Automation can Enhance Service

Businesses often speak about Service differentiator. Nobody sets out to deliver “Bad Service”.

There are Customer Service departments (aka Call Centres) that engage with external customers. For many businesses there are also teams that focus on internal activity such as IT Helpdesks.

Service operations have transformed. Once limited to basic phone support. Now dynamic contact centres that handle a range of channels, from live chat to video calls. This provides customers with flexible ways to reach service agents. To achieve a One Customer - One Business service object, it is necessary to capture all interactions. This is an Omnichannel solution.

Scope of Service – Setting the limits
A definition of the activities and processes which staff can perform is sometimes called a Service Catalogue. This determines the knowledge and skills required by the individuals to operate the service.

Service Operation can be seen as a Cost
Everybody wants the “Best” Service but there is a need to control cost. Empowering customers with Self Service options can be a “Win – Win” solution.
By enabling customers to utilise low cost channels (e.g. live Chat, Email), service agents can spread their activity across more engagements simultaneously than with phone calls. This can reduce the cost per interaction but maintain an acceptable level of service.

So how does Automation help?
Automation delivers consistency and eliminates human errors. By automating the complexity of logging onto application systems, navigating to specific functions, cross checking data, etc. the “Simple” tasks from a customer perspective can be completed.
For Example, “Update my address”. With an agent assisting the customer to select a valid address using a post code navigation is the start. In the back end, the automation might check the status of the previous address (i.e. Credit Status), verify if there are any actions scheduled for the old address, determine if the new address is already in use by an existing customer, etc., so that the agent can have a more successful single interaction with the customer.
By automating the business processes that a customer service agent performs, the engagement time of the agent can be reduced which frees them to focus on the dialogue with the customer rather than operating the computer applications.

Types of Engagement
The engagement might be a “Knowledge” or an “Action” type or a combination.
There will always be a range of knowledge when customers engage with a service centre and correspondingly there will a range of knowledge / experience in the service centre staff. The management challenge is to achieve the right level engagement to deliver the most cost effective service.

Automation can help identify customers by recognising phone numbers, email addresses and prompting for customer numbers, etc., before a service agent is allocated the interaction.

Service Menus in the early customer interaction can be very productive although they can be annoying if the customer does not believe / recognise that the motivation for the engagement fits the options provided.

Software to support the Service
There is a wide range of software that can support activity in this area. Some it has emerged from CRM providers with emphasis on capturing all interactions. Other software has come from the Service Management functions or has emerged from the specific IT Helpdesk market to become more general.

Some examples of the application Software are: ServiceNow, Jira Service Management, Freshservice, Zendesk, SAP Solution Manager, Ivanti, Solar Winds, ManageEngine SysAid, BMC Helix, Microsoft Service Manager, SalesForce, Hubspot, Zoho, Monday dot com.

There is also software that has come to the space from the telecommunications aspect of call handling with examples being: LiveAgent, Five9, Talkdesk, RingCentral, AIrcall, Twilio Flex.

Customer service software is used to track, manage, and resolve customer issues. It helps teams organize requests received from multiple channels, reply to those requests more quickly, and access the data they need to deliver personalized support.

Terms like "help desk software," "ticketing system," and "service desk software," are also commonly used to refer to tools.

The functionality generally includes:
•    Incident Management: Quickly identify, log, and resolve incidents to minimize downtime.
•    Problem Management: Identify the root cause of recurring incidents to prevent future occurrences.
•    Change Management: Ensure smooth changes to operations with minimal risk.
•    Service Catalog: Centralized repository for business processes, offering users a streamlined experience for service requests.
•    Asset Management: Track and manage business assets efficiently.
•    Knowledge Management: Empower users with access to knowledge articles for both staff as well as sharing with customers where appropriate.

Service Operation and Management
Servicer operations encompass the daily activities involved in handling customer interactions, including inbound and outbound calls, emails, and chats, with the goal of providing efficient and effective customer service.

The typical functions of a Service team include:
•    Customer Service: Addressing customer inquiries, resolving issues, and providing support.
•    Technical Support: Offering technical assistance and troubleshooting for products or services.
•    Sales: Making outbound calls to generate leads, promote products, or close sales.
•    Order Processing: Handling customer orders, processing payments, and managing inventory.
•    Complaint Handling: Addressing and resolving customer complaints.
•    Market Research: Conducting surveys and gathering customer feedback.

The Management of the operations will include:
•    Workforce Management: Scheduling and managing agents, ensuring adequate staffing levels, and optimizing performance. Planning the holiday cover, staff recruitment, staff exits and the engagement of temporary of staff, can make this one of the biggest activities for management.
•    Technology: Implementing and maintaining service application software, including call routing, CRM systems, and analytics tools.
•    Process Improvement: Continuously reviewing and refining processes to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
•    Quality Assurance: Monitoring agent performance, ensuring adherence to standards, and collecting customer feedback.
•    Compliance: Ensuring adherence to industry regulations and data privacy standards.
•    Training and Development of Staff: Providing agents with the necessary skills and knowledge to handle customer interactions effectively.
•    Performance Monitoring: Tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) such as call volume, average handle time, and customer satisfaction in comparison with SLAs.
•    Data Analysis and Reporting: Analysis of customer interaction data to identify trends, opportunities for improvement and areas where resources can be optimized.
•    Staff Engagement: Motivating and engaging agents to improve job satisfaction and retention.

Effective management is key to a quality service. It not only resolves issues quickly but also boosts customer satisfaction and keeps operations running smoothly.

Business Process Automation – Task Automation
With so many business processes and tasks involved in the delivery as well as the management of the service operation, there is a lot of scope for automation.

The more automation is deployed, the more it can reduce the skills and knowledge requirements for the staff delivering the service.

Once end to end automation is achieved for some processes, it creates an opportunity to offer self service activity and deliver an option for the process to be used 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

As automation removes the human element from a process, human errors are removed, so are any bias actions by staff and full consistency is achieved which from an audit as well as a compliance perspective is good for the business.