All Posts By

Helen Billingham

leadership people skills steps to engage agentsWorkforce optimization

Essential leadership people skills steps for excellent agent experience & morale

(Guest Author: Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™, Author, Leading Morale) Contact centre leaders and managers often lament about the high rate of agent turnover. ContactBabel reports that agent turnover rates average 24%, but that 28% of contact centres now have to deal with attrition rates of over 30%. This is not surprising yet it is still very concerning. The…
Helen Billingham
November 20, 2023
Cloud Contact Center, CCaaS, Remote Working, WFHCX, Customer Experience, Customer Service, Support

How to pick the right CCaaS vendor

Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) platforms deliver new customer service capabilities, improving both efficiency and the customer experience. In a fast-moving market, you don’t want to become locked into a provider that falls short of your expectations. To reap the full benefits, you therefore need to choose the best CCaaS vendor to capitalise on the advantages offered. How can…
Helen Billingham
November 3, 2023
AICloud Contact Center, CCaaS, Remote Working, WFHCX, Customer Experience, Customer Service, Support

Why cutting customer service budgets is a false economy

Most companies are now finalising their customer service budgets for 2024. However, given the economic downturn, there’s likely to be more pressure to look for ways to reduce spending. Customer service is often vulnerable when enterprises look for places to make cuts. This may be because it’s often wrongly viewed as a cost centre rather than a source of competitive…
Helen Billingham
October 27, 2023
Cloud Contact Center, CCaaS, Remote Working, WFHContact centre, Multi-channel, Omni-channel

Building a CCaaS business case

There is a growing momentum in the adoption of cloud-based Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) solutions. However, at the same time, economic conditions are increasing pressure on contact centre budgets. To get your CCaaS project and investment signed off you therefore need to create a compelling business case. Following these six steps maximises your chances of getting your project…
Helen Billingham
October 23, 2023
AIContact centre, Multi-channel, Omni-channelCX, Customer Experience, Customer Service, Support

How technology can improve the agent experience

Providing a high-quality agent experience benefits both contact centre employees and the businesses they work for. Engaged agents provide better service to customers, are more productive and less likely to leave. However, traditionally contact centres have struggled with the agent experience. Much of this is down to the nature of the job. On top of having to help customers with…
Helen Billingham
October 13, 2023
Contact centre, Multi-channel, Omni-channelCX, Customer Experience, Customer Service, Support

The Rise of Omnichannel CCaaS: Delivering a Seamless Customer Experience

The Rise of Omnichannel CCaaS: Delivering a Seamless Customer Experience Customers, more than ever, expect an omnichannel experience. They want the convenience of being able to move seamlessly between different digital and human channels. One of the most effective ways of supporting this is deploying an omnichannel Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) platform to underpin current and future needs.…
Helen Billingham
September 15, 2023
Cloud Contact Center, CCaaS, Remote Working, WFHContact centre, Multi-channel, Omni-channel

How to speed up customer service success with CCaaS

Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) technology delivers multiple benefits. The best known are the ability to drive cost savings and improve the customer experience. However, CCaaS delivers much more. Less well appreciated are the ways that its flexibility and agility allow companies to quickly access new opportunities that weren’t previously feasible. The rapid pace of change in business and…
Helen Billingham
September 1, 2023
Contact centre, Multi-channel, Omni-channelCX, Customer Experience, Customer Service, SupportMicrosoft

Why empathy in customer service is not enough

As consumer expectations rise, businesses are increasingly focusing on building empathy in customer service interactions. With agents handling more complex queries, building a rapport with customers is vital to reassure them, improve the experience, and better meet their needs. It may feel like a luxury to encourage agents to focus their full attention on the customer's needs of the moment…
Helen Billingham
August 17, 2023
CX, Customer Experience, Customer Service, Support

How real-time chat translation delivers better multilanguage customer service

Providing service in a customer’s preferred language is key to a great experience, that’s why embracing real-time chat translation makes this easier to achieve. Today, customers may not be confident or comfortable in the main language used within your contact centre. This could be because you are providing service to multiple countries from a single location, or to local customers…
Helen Billingham
August 4, 2023
CX, Customer Experience, Customer Service, Support

Tracking the right customer service metrics for contact centre success

Contact centres have always measured key customer service metrics. However, given the rising importance of customer experience, the metrics used must evolve and change. This enables customer service leaders to demonstrate the value of their work, linking the contact centre to the wider organisation and its objectives. Essentially, customer service metrics are split into two main categories – operational KPIs…
Helen Billingham
July 28, 2023