is a key component of call deflection providing multiple service touchpoints, including:
- Chatbots: Deploy chatbots on websites, social media platforms, and more to answer basic questions and provide real-time support. With new Generative AI powered features, many chatbots today are getting “smarter” and more effective in supporting customers.
- SMS: Leverage SMS for 1-way or 2-way engagements. Common features include appointment confirmations, payment confirmations, shipping updates, or quick surveys.
- FAQs: Develop a comprehensive FAQ section to address common customer inquiries.
- Community Forums: Foster a customer community forum where users can help each other and access valuable knowledge.
- Downloadable Solutions Manuals: Offer downloadable guides or solutions manuals for self-directed troubleshooting.
Predictive Outreach: Proactive customer outreach can address potential issues before they escalate into phone calls. This includes outbound calls, push notifications, SMS messages, and more. These types of messages can include payment reminders, appointment reminders, service interruption notifications, and more.

Call Deflection Implementation

Modern-day Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) solutions go far beyond agents, networks, and telephones. It includes a comprehensive suite of technology and process orchestration to ensure service continuity and effectiveness. A well-established implementation plan not only brings your call deflection strategies to life, but also establishes a competitive edge and customer satisfaction over competitors. Listed below are some common best practices to achieve the competitive edge:

CTI Integration and CRM Access: Seamlessly integrate CTI with your CRM system to provide agents with instant customer information, enhancing the overall customer journey.
Customization: Tailor your call deflection strategy to your specific business needs and target audience.
A/B Testing: Employ A/B testing with controlled rollouts (e.g. volume throttle) to optimize the effectiveness of your strategies.
Governance and Collaboration: Establish a governance board with representatives from relevant departments to ensure alignment and address cross-functional concerns.
Data-Driven Approach: Leverage reporting tools to continuously analyze customer interactions and refine your deflection strategy for ongoing improvement. To learn more about reporting best practices, check Kenway’s recent article on important metrics and executive dashboards.
Embrace New Technologies: Stay informed about emerging technologies and best practices in call deflection to gain a competitive advantage.
Generative AI: Kenway recently elaborated the potential for Generative AI in Contact Center Innovation in this article. In the Contact Center space, it unlocks efficiency, makes customer experience more personalized, empower agents, and constantly improve Natural Language Processing (NLP) capabilities.

A well-designed call deflection strategy benefits both businesses and customers. By implementing a variety of tactics, businesses can streamline operations, empower agents, and boost customer satisfaction. Instead of deploying everything at once, the key to successful call deflection is to continuously analyze, adapt, and leverage the latest technologies to stay ahead of the curve and relevant to business needs. With that, call deflection will continue to remain a powerful tool for exceptional customer service.

Kenway’s Call Deflection Solutions

At Kenway, we specialize in crafting effective call deflection strategies that enhance customer experiences. By leveraging advanced metrics and Intelligent Virtual Assistants, we help organizations reduce wait times and boost satisfaction. Contact us today to learn how we can optimize your call deflection efforts and drive success for your business.

Unveiling the Power of Intelligent Virtual Agents in Contact Center Solutions

In the rapidly evolving landscape of contact centers, businesses need to meet the expectation of seamless, personalized, and efficient customer service interactions. Intelligent Virtual Agents (IVAs) have emerged as a powerful solution for meeting these demands. IVA systems are AI-driven solutions that enable businesses to automate responses and provide human-like, intelligent interactions that align with customer expectations.

IVA vs. IVR: The Journey from Traditional to Intelligent

Contact center organizations are transitioning from rule-based, static Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems to the dynamic capabilities offered by Intelligent Virtual Agents.

Traditional IVRs operate within predefined rules, provide limited assistance, and struggle to grasp the nuances of natural language. These platforms are a great start for contact centers seeking to serve customers through automation, but they do not allow the flexibility that adjusting to free-speech conversations requires.

IVA systems represent a leap forward, incorporating AI technologies such as Natural Language Understanding (NLU) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to comprehend and respond to customers with contextual intelligence. These technologies empower IVAs to understand the intricacies of human language, allowing for more nuanced and context-aware interactions.

Additionally, IVAs emphasize omnichannel support for an optimized omnichannel strategy that ensures a consistent user experience regardless of whether customers engage through text-based chat, voice interactions, or SMS.

IVAs also represent the move from traditional data connectivity to a modern data view, as they can analyze vast amounts of customer interaction data and learn from past engagements to enhance future interactions.

All of these IVA features illustrate just how personalized and innovative IVA systems are when comparing IVAs vs IVRs.

The Crucial Role of IVAs in CCaaS Platforms

Like nearly every other industry, contact centers have evolved rapidly towards cloud-based platforms in recent years. Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) platforms increase flexibility, scalability, and operational efficiency.

However, the main driver for organizations to move towards CCaaS solutions is that it eliminates the need to maintain on-premises infrastructure, which reduces cost and increases flexibility for remote workers.

IVAs are a core component of the CCaaS ecosystem. There are many vendors in the market today that offer this service across all channels. The 2023 Gartner CCaaS Magic Quadrant highlights the following vendors as standout leaders:

Whether voice, chat, text, or a combination of the above, CCaaS providers offer solutions to fulfill client’s needs for more responsive, data-driven, and efficient IVA systems.

IVA Implementation in Contact Centers

The IVA vs IVR conversation marks a significant evolution for contact centers. For companies seeking to stay ahead of the pack in contact center innovation, here are some tips when implementing IVA systems:

Develop Use Cases

Using IVA systems like a catch-all for your contact center’s potential inefficiencies will not serve your organization or your customers well in the long run. Before implementing your IVA, utilize data analytics to determine where your contact center may be falling behind, and whether an IVA could be the best solution for filling that gap.

Evaluate IVA Options

Once use cases are identified, it’s time to identify the right IVA provider for your organization. Factors to consider include cost, capabilities, and user-friendliness.

Test and Monitor Regularly

Testing your IVA system upon implementation is a crucial element of setting your contact center up for success as it grows and modernizes. Testing early and often will aid in identifying inefficiencies and pain points within the system. Continuous monitoring after the initial testing period is also important to ensure the standards for your IVA system always remain high.

Contact Center Solutions with Kenway Consulting

Organizations are embracing IVAs with advanced NLU and NLP capabilities, omnichannel support, and a data-driven approach. The flexibility and cost-efficiency of IVA systems position them as indispensable assets in modern contact center frameworks, offering a pathway to deliver exceptional and consistent customer experiences across diverse channels at a reasonable cost.

If you’re looking to take the next step in your contact center journey, have questions about IVAs vs IVRs, or aren’t sure how to get started, connect with our Contact Center Solutions experts to begin strategizing for a more streamlined and efficient contact center.

FAQs:

What are the differences when comparing IVA vs IVR?

IVAs use virtual agents to provide personalized conversations and solutions for contact center callers. IVRs are useful but less advanced tools, which use a prerecorded menu with limited navigation options.

How do businesses use IVR and IVA?

Businesses use IVR and IVA services for contact center optimization. IVRs are often used for automated menu offerings while IVAs can carry on full conversations with customers.

How to choose between IVA vs IVR?

Many businesses already have IVR capability in their contact center system and may decide that now is a good time to upgrade to an IVA system. This decision depends on the level of optimization and customer service your company desires to provide, but Kenway recommends utilizing IVR systems in order to stay competitive within your industry.

Implementing & Supporting Contact Centers for Single Computer-Telephony Integration (SCTI)

A Multi-Faceted Approach to Modernizing Contact Centers for a Leading Fortune 50 Telecom Provider

CLIENT PROFILE

Industry: Telecommunications

Client: Fortune 50 Telecom Provider

Solution: Contact Center Solutions, Enterprise Program Management

BACKGROUND

In an increasingly competitive business landscape, contact centers face the constant challenge of optimizing operational efficiency while enhancing customer experience. As businesses expand, whether through acquisitions, new service offerings, or growing vendor reliance, contact center infrastructures tend to fragment, which can significantly affect performance. With the growing need to support omnichannel customer communications—such as voice, chat, and video—the challenge becomes even more pronounced.

Recognizing these complexities, a Fortune 50 telecom provider sought to transform its contact center platform to drive efficiency and enhance customer experience. Their goal was to migrate more than 30,000 agents spanning over 400 centers and 16 countries from a legacy system onto a modern, unified platform. Kenway Consulting was engaged to lead this initiative, leveraging its expertise in Enterprise Program Management and Contact Center Solutions.

THE CHALLENGE

The client's contact center infrastructure was fragmented, largely due to legacy systems and acquisitions over time. With tens of thousands of agents across multiple lines of business, each with distinct requirements, migrating to a unified platform presented several key challenges:

Diverse infrastructure: Years of mergers and acquisitions resulted in fragmented technology stacks, with inconsistent upgrades and maintenance across different platforms. Integrating these legacy systems, each built for distinct purposes and leveraging different technologies, into a single, cohesive platform was a complex undertaking. The integration process required not only advanced technical expertise but also careful coordination across multiple business units to ensure seamless alignment and functionality.
Complex vendor landscape: With multiple vendors involved in different aspects of the infrastructure, aligning internal processes, resources, and technology requirements was a significant hurdle.
Change management: Ensuring user adoption and proper training for agents was essential to a smooth transition.
Supply Chain Delays: A six-month delay in server procurement, driven by widespread supply chain disruptions, significantly impacted the project timeline. As critical infrastructure components, the delayed servers played a vital role in the overall system, causing cascading effects across the entire initiative.

Kenway was tasked with leading the migration while navigating these obstacles, implementing a unified system that would streamline operations, and enhancing the customer journey.

THE SOLUTION

Kenway’s involvement spanned several years, working closely with the client to tackle the complexities of modernizing its contact center infrastructure which included multiple Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) systems to a single CTI vendor. By providing program management services, vendor management, and routing architecture and support Kenway ensured a seamless transition.

1. Enterprise Program Management

Kenway implemented a robust Enterprise Program Management approach to ensure alignment across all projects. The team facilitated regular stand-ups and deployed program-wide tools that enhanced communication across 20 project managers and technical SMEs. By doing so, Kenway was able to accurately forecast and keep project teams on track even when there were significant delays due to supply chain issues of crucial server components which delayed the project by 6 months and assist with the executive communications.

Key areas of focus included:

Vendor management: Kenway acted as a central hub between the client and vendors, ensuring all technical requirements were clearly communicated and understood. By collecting and organizing vendor information, Kenway ensured all teams were well-prepared for the agent migration process.
Dependency tracking: With multiple interconnected deadlines, the team used tracking tools to identify, monitor, and manage project dependencies. This was critical in maintaining progress, even during unavoidable delays.

2. Routing Architecture and Support

One of the most challenging aspects of the migration was developing a new call flow strategy while minimizing disruption to ongoing operations.

Call flow management: Kenway’s first step was to help map existing call flows onto the new consolidated design. The team conducted an in-depth analysis to ensure all routing logic was accounted for, avoiding errors during the transition.
Dynamic routing architecture: To facilitate a gradual migration, Kenway designed a system that allowed real-time traffic allocation between old and new call flows. This enabled the telecom provider to dynamically route calls to the appropriate agents while quickly addressing any unforeseen issues.
Troubleshooting: Kenway implemented an alarming system to detect defects during the migration. With deep expertise in routing architecture, Kenway swiftly identified and resolved issues, ensuring a smooth transition.

3. Testing Services

To ensure the infrastructure was robust and functional, Kenway played a key role in establishing and managing comprehensive testing services across various phases of the project.

Infrastructure testing: Kenway coordinated unit testing and failover/disaster recovery tests to verify the stability and reliability of the new infrastructure.
System integration testing: Over four months, Kenway facilitated end-to-end system integration testing, collaborating with all technical teams involved. By hosting daily stand-ups, tracking defects, and troubleshooting issues, Kenway ensured the successful execution of the test plan.
User Acceptance Testing (UAT): Kenway led UAT, creating the test plans and working closely with the client’s IVR teams to test platform functionality. This included ensuring that agents were prepared, and the platform was fully tested and ready for go-live.

4. Migration and Go-Live Support

Kenway's support was critical during the migration and go-live phases. From preparing agents to ensuring a seamless transition, the team handled multiple moving parts, including:

Agent preparation: Kenway created detailed cutover plans to manage agent provisioning across more than 10 Lines of Business (LOBs) and over 30,000 agents.
Go-live support: During the go-live period, Kenway provided hands-on support, troubleshooting configuration issues in real-time, and resolving defects to ensure minimal disruption.
Defect management: Over 20 distinct tracks within the project required defect management, which Kenway handled using structured prioritization methods, ensuring all issues were resolved efficiently.

5. Customer Experience Enhancements

While Kenway’s primary focus was on the migration, the team also identified additional customer experiences and applications that needed to be migrated onto the central virtual assistant platform. These applications utilized the timing of the platform change to incorporate enhancements during their migration period so the training could be incorporated holistically. Kenway identified the opportunity to help get these enhancements complete before migration live date and assisted with getting this incorporated into the overall program training curriculum. One such example is the agent desktop application, the tool an agent utilizes to manage a customer’s call. Kenway saw a gap in how enhancement requirements from the business were getting to the third party vendor to develop. Kenway stepped in to host requirements grooming sessions, create a backlog of enhancement requests, and see to its successful production deployment to time with migration live date. By going above and beyond just the migration scope, Kenway optimized the agent and customer experience beyond just the platform switch.

WHAT WE DELIVERED

Kenway’s comprehensive approach delivered significant value across multiple areas of the project:

Change Management: Kenway meticulously outlined business and technical requirements across all project tracks, ensuring seamless alignment with regulatory requirements and technical specifications.
Technical Documentation: Kenway provided thorough documentation of all technical requirements and regulatory standards to ensure smooth project execution.
Program Management: Kenway played a pivotal role in managing over 20 distinct projects, coordinating status reporting, and ensuring cross-team alignment throughout the SCTI platform migration.
End-to-End Testing (E2E): The team developed and executed rigorous UAT and E2E testing plans, ensuring all integrations were fully validated before going live.
Migration Support: With a focus on scalability, Kenway provided robust support for the CTI migration, helping the client manage defect resolution and ensuring a smooth transition for agents.

RESULTS

By leveraging Kenway’s expertise, the client successfully completed the CTI migration while enhancing their contact center operations. The result was a scalable, flexible platform capable of supporting the company’s evolving business needs. Key outcomes included:

Improved Scalability: Kenway's implementation of scalable processes and tools provided a solid foundation for future upgrades and Business as Usual (BAU) changes, enabling the client to easily adapt to evolving business needs.
Seamless Transitions: The robust change management approach and user acceptance testing ensured a smooth transition for business units and agents, minimizing operational disruptions and accelerating user adoption.
Increased Reliability: Comprehensive testing at every phase guaranteed the infrastructure’s reliability, reducing risks and ensuring a stable go-live with minimal downtime.
Efficient Execution: Collaborative efforts between Kenway, vendors, and internal teams ensured that all project objectives were met on time and within scope, delivering a fully integrated and efficient solution.

Kenway’s strategic approach, technical expertise, and commitment to operational excellence were crucial to the successful execution of this complex, multi-year transformation.

CONCLUSION

The successful implementation and migration of the CTI platform highlights the critical role of strategic collaboration, technical expertise, and effective program management. Kenway facilitated this transformation by coordinating complex vendor landscapes, optimizing call flows, and leading thorough testing efforts. As a result, the client was able to modernize their contact center infrastructure, improve customer experience, and establish a scalable foundation for future expansion.

Discover how our customized approach to contact center modernization and enterprise program management can optimize your operations and enhance customer satisfaction. Contact us today to explore how we can help your organization achieve operational excellence.

Master Contact Center Management: Key Principles for Success

Effective contact center management goes far beyond answering customer calls. Call center managers tend to a variety of needs day in and day out. Some of these needs include prioritizing customer satisfaction, agent-well being, and keeping your technology and workflows up-to-date.

Today, CCaaS (Contact Center as a Service) Solutions involve more than just fielding calls. CCaaS solutions integrate technology, data analysis, and customer-centric approaches that can unlock significant improvements in customer satisfaction and operational effectiveness.

In order to better understand the complex world of CCaaS, we will be discussing contact center management best practices below:

Managing Customers

Every industry wants to serve its customers well, but contact center customers are particularly unique stakeholders because the core of contact center operations is based on customer interaction.

At Kenway, we spend a lot of time talking about contact center improvement ideas through technology, but your technology can only go as far as the foundation laid by the people in your organization. Managing customers also refers to managing the people and processes in your company, because maintaining healthy employees leads to great customer service, and great customer service leads to satisfied customers.

Tips for increasing contact center efficiency for customers and employees include:

1. Agent training

Contact center work requires a lot of person-to-person interaction, and those first impressions can make or break a call center interaction. Ensuring that your agents are thoroughly trained and given the tools they need to succeed is the best way to set your entire contact center up for success.

2. Focus on mindset

A customer-first mindset will help your agents approach every interaction with a positive, solutions-focused attitude.

3. Proactive problem-solving

The more your agents become familiar with the solutions your organization offers, the more they will be able to anticipate customer needs and address issues before they arise, resulting in fewer calls and happier customers.

Managing Technology

Now that we’ve covered the important interpersonal element of contact center management, it's time to explore the ins and outs of leveraging technology for contact center improvement.

1. Harnessing the Power of Intelligent Virtual Assistants (IVAs)

IVAs have revolutionized contact center management by offering automated yet personalized interactions. These AI-driven assistants handle routine questions, freeing up human agents to focus on complex issues. The strategic implementation of IVAs can significantly reduce call volumes, lower costs, and elevate the overall customer experience.

2. Comprehensive Reporting for Informed Decision Making

Data is the lifeblood of effective contact center management. Business intelligence reporting, machine learning models, and predictive analytics provide insights into call patterns, agent performance, and customer behaviors. When this reporting is utilized, contact center managers can make data-driven decisions that lead to improved service quality and operational efficiency.

3. The Crucial Role of Routing Architecture

Efficient routing architecture ensures customer questions are directed to the most appropriate agent or channel every time. Dynamic routing considers factors like account data, agent skills, customer history, and intent. Routing architecture in contact center management can minimize wait times, enhance first-call resolution rates, and ultimately aid in customer satisfaction.

4. Synergy with Computer Telephony Integration (CTI)

CTI integration seamlessly connects call center technologies, enabling agents to access customer data instantly. Agents can then view past interactions and caller details in real time. Integrating CTI with IVAs and routing systems creates a unified ecosystem, resulting in smoother customer journeys.

5. Continuous Improvement and Training

Effective contact center management is an ongoing process. Regular performance analysis and strategic adaptation are necessary for managing both people and technology. Utilizing AI for continuous improvement is a great option. AI driven agent assist tools like Google’s Agent Assist or Five9’s Agent Assist are great places to start.

Next Steps in Transforming Contact Center Operations

Contact center management has evolved into a critical cost driver for organizations and demands a strategic approach. Embracing the steps outlined in this blog will help your organization enhance customer satisfaction, increase call capacity, and save on costs.

If you’re looking to improve contact center operations, streamline reporting, or find self-service opportunities, connect with our Contact Center Solutions experts today.

FAQs

How can you improve call center customer service?

To improve customer service in a call center, focus on enhancing agent training, implementing customer-centric technologies such as IVAs, and continually analyzing performance metrics to refine workflows and address inefficiencies.

How do you improve call center agent performance?

Improving agent performance requires a combination of regular training, performance-based incentives, and even AI-driven agent assist tools for faster and more accurate responses.

What is contact center management?

Contact center management involves overseeing the day-to-day operations of a contact center, ensuring customer satisfaction, agent well-being, and operational efficiency through technology, data analysis, and continuous improvement strategies.

What does a contact center manager do?

A contact center manager is responsible for managing the team of agents, overseeing technology implementations, analyzing performance data, and ensuring that customer service standards are met. They also focus on optimizing operational efficiency and driving overall improvement in contact center performance.

Testing Automation: What You Need to Know

With a long history in Quality Assurance, Kenway has been a trusted partner in supporting the implementation of automation solutions for our clients, specifically in the IVR (Interactive Voice Response) and Contact Center spaces. Testing automation is a game changer for any company that can implement it; however, many do not consider the investments needed to ensure consistent success and meaningful ROI. Without common dependencies being proactively governed and appropriately managed, automation becomes impossible to implement effectively. Kenway works with our clients to address these extremely complex challenges while guiding them successfully through their automation adoption journey.

The Fundamentals of Testing Automation

Strategy & Process

A well planned and thorough implementation strategy is fundamental to the success of an automation initiative. By establishing specific goals and desired outcomes, teams can prioritize areas in need of automation. This clarity enables efficient resource allocation and ensures that automation efforts are targeted towards areas that will yield the greatest benefits.

Well-defined testing processes guided through comprehensive test plans help mold effective automation certification practices. These plans outline the scope, coverage, and test cases to be automated, ensuring that all critical scenarios and functions are adequately tested. With a solid test plan in place, an organization can effectively prioritize its automation efforts and ensure comprehensive coverage, minimizing the risk of overlooking critical aspects of the application.

Furthermore, strong testing processes provide standardized procedures for test case design, execution, and result analysis. This consistency ensures that the testing automation team follows best practices, adheres to established guidelines, and maintains a high level of quality and accuracy in their testing activities. By following a systematic approach, firms can confidently rely on automation results to make informed decisions about the application's quality and readiness for deployment.

Dependency Management

There are several dependencies which require proactive mapping, with either direct resolution or meaningful mitigation, to support a healthy automated quality assurance experience. Some of the more common and high priority dependencies are associated with data and environments. Clean and reliable data is a fundamental dependency for implementing automation successfully. It is the fuel that drives the automation engine and plays a crucial role in producing accurate and meaningful test results.

Test data configured to mimic real-world scenarios replicates realistic user interactions with the developed applications. With compliant data, automated tests can be executed without encountering false failures, and/or false positives. When working with flawed or unreliable data, automation scripts will likely encounter unexpected issues or fail to produce accurate results. Quality data eliminates inconsistencies, errors, and duplicates that can hinder the effectiveness of automation.

Furthermore, clean and reliable data enables better analysis and troubleshooting during the testing process. When automation scripts produce results that are based on accurate data, it becomes easier to identify and isolate issues or defects within the application. This expedites the debugging and resolution process, saving valuable time and resources. Data management practices, including version control and documentation, contribute to the overall traceability and repeatability of automated tests. Teams can track changes in test data, compare results between different test runs, and reproduce specific test scenarios with confidence. This traceability fosters transparency and enables effective collaboration between testers, developers, and stakeholders involved in the automation process.

Available, stable, and release compliant environments are also fundamental to supporting effective automation implementations. Overall, environments which are managed effectively provide the foundation for consistent, reliable, and efficient QA processes. They help ensure that test results are accurate, defects can be reproduced, and certification processes can be optimized, and eventually automated. Therefore, organizations should strive to establish and maintain available, stable, and release compliant environments to enhance the effectiveness of their quality assurance and automation practices.

Tool Selection and Maintenance

The process of adopting testing automation includes the critical task of selecting the right automation tools which align with project requirements, technology stack, and testing objectives. The choice of tools directly impacts the efficiency and effectiveness of the automation process. By evaluating different options and identifying the tool that best suits a company’s needs, organizations can ensure a seamless and successful implementation of automation.

There is a wide range of automation tools available in the market. Some of the leading choices include Cyara, Selenium, and Hammer. Kenway recently partnered with Cyara, a leading automated CX assurance platform. As Kenway is tool agnostic, we do not recommend one vendor vs another based on our own relationships or partnerships; we help our clients choose the right solution based on their unique paradigm and requirements. In this case we worked with the client to build requirements and validate that it was the right choice for their needs and would recommend that all organizations take the same steps to ensure the tool selected is the best fit.

Once the tools are selected, ongoing maintenance becomes essential for the long-term sustainability of the automation effort. Regular updates, patches, and enhancements keep the tools compatible with the ever-evolving technology landscape.

Maintenance activities also involve monitoring tool performance, addressing any issues or bugs, and ensuring the tools remain reliable and efficient in supporting the automated testing process. Proper tool maintenance also includes staying informed about the latest advancements in automation technology, allowing teams to leverage new features and capabilities to enhance their automated testing efforts.

Moreover, tool maintenance encompasses providing training and skill development opportunities for the testing team. Ensuring that testers are proficient in utilizing the selected automation tools is crucial for maximizing their potential. By equipping the team with the necessary skills, teams can effectively design and execute test cases, analyze test results, and fully leverage the capabilities of the testing automation tools.

Testing Automation Governance

Governance establishes and ensures the maintenance of standardized methodologies, procedures, and guidelines for testing automation, test case design, execution, and result analysis across different projects and teams. By providing a framework for standardization, governance facilitates collaboration, reduces errors, and improves the overall quality of testing – automated or not. Without a foundation in good governance, the ability to reap the benefit of automation becomes extremely difficult.

Governance plays a crucial role in risk management. A well governed program identifies and mitigates risks associated with autonomous certification practices (e.g., data privacy and security, test environment stability, tool selection, regulatory requirements, and industry standards). By implementing controls and protocols, governance functions proactively address potential risks and minimize disruptions or failures in the testing process.

Governance promotes accountability and transparency in testing activities. It establishes clear roles and responsibilities for all stakeholders. By defining and enforcing these roles, governance fosters transparency, trust, and effective collaboration among team members, leading to better outcomes in automated testing. It also facilitates knowledge management by capturing and sharing best practices, lessons learned, and automation artifacts. Managers are better equipped to ensure that valuable insights, tools, and resources are documented, stored, and made accessible to relevant stakeholders. This knowledge management aspect of governance promotes learning, innovation, and efficiency in testing, especially when automated.

Change Management

A well targeted and streamlined change management approach will help guarantee adoption of automation. Each team impacted by the enhanced processes to support automation will need to understand their roles and responsibilities to ensure the organization achieves the highest ROI. Each stakeholder must have a clear understanding of how their role impacts the success of automation. Governance must be equipped to validate that automation processes are being consistently leveraged, with any associated risks and issues being quickly resolved or mitigated.

Kenway understands that automation is an iterative process. As automation initiatives progress, it's common for organizations to revisit and refine their testing strategy, governance, dependency management, and change management practices. Continuous evaluation, adaptation, and improvement are also crucial to optimize the benefits of automation over time.

How Kenway Can Help

When engaging with a client interested in automation, Kenway will assess processes, dependencies, and governance prior to conducting an analysis on automation tools. By identifying gaps in the fundamentals early, we can create an effective plan to prioritize and address issues which ultimately support the delivery of a highly functional automated testing framework. We guide our clients through automation orchestration, model adoption options, and tool selection processes, ensuring that the client’s unique needs are met. Throughout this journey, we focus on the impacts to the existing teams, unique personas, and processes to ensure a smooth transition via a well-defined change management strategy. Automation is a powerful tool, but only when organizations make the proper investments to effectively integrate and nurture it. At Kenway, we pride ourselves on having helped clients maximize the return on their automation investment.

If you are struggling with your manual testing, having difficulties implementing automated testing, or simply have interest in automated testing, we would like to hear from you at [email protected].

Improving Patient Engagement: Healthcare Contact Center Innovations

In today's dynamic healthcare environment, the pursuit of exceptional patient experience in healthcare has become more than just a goal; it's a fundamental imperative. As the industry continues its transition towards value-based care models, healthcare leaders are increasingly turning to advanced contact center solutions to drive patient engagement, satisfaction, and ultimately, better outcomes. At the forefront of this transformation is Kenway Consulting's Contact Center Solutions practice, which offers a strategic blend of innovation, technology, and patient-centricity.

Patient Engagement

Patient engagement is not a static concept but rather a living, breathing capability that demands continuous refinement and adaptation. Healthcare leaders must orchestrate the proliferation of patient journeys, ensuring that interactions are personalized, relevant, and seamless across all touchpoints. This entails treating engagement as a dynamic process rather than rigid patient journeys, allowing for flexibility and responsiveness to evolving patient needs and preferences.

One of the key advancements in contact center solutions is the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into patient engagement processes. By embedding AI capabilities such as predictive analytics, natural language understanding, and chatbots, healthcare providers can deliver more personalized and proactive experiences to patients. However, striking the right balance between human intervention and automation is crucial to maintaining trust and empathy in patient interactions. While automation can streamline routine tasks and improve efficiency, human touchpoints remain essential for delivering compassionate care and addressing complex patient needs.

Every industry is different, and every company is unique, but callers want to have their needs met as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Good IVA design blends the desires of the business with the technology from IT while keeping the experience front and center.

Critical Considerations for Healthcare Leaders

Sensitive patient data is a paramount concern in healthcare, and protecting it requires robust security measures and adherence to strict compliance standards such as HIPAA. Contact center solutions must employ encryption, access controls, and other security protocols to safeguard patient information and maintain trust.

Before launching communication initiatives, healthcare leaders should conduct rigorous testing to ensure effectiveness and mitigate potential risks. This includes testing communication channels, messaging strategies, and response mechanisms to optimize engagement and minimize errors.

Handling Structured and Unstructured Responses in Patient Interactions

Structured vs. unstructured responses pose a unique challenge in patient interactions. While structured responses provide clear data points for analysis and decision-making, unstructured responses require more nuanced interpretation and understanding. Contact center solutions must be equipped to handle both types of responses effectively, leveraging AI and natural language processing to extract valuable insights from unstructured data. With the proliferation of Generative AI solutions in the Contact Center, ensure your team is ready to identify and correct hallucinations from your bots.

Implementing Contact Center Solutions for Patient Engagement

Healthcare leaders should consider several factors when implementing contact center solutions for patient engagement:

Treat engagement as a living, breathing capability, adapting patient journeys to meet evolving needs and preferences.
Utilize cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platforms that integrate seamlessly with existing technology stacks and support high-volume communications.
Minimize reliance on custom code but recognize when it may be necessary for implementing rules engines or tracking touchpoints.
Develop iteratively, starting with small-scale initiatives before expanding to more complex patient journeys.
Define decision-making authority and documentation strategies for patient journey logic upfront to ensure clarity and consistency.
Evaluate which components of contact center solutions to build internally versus sourcing from external vendors based on organizational capabilities and strategic priorities.

Transform Patient Engagement with Kenway

Our Contact Center Solutions practice works closely with our healthcare experts to support healthcare leaders on their transformative journey, driving excellence in patient engagement and care delivery. By embracing innovation, patient-centricity, and strategic integration of contact center solutions, healthcare providers can elevate patient experiences, improve outcomes, and thrive in the era of value-based care.

Our Contact Center Solutions team has supported clients with Digital Customer Experience Consulting for nearly 20 years. We partner with our clients and apply best practices in concert with their culture, skills, and methodologies. We do not force-fit practices simply because they work elsewhere. Connect with us to give your patients and members the best experience possible.

Maximizing IVR Performance: Comprehensive Metrics and Executive Dashboards

In the ever-evolving landscape of customer service, the voice channel remains a cornerstone of engagement, providing a vital link between organizations and their clientele. At Kenway Consulting we believe that maximizing your IVR performance is crucial in ensuring seamless interactions with customers. By harnessing your Contact Center data and effectively channeling it into a Business Intelligence solution, we empower businesses to understand what’s happening in your Interactive Voice Response (IVR) or Intelligent Virtual Assistant (IVA) systems.

Leveraging Data Insights for Enhanced IVR Performance

The phrase “Data is the New Oil”, became a hot topic because people understand just how valuable data can be. However, a mistake we see time and time again across so many implementations is that leveraging data to assess the success of your customer experience comes as an afterthought.

Over the years we’ve shared our ideas about Mastering CCaaS & IVR Reporting and discussed Improving Your IVR with Customer Journey Reporting and Analytics on our blog. Our Contact Center Solutions practice works hard with our Data & Analytics practice to meticulously assess the health and efficacy of IVAs to ensure they are working as intended, customers are happy, and the business is seeing the value in their investment.

Evaluating IVR and IVA Performance

When evaluating how well an IVR or IVA is performing, it is important to adopt a holistic approach that encompasses a diverse array of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). While individual metrics offer valuable insights, it is the combination of these metrics that provides a nuanced understanding of system performance and user experience. I divide these KPIs into two categories, General Metrics and Experience Metrics.

General Metrics

Total Calls: A foundational metric providing insights into overall call volume and demand patterns.
Total Transfers: An indicator of the frequency with which calls are redirected to live agents, influencing operational efficiency.
Agent Request Rate: A measure of customer preference for human assistance, guiding resource allocation strategies.
Intent Capture Rate: A metric assessing the system's proficiency in accurately discerning and addressing user intents.
Call Length: Providing insights into user engagement levels and system efficiency.
Hang-up Rate: Highlighting potential usability issues or customer dissatisfaction leading to premature call terminations.
Containment Rate: Reflecting the system's capacity to autonomously resolve queries, thereby enhancing self-service capabilities.

Total Self-Service Attempts: Tracking user engagement with self-service options, a critical aspect of IVR functionality.
SMS Sent: Monitoring the adoption of alternative communication channels, reflecting evolving customer preferences.

Experience Metrics

Total Calls to X Prompt: Identifying critical junctures in call flows, essential for optimizing user journeys.
Total Attempts: Offering granular insights into user interactions across various stages of engagement.
Prompt Retry Counts / No Match: Signifying instances where users encounter challenges in communicating with the system, thereby pinpointing potential usability concerns.
Prompt Timeouts / No Input: Measuring user responsiveness to prompts, aiding in the refinement of prompt durations.
Total Questions/Prompts Heard: Providing a comprehensive view of user engagement, facilitating iterative content enhancements.
Self-Service Attempts per Call: Evaluating user reliance on self-service options, guiding system design refinements.
Total SMS Sent per Call: Reflecting user preferences for communication channels, informing strategic channel prioritization decisions.

Executive Dashboards for Real-time Insights

Integrating these KPIs into an Executive Dashboard should be a cornerstone of daily operations, offering real-time insights into system performance. Contact Center leaders should work with their business and technology partners to establish baselines for each metric. Once baselines are established, leveraging the native alarming capability in a Business Intelligence tool provides instant notifications that an established baseline has fallen too low or high.

How Kenway Can Help Your Customer Service Strategies with Data-driven Solutions

At Kenway Consulting, we advocate for a culture of data-driven decision-making, where these KPIs are shared across the organization to inform strategic initiatives and foster a culture of continuous improvement. Utilizing comprehensive metrics and executive dashboards is instrumental in unlocking the full potential of IVR and IVA systems. By embracing this analytical approach, organizations can not only optimize current performance but also lay the foundation for future advancements in customer service excellence. If you're interested in learning more about how our solutions can enhance your customer service strategies, contact us today.

Unlocking Efficiency: Generative AI's Role in Contact Center Innovation

Introduction

Throughout the past year, Kenway Consultants have been deeply involved in orchestrating the buildout of a Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) implementation at a major telecom provider in the United States. Our team has played critical roles on the program such as defining the customer experience for each unique self-service offering and expanding on the functionality of their existing IVA. Kenway continues to successfully bridge the gap to the business while working closely with AI Architects, Developers, and technical teams. In this blog, we will share our insights, key challenges faced during the implementation of Generative AI, and the steps taken to overcome these obstacles.

In 2023, more than 25% of all investment dollars in American startups were channeled into AI-focused companies. Global spending on AI for 2024 is projected to exceed $110 billion. Much of this investment is geared towards Generative AI, which saw unprecedented innovation in the last year. Implementation in the real world has spanned across industries, including Technology, Media, Telecom, and Financial Services, due to the clear alignment of use cases in those industries.

The Time-Intensive Problem

Before diving into the insights gained by implementing Generative AI in the Contact Center space, we will expand on some of the problems with traditional prompt creation and routing to further emphasize the importance of Generative AI. The first piece is the time intensive nature of the traditional flow or prompt creation. Before Developers can build a self-service experience, a myriad of requirements needs to be discussed and documented. Business Analysts define the requirements, conversational architects will take those requirements and build a visual flow representing the experience, content writers adjust and approve all language that a customer will hear, technical teams conduct data mapping to configure the technical solution, and so on.

Despite this level of attention to detail, certain use cases and edge cases will fall through the gaps and will only be discovered once the experience is live in production. This feeds into the second piece that all callers hear the same generically constructed content, offering a less personal, more robotic experience. Furthermore, customer utterances deemed a “No-Match”, or a “No-Input” have no path forward other than endless retries and ultimately speaking to a live agent. Traditional implementation fails to capture these use cases, as it is extremely time-consuming, and expensive, to build handling and routing for all potential utterances a real customer may provide.

Generative AI in Contact Centers

The introduction of Generative AI helps ease this pain on all fronts. Leveraging Gen AI solutions can reduce time spent throughout the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) by reducing the number of prompts and routing needed to deliver a particular enhancement and reducing the time spent solutioning edge cases. Technical teams can spend their time more efficiently, and superior experiences are also provided to the customer. Generative AI enables companies to provide personalized prompting for each individual caller’s needs. With the ability to leverage content from the companies’ website, existing forums, corporate databases, and more – Generative AI can offer dynamic informational prompting once trained on these materials.

Secondly, Generative AI can mimic the conversational style of the caller as it starts to use words similar to the caller’s verbiage as the call goes on, repeating it back if the system is having trouble matching the customers’ utterance to an established route or intent. This powerful feature emulates a human-to-human connection, allowing the IVA to respond as a human would.

Finally, the IVA can keep callers engaged longer with the use of Generative AI, which ultimately improves containment rates, a key metric used to gauge the performance of self-service experiences. In short, an IVA containment rate refers to the percentage of inbound calls or chats that are successfully handled without having to speak to a human agent. Higher containment rates equate to a lower volume of live agent transfers, improved agent workloads, and in parallel, a potential reduction in labor costs for the organization.

Limitations and Challenges of Generative AI Implementation

While acknowledging the benefits, the use of Generative AI poses potential drawbacks and challenges. As programs navigate from the traditional SDLC to leveraging Generative AI, the first concern is that testing (Quality Assurance, IST, and User Acceptance Testing) can be significantly more cumbersome. Generative AI provides dynamic prompting to different callers, this requires more test cases to verify the application is functioning correctly. To alleviate this stress, organizations can use automated testing platforms such as Botium, by Cyara, to test AI with AI. A powerful tool such as Botium can go through thousands of test cases in a matter of minutes. What better way to test AI, than with AI?

In the AI world, made-up values or incorrect facts are called hallucinations. These hallucinations can be caused by a variety of factors, including insufficient training data, incorrect assumptions made by the model, or biases in the data used to train the model. Due to this, there are concerns that stem from a legal and content standpoint. Generative AI may lead to the usage of verbiage or language that does not necessarily have signoff from all involved parties. In the traditional model, content writers meticulously groom each user facing prompt with legal considerations top of mind. Due to the dynamic model of Generative AI, customers may receive content that misrepresents the business and their normal communication standards. Even more concerning, there is the risk that something being communicated is inaccurate or misleading to the user, potentially opening the organization up to legal penalties. For instance, a recent article by Forbes discusses the legal ramifications of these hallucinations within the airline industry. Additionally, the Guardian outlines a recent use case in the court of law that resulted in severe repercussions for a Canadian lawyer.

Mitigation through Design

However, there are tools to mitigate these risks. The first being the appropriate selection of the Large Language Model (LLM), or AI toolset, and the data used to train the model. Establishing robust guidelines during the model training timeframe can help limit this risk downstream. The data upon which the model is trained will need to be selected carefully to avoid bias. It is important to also continuously tune and deploy the model with parameters that strike a balance between generating a human-like customer experience and one that does not stray from the confines of its knowledge base (i.e. creating hallucinations). The perpetual monitoring of the model’s performance after it has been deployed to production will further refine the output.

Secondly, leveraging automated testing tools to cover thousands of use cases and edge cases will allow for teams to identify defects further up in the DevOps lifecycle, before those defects reach production, reducing costs down the road.

Lastly, keeping the concept of Responsible AI at the forefront when designing the model guidelines will ensure these risks are further tamed. It is worth noting that the selection process for Generative AI will vary depending on the business or industry it intends to support. For example, the AI model deployed in a Contact Center at a telecom provider will vary significantly from a model used to serve an internal purpose at a Private Equity firm, or one used to send out targeted marketing campaigns to potential customers. These models can be seen as highly customizable, where the concept of ‘one size fits all’ does not apply.

Above all, the most impactful mitigation tool for AI risks is choosing the right use cases. Specifying all-encompassing use cases, creating KPIs around engagement volume, evaluating the potential severity of defects, and where the highest ROI would come from utilizing generative AI, can all be very difficult. However, by selecting appropriate use cases, most generative AI limitations can be avoided based on these decisions being made further upfront in the design process.

Moving Forward with AI in Contact Centers

It is important to reiterate that the model must have access to reliable and germane data on which it can be trained. Think of a chatbot trained on semi-biased data, potentially perpetuating stereotypes or generating offensive hallucinations. Acquiring and curating high-quality, contextually relevant data is paramount. No business function will be successful without the iterative process of testing, investigating, enhancing, and reassessing the performance of Generative or Conversational AI. This iterative approach ensures that these models not only function effectively, but also continually adapt and grow, becoming invaluable assets for businesses with aims to stay ahead of the curve.

AI is continuing to evolve and advance, the future of Generative AI is a bright, and an ever-changing horizon. At Kenway, we have built expertise over the last few years in the AI realm, and we have launched our newly formed Artificial Intelligence Practice. Our services include:

Conversational AI
Generative AI
Computer Vision (Automation)
AI Enablement & Strategy (where Responsible AI methodologies reside)

As Kenway takes on more Contact Center Implementations and seeks to expand into other industries that are now ready to realize the ROI of AI, the firm continues to design intelligently for the future, ensuring the latest methodologies and tools are deployed at our clients. To read more about our Contact Center Practice, please visit: Contact Center Solutions.

FAQs:

How important is data to being able to build an AI tool?

The need for quality and integrity of data underpinning an AI tool cannot be overstated. Across all industries, AI, especially Generative AI, requires a robust, compliant, application-specific data set without bias to produce high-quality, ROI-driving responses regardless of the specific application. Selecting the right data set can be the most important decision a firm makes when making implementation decisions.

What guidelines or frameworks should I consider when looking to implement Generative AI in my organization?

Consider AI Ethics guidelines that cover principles such as fairness, accountability, transparency, privacy, and security.

Consider AI Risk Management frameworks, such as NIST, that manage risks associated with AI systems throughout their lifecycle, from design to deployment and monitoring.

Consider AI Governance frameworks that define governance structures, policies, and processes for AI systems, ensuring alignment with organizational values, risk management, and compliance.

Consider Responsible AI Frameworks that allow AI systems to respect human rights and promote inclusiveness.

Consider Data Privacy and Retention Regulations to ensure you continue to remain compliant with these mandates.

Our business is doing great, and we are consistently beating our revenue targets. Why do I need to invest in AI?

Making a data-driven decision on the implementation of artificial intelligence for a specific use-case can not only reduce time spent on specific workstreams, but even open doors to new ways to interact with customers, more efficient ways to manage tasks, and ensure your organization stays ahead of the curve.

How do I scale?

Before delivering an AI solution at scale across an enterprise, ensure the following criteria are met. The model must be maintainable, robust with the ability to avoid hallucinations, and executed efficiently throughout the continuous deployment cycle. The model should have the ability to integrate with core systems and provide performance monitoring to avoid any detrimental impacts on internal operations.

Critical Considerations When Selecting a CCaaS Provider

Introduction

Selecting the right Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) provider is a crucial decision for businesses aiming to enhance their customer service. We often find our clients seeking to understand how to approach the selection of the vendor to enable them to realize their Digital Strategy.

A CCaaS solution integrates a range of components, including omnichannel support, workforce management, quality management, routing, telephony, AI, reporting, and security. This guide will delve into the essential considerations within each of these categories, as well as integrations, configurability, and fees, to help you make an informed choice.

I. Core Components of a CCaaS Provider

Omnichannel Support

A CCaaS provider must excel at supporting your required communication channels. Depending on the products and services you provide, you will need to find a CCaaS provider that can support the right combination of channels, such as an Interactive Voice Response (IVR), Automatic Call Distribution (ACD), Chat, SMS, Voicemail, social media, etcetera. This allows customers to reach you through their preferred channels and ensures consistent customer engagement. The provider should enable efficient handling of questions, offering a seamless experience no matter how a customer chooses to get in touch.

Workforce Management (WFM)

Workforce Management tools are essential for optimizing agent scheduling, forecasting, and performance monitoring. The right CCaaS solution should offer robust WFM capabilities, ensuring that your team is adequately staffed, reducing idle time, and increasing overall efficiency.

Quality Management (QM)

Quality Management is about maintaining service quality through monitoring, evaluation, and coaching. A good CCaaS provider should offer QM tools that help you ensure that your agents consistently meet quality standards in customer interactions.

Routing

Efficient routing is vital for ensuring that customer inquiries are directed to the right agents. A CCaaS solution should have advanced routing capabilities that allow for intelligent and dynamic distribution of customer interactions to the most appropriate agents. To delve further into this topic, explore our blog on call routing benefits and best practices.

Telephony

The telephony component encompasses call handling, recording, voicemail, and more. It's crucial to evaluate the telephony features provided by the CCaaS provider to meet the specific telecommunications needs of your business.

AI (Artificial Intelligence)

AI integration is becoming increasingly important in the world of customer service. A robust CCaaS solution should offer AI capabilities, including chatbots, virtual agents, (human) agent assist, and data-driven insights. These tools can significantly enhance the customer experience and improve operational efficiency.

Moreover, AI can also be extremely helpful once the customer gets past any self-service functionality and reaches an agent. Some CCaaS providers have developed AI services that can deliver near-real-time note taking, post-interaction summarization capabilities, or real-time guidelines, links, and articles to assist the agent to effectively serve the customer’s needs. This allows to reduce the average time spent within an interaction by decreasing the average hold time (AHT), which leads to higher volume management.

Reporting and Analytics

Data-driven decision-making is at the core of effective customer service. The CCaaS provider should offer comprehensive reporting and analytics tools that provide insights into agent performance, customer behavior, and overall operational efficiency. In addition to out-of-the-box reporting, best-in-class CCaaS vendors provide easy and cost-effective access to the data created within the platform via APIs. This allows your team to access the data, store it in your own cloud environment, and use your enterprise Business Intelligence tool for driving insights out of your Contact Center data.

For deeper insights and additional information, explore our blog posts on mastering CCaaS & IVR reporting, customer journey reporting and analytics and IVR reporting best practices.

Security

Ensuring the security and compliance of customer data is of utmost importance. When choosing a CCaaS provider, make sure they adhere to industry regulations (HIPAA, CCPA, GDPR, etc.) and have robust security measures in place to protect sensitive customer information.

II. Integrations and Configurability

Another critical consideration is the provider's ability to seamlessly integrate with your existing tools. This includes CRM software, helpdesk applications, and analytics platforms. The ability to integrate with your current systems ensures a smooth transition and continued efficiency in your customer service operations.

Given the uniqueness of each business, companies might require complex ad-hoc solutions. Depending on the complexity and custom needs a firm may have, some may opt in for an out-of-the-box solution, while others may prefer the ability to configure certain areas. Your CCaaS provider should offer a balanced approach between a highly customizable solution and a more straightforward, plug-and-play one, always in alignment with your specific requirements. To be successful in choosing the platform and the integration, it is crucial not only to find the right solution, but also partner with a team that can help create a seamless integration from the beginning.

III. Fees and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

The final critical consideration revolves around the financial aspect. You should carefully evaluate the total cost of ownership (TCO), which includes not only upfront costs but also ongoing maintenance expenses. These expenses encompass licensing, usage fees, and any hidden charges. A transparent pricing model will help you budget effectively and make a well-informed decision.

While not all, some CCaaS vendors employ a pay-by-usage model which may offer more attractive and cheaper solutions in the beginning. However, this requires understanding your needs based on usage estimations to further understand the cost of selecting their platform. Furthermore, configurable solutions are also tied to the need for technical resources, which can also ebb up your TCO given the potential increase of implementation costs.

Disclaimer: the chart above is merely theoretic and discloses information for graphical purposes.

Conclusion

Selecting the right CCaaS provider is essential for achieving your business objectives and delivering outstanding customer service. By thoroughly assessing each component, considering integrations, finding the right balance between configurability and out-of-the-box features, and understanding the total cost of ownership, you can make an informed decision that aligns with your unique business requirements. The right CCaaS provider will set the stage for exceptional customer experiences, helping your business thrive in today's competitive landscape.

For any further information you or your company may need, do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] for further help and assistance. At Kenway Consulting, we help and guide our clients towards selecting the correct CCaaS provider that fits their needs and requirements.

Cyara Xchange - This Year's Highlights

Kenway Consulting's team recently had the privilege of attending Cyara's Xchange '24 conference in sunny San Diego, where we delved into the latest advancements shaping the world of Customer Experience, GenAI and Quality Assurance. We enjoyed engaging with leading brands and industry experts from around the world to help improve the performance of CX teams and technologies. Here are a few of the key highlights and insights we gathered and found particularly useful.

Top 3 Highlights

Cyara is rolling out some unique solutions to assist Quality Assurance Teams validating Artificial Intelligence (AI) functionality. You can get an early start with Fact Checker today which is in a Beta release. Fact Checker can reveal the accuracy of a Large Language Model (LLM) powered bot against a source of truth. Discover reasons why an LLM powered bot may provide an inaccurate answer.
Integration with Jira: The integration capabilities of Botium and Velocity with Jira offer immense value to organizations. Automatic ticket creation for bugs found during testing streamlines the defect management process, enhancing efficiency and ensuring issues are promptly addressed.
CentraCX Acquisition: Max Lipovetsky, Cyara’s Chief Product Officer, shed light on Cyara’s roadmap and future product innovations, such as Complex Journey Assurance, Dashboards & Advanced Analytics, and the launch of their newest solution Number Trust which provides Call Line Identification (CLI) Assurance to validate company numbers are being presented on mobile devices as intended.

General Insights

Our discussions at Xchange '24 touched upon various crucial topics, including best practices in leveraging and scaling test automation. We emphasized the importance of integrating tools effectively to optimize automated QA models and stabilize QA test dependencies. Additionally, the challenges of test data and environment stability were highlighted across industries.

A highlight of the conference was the fireside chat featuring Navrina Singh, Founder and CEO of Credo AI, and Alok Kulkarni, Co-Founder and CEO of Cyara. The discussion centered on the pivotal role of generative AI in CX practices, emphasizing the need for governance to ensure scalability and trust in AI platforms. Navrina Singh's insights resonated deeply, particularly her emphasis on governance for scalable AI implementations. Kenway's Sean Rabago says that "We continue to see, first-hand, the negative impacts of attempting to implement GenAI without an effective governance and management framework defined. The need to ensure a more proactive approach to aligning GenAI against more appropriate, less risky use cases, while using effective governance to support a healthy implementation model is paramount to implementing value consistently here."

Cyara's Xchange '24 was a rich source of insights, reaffirming the critical role of cutting-edge technologies in shaping the future of customer experience testing. We're excited to apply these learnings to drive innovation and excellence in our own consulting endeavors.

If you have questions about what we learned at Xchange ’24, Cyara’s products, or anything else related to testing automation and GenAI, email us at [email protected].