Contact Centers in Europe and the UK Rely on Remote Working and Omnichannel Customer Experiences for the Post-COVID World
- According to the ISG Provider Lens study, the demands on home office work and consumers’ increasing preference for digital channels over voice calls have permanently changed the industry.
Contact centers in Europe and the UK are responding to changes in customer behavior and customer service in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic with remote working models and new technology, according to a new study released by Information Services Group, a leading global technology research and advisory firm.
“They have radically reshaped their business approaches in the last 18 months and are accelerating their transformations.”
The ISG Provider Lens Contact Center – Customer Experience Services 2021 study for Europe and the UK shows that the major developments over the past 18 months and the fact that consumers prefer digital channels to voice calls and call center staff do not Work place that are likely irreversible. The contact center industry must now develop seamless, efficient omnichannel experiences for customers, which are provided in a decentralized manner by employees and automated personas in a secure manner.
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“Companies in Europe and the UK are now realizing that they need new technology and operating models to survive in a post-pandemic world,” said Jan Erik Aase, Partner and Global Leader, ISG Provider Lens Research. “They have radically reshaped their business approaches in the last 18 months and are accelerating their transformations.”
Companies in the region are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning as well as automated personas for work activities with customer contact, according to the study. For secure and effective support from employees who work increasingly remotely, companies are investing in dashboards for performance measurement in real time, automated coaching, performance analyzes for agents and game play.
According to ISG, geography plays a bigger role in the strategies of some contact center operators in the region. European companies are increasingly outsourcing to Eastern Europe, taking advantage of lower labor costs and local knowledge of other European languages. UK companies continue to rely on their proven sources of offshore work with India and other English speaking countries.
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In the UK, changes to the IR35 legislation affecting the deployment of agency workers have made it more difficult to hire freelancers, digital consultants and professionals, and the rules governing such deployments have become less clear. This has complicated common practice in the UK Contact Centers industry. However, the changes have also opened up opportunities for companies interested in working with vendors, startups and technology providers to work using nearshoring or offshoring.
As in other regions, companies in Europe and the UK have had to migrate to new work models that allow almost all contact center agents to work remotely, according to the study. These new models offer benefits such as cost savings, access to talent, staff flexibility and higher productivity. With investments, operators address issues such as poor network coverage, background noise, and security in remote work environments. You close the security gap between working in the office and working from home with tools such as virtual private networks (VPNs), facial recognition, voice biometrics, screen monitoring and surveillance of the surrounding area.
The ISG Provider Lens Contact Centers – Customer Experience Services 2021 study for Europe and the United Kingdom assesses the competencies of 28 providers in four quadrants: Digital Operations, AI & Analytics, Work From Home Services and Social Media CX Services.
The study names Atento, Capita, Firstsource, Sitel Group, Teleperformance and Webhelp as leaders in all four quadrants. Majorel, Transcom and Wipro are each designated in three quadrants as leaders. Concentrix, Conduent and HGS are each named as leaders in two quadrants.
Furthermore, Tech Mahindra is referred to as a rising star in two quadrants – according to ISG’s definition, companies with a “promising portfolio” and “high future potential”. Majorel and Wipro are named as Rising Stars in one quadrant each.
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