From Call Center to Intelligent Contact Center
At Enova, we transitioned from using the terminology “Call Center” to “Contact Center” to better reflect how we’re servicing our customers. A large part of this shift has been updating our technology so our Contact Center can operate more effectively and intelligently.
The Enova Telco team has spent the past couple years modernizing the Enova call center telecom infrastructure and platform to handle our growth and to pave the way to the “Intelligent Contact Center.” What is the difference between a “Call Center” and an “Intelligent Contact Center?” A typical call center focuses on routing a large volume of incoming and outgoing voice phone calls through static routing strategies to the center’s representatives. There is little variable routing, and agents are statically placed among departments.
With the Intelligent Contact Center initiative, the team is developing a centralized intelligent routing strategy where agents can handle multiple channels (voice, chat, facebook, email, etc) simultaneously, for any line of business, at any time. All channels will run through the centralized routing engine and deliver the contact to the best agent available. The team is also introducing AI enhancements that will learn what our customers want and how to service them best. This journey is not a flip the switch solution, but rather an evolution where the team continuously builds out the solution over time.
Here are some changes coming to the Intelligent Contact Center.
Agent Experience
In 2020 the team is rolling out the omnichannel agent with Genesys Workspaces Web Edition. The omnichannel agent concept is simply: any agent, any channel, any time. Omnichannel allows the flexibility to move agents from one channel to another, handle multiple channels simultaneously and move from one department to another, easily and with minimal assistance from cumbersome back end processes.
In order to make the Omnichannel agent possible, the team will be replacing the current toolbar application. The Contact Center reps will be moving to the Genesys WWE client. This is a web-based application that will run omnichannel agent functionality and allow us to retire the old technology that has become obsolete and difficult to maintain.
Customer Experience
Improving Enova’s self service options is integral to lowering costs and allowing the agents to maximize their time handling more difficult situations. Many customers call or chat with the contact center asking simple, frequently-asked questions like, “What’s my account balance?”…”How can I reset my password”…and “What is my payment date?” In fact, based on recent working sessions with the Enova Operations team, we found the top requests on the phone or chat are as follows :
- Confirming funding date/Availability of funds
- Loan Status Inquiry
- Check balances
- Payment on loan
Our goal is to create a back end environment in all channels where AI bots or self service options would handle these simple transactions.
The NetCredit brand is already enjoying some of these improvements with the addition of the Genesys IVR (Interactive Voice Response) platform. The Telco team implemented the new IVR on the Genesys platform, and they provide some self-service options that provide account balance, due dates and some advanced routing (i.e. If account is overdue, we automatically route to the collections team). The IV is currently in the original versioning and will be undergoing enhancements soon to provide even more self-service options. The team is also underway in revamping the CNU IVR on the Genesys platform. Exciting new features to be introduced include making payments, changing payment dates and password resets.
Another exciting addition for customer experience enhancement is the introduction of Genesys Chat. The team will be able to enable chat AI bots which should provide many more self-service chat functions including current balance, loan payments, payments, etc., without the need to be routed to a human agent. These bots will follow the same rules as our human agents and the customer always has the option to move to a live person if they want.
The Telco team has also been working hard to provide more enhanced tools for our Contact Center managers. Genesys Call Recording (GIR) and Quality Management went live in April and will allow us to retire the homegrown application. GIR will allow the Quality Management team to move call analysis from antiquated spreadsheets to a more manageable tool while gaining a deeper understanding of agent behavior.
Another tool introduced this summer was Genesys Workforce Management (WFM). WFM is a module that will get data from all channels (voice, chat, email, etc) and forecast the workforce needs in the contact center. Currently, the Contact Center uses spreadsheets to forecast staffing needs, a process that is extremely time consuming and labor intensive. The new tool will allow agents to bid and trade for shifts online, along with predicting staffing needs across all channels.
Genesys Pulse will be replacing Genesys CC Pulse in the near future. Pulse is a widget driven, web based GUI tool, replacing thick client and will provide better reporting options for Managers and Ops team members.
The Intelligent Contact Center will always be evolving as we introduce new features and improvements. The challenge to the Telco team will be delivering the solutions while keeping the Contact Center running smoothly — a metaphor I like to use is changing out an engine while driving down the highway. The team is really excited to deliver these enhancements during 2020 and beyond.