How to adapt agents to the new era of Artificial Intelligence?
Written by:
Claudia Valente
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the customer service industry in an irreversible way.
With the automation of routine tasks, Contact Center agents are facing a new scenario, where their tasks evolve into a more strategic role. However, the transition to this new era requires preparation, training and an intelligent adaptation to the use of technology.
Discover in this article the five best practices to help your agents integrate AI into their routines and make the most of new digital tools.
1. Understand the role of AI in customer service
AI has not replaced human agents, but rather increased their productivity and improved the customer experience. Some of the key features that are revolutionizing the industry include:
- Chatbots and virtual assistants, which handle simple queries and free up agents for more complex tasks.
- Sentiment analysis to understand the customer’s emotional state in real time and adjust the team’s approach.
- Process automation that reduces the time spent on administrative tasks.
- Intelligent routing that directs each customer to the most appropriate agent, based on their interaction history and specific needs.
Today, calls with simple and recurring requests are being resolved by bots. Therefore, if a customer is talking to an agent, it means that he was unable to solve his problem through self-service, either because it was too complex or because it required a great deal of understanding and empathy, factors unique to human beings.
2. Reskilling, training and continuous optimization of the team
With the introduction of new technologies, teams need to adapt quickly. Investing in reskilling agents through continuous training is essential to ensure that they know how to take advantage of AI to improve their work. Some effective practices include:
- Development of new skills that go beyond product knowledge and basic communication skills, such as: critical thinking and problem-solving, Emotional Intelligence and empathy, digital literacy, adaptability, and continuous learning for familiarization with new AI technologies.
- Comprehensive and personalized training, taking into account the individual needs of each agent and the specific goals of your Contact Center. Training programs should include simulations of real scenarios, one-on-one mentoring by experienced mentors, hands-on exercises with AI tools, and continuous learning with access to training resources such as online courses, webinars, articles, and tutorials.
- Leadership in the formation and development of a Contact Center team is fundamental. Leaders should create a positive learning environment, encourage the sharing of knowledge and good practices, recognize and reward development, and provide regular and constructive feedback.
- Optimization of processes and team management: Combined with training, the use of Workforce Management (WFM) tools is essential to allocate resources efficiently. AI-powered WFM allows you to intelligently predict, plan, and scale operations. This optimizes the team’s performance and maximizes their productivity, ensuring that agents are always prepared to handle customer needs. In addition, the self-service portal provided by the solution allows agents greater flexibility in accessing schedules, shift changes and time off requests.
3. Humanization of care: The new role of agents
In a world where automation is gaining prominence, the human factor becomes even more valuable. Customers expect efficient but also empathetic interactions. Therefore, agents should focus on their unique characteristics to:
- Provide personalized service using AI-generated insights into the customer’s profile. Each customer is unique and has their own needs, preferences and expectations. The humanization of service involves the ability to personalize the interaction, adapting the approach and solutions to each customer. This is achieved from using the customer’s name during the conversation, to offering specific solutions that take into account their purchase history, preferences and previous interactions.
- Solve more complex problems that chatbots can’t handle effectively. While AI can solve simple, pre-defined problems, human agents excel at solving complex problems that require creativity, critical thinking, and empathy. When a customer faces an unusual or unexpected situation, it is the human agent who can analyze the context, understand the nuances of the problem, and propose innovative solutions that go beyond the pre-defined script.
- Create authentic connections with customers, ensuring a high level of satisfaction. By creating a positive and memorable experience, agents establish bonds of trust and loyalty that encourage customers to return to do business with the company and recommend it to others.
4. Leveraging AI to improve efficiency
AI can help agents be more productive and effective in their work. Some features that are revolutionizing the way teams operate are:
- Agent Assist, which allows you to increase agent productivity and reduce average handle times. This tool offers real-time suggestions during customer interactions. Through research in the knowledge base, Agent Assist quickly suggests relevant information such as articles, product details, troubleshooting steps, or even scripts to answer customer questions. In addition, it also transcribes calls in real time and provides summaries of interactions, which helps agents quickly capture the key points of conversations, facilitating the resolution of problems in a more agile and efficient way.
- Voicebots who interact directly with customers, responding to inquiries and providing information efficiently. By means of simple voice commands, they can access databases, consult customer histories, make appointments, confirm appointments, all without the need for human intervention. This allows customers to get quick answers, improving the service experience and freeing up human agents to handle more complex issues.
- Advanced Analytics that anticipates needs and allows proactive service, thanks to the ability of AI to analyze large volumes of data. By identifying patterns and trends, AI can, for example, alert agents when a customer has a history of frequent calls about a specific product, allowing for actions such as offering additional assistance or suggesting an upgrade to a more reliable solution. By providing these strategic insights, agents are not only able to resolve issues more effectively, but they are also able to build stronger, longer-lasting relationships with customers.
5. Monitoring and continuous improvement
The integration of AI into the Contact Center is a dynamic process. To ensure that agents adapt well and that the technology is meeting the desired objectives, it is important to regularly analyze performance metrics to identify areas for improvement, adjust processes and training, and keep up with new trends and technological updates to remain competitive.
The field of Artificial Intelligence is constantly evolving, with new trends and technologies emerging at a rapid pace. Invest in active monitoring of the AI market, follow the latest news, articles, studies and events. This may involve subscribing to specialized newsletters, attending webinars and conferences, and reading expert opinion pieces.
AI and Agents: a strategic partnership for the future of customer service
The adaptation of agents to the new era of Artificial Intelligence is a challenge that, when well conducted, can bring enormous benefits to both professionals and companies. It’s crucial for Contact Center leaders to recognize and convey the message that AI is not a threat to agents’ jobs, but rather a tool to empower them to be more efficient, effective, and focus on higher-value tasks.
If you lead a Contact Center, embrace AI as an ally, invest in the training of your agents, and create a culture of continuous innovation. By doing so, you’ll be preparing your Contact Center for a successful future, where AI and human agents work together to provide exceptional service and build lasting customer relationships.
Find out how GoContact can help your company walk this path. Request your free demo and learn about our AI tools, designed to empower your agents and transform your customer service.
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