Are Contact Centre Agents more productive at home or in the office? John Colgan, CEO of Solgari, discusses
Which political party will introduce the changes that best support my business and its objectives? Are our teams more productive working from home or in the office? While business leaders and decision-makers may have their stance on such debates, the truth is that no one can be 100% certain which will result in the best outcomes in the long run.
The modern workforce is entangled in a tug-of-war over how and where work should be done. Some employees crave the flexibility of hybrid models that have become the norm, while others prefer the structure of a five-day office routine. It’s a debate that spans across all business functions, including customer service.
In September, four years after the COVID lockdowns, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced that employees will be required to return to the office full-time starting January 2, 2025.
This move signals a push for in-person collaboration, with Jassy arguing that it strengthens company culture, boosts collaboration, and enhances learning among teammates.
Meanwhile, Spotify is taking a different approach. “We can’t spend a lot of time hiring grownups and then treat them like children,” says Spotify’s Chief Human Resources Officer, Katarina Berg, defending the company’s choice to keep work arrangements flexible.
While in-person work can foster collaboration, it’s not the only consideration. To thrive, organisations must provide exceptional experiences for both customers and employees. Customers today expect the flexibility to connect with businesses whenever and however suits them best.
Delivering impactful customer service demands a 360-degree view of every customer interaction across all channels. To resolve inquiries effectively, agents must have access to the right information and resources, whether working from home or the office. The tools that enable this seamless customer experience to transcend the boundaries of work location, making flexibility in technology as crucial as flexibility in work arrangements.
Fundamental Issues at Play
Beyond the workplace debate, customer service models face significant challenges. Legacy technology and rigid processes can make CX agents feel isolated and restricted. The global shift to remote work prompted businesses to rethink operations, but progress remains incomplete. Without a unified platform, customer service stays disjointed, leading to poor customer experiences.
Many businesses fall into the trap of locking talented agents into roles that don’t fully utilise their strengths, leaving them feeling disconnected and demotivated. Gartner’s research shows that 81% of customers now expect businesses to anticipate their needs and proactively offer relevant services. Traditional contact center models, where data is siloed in specific departments, can no longer keep up, resulting in long wait times, fragmented data, and frustrated agents. Multiple standalone tools exacerbate these issues, hindering efficiency and ultimately damaging the customer experience.
It’s not all about the location
As the debate continues over whether the optimal ratio for office working is five days or three, businesses mustn’t overlook what else is important. Their attention should turn inwards, ensuring they have the right people, processes and technology in place to guarantee success. While an extra day in the office might not be a game-changer to some people, having the right applications and processes set up will make a significant difference to everyone. Whether a CX agent is located two towns or two seats away from each other, they need the right tools in order to be able to best serve their customers.
Technology can offer staff a unified view of all customer interactions across any channel, instilling confidence in customers that agents understand them and their situation. A single data view unlocks the potential of generative AI to provide practical agent assistant tools that work out of the box. This AI-powered, 360-degree approach to modern CX can make employees’ jobs easier and more enjoyable, enabling them to deliver exceptional service to customers.
Rather than asking workers where they want to work, the focus should be on how they want to work, and what businesses should provide to enable them in their jobs.
For example, Microsoft’s recent announcement of AI agents made accessible within its Teams application provides a compelling reason for organisations to consider it for its customer service platform, especially when it’s extended with line-of-business solutions that allow users to perform all tasks in one place and maintain a consistent workflow. The growing demand for AI-powered tools is not merely a passing trend but a fundamental shift in how CX functions operate, enhancing productivity, automating repetitive tasks and improving collaboration within workforces.
So, whether you stand with Jassy or Berg, don’t let the virtual-office debate distract you from the true path to enhance customer service.
Solgari natively extends Microsoft Teams with Microsoft certified, AI-powered, Contact Centre functionality and is available seamlessly within CRM, including Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Salesforce.com.
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