{"id":1719,"date":"2022-01-14T20:41:16","date_gmt":"2022-01-14T20:41:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.replicant.ai\/what-covid-surges-mean-for-contact-centers\/"},"modified":"2023-05-09T21:18:50","modified_gmt":"2023-05-09T21:18:50","slug":"what-covid-surges-mean-for-contact-centers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.replicant.com\/blog\/what-covid-surges-mean-for-contact-centers\/","title":{"rendered":"What COVID Surges Mean for Contact Centers"},"content":{"rendered":"

The recent explosion of COVID-19 cases worldwide, driven by the Omicron variant, has demonstrated that the pandemic is far from over. By most counts, we have now experienced four significant spikes in cases since March 2020.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With increasingly contagious variants, and changing safety protocols, more contact center agents are yet again unavailable for work. This, of course, has increased pressure on contact centers already battling staffing shortages, inconsistencies with outsourcing partners, and unpredictable call volume spikes.<\/span><\/p>\n

While nearly every industry has been impacted, led by travel, hospitality, and healthcare, the ripple effect for contact centers in particular has been in <\/span>their ability to serve customers<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Recent months have made it clear: workforces and staffing fluctuations aren\u2019t going anywhere. Here\u2019s what contact center leaders should take away from the latest pandemic-driven disruption.<\/span><\/p>\n

Employees are stretched thin<\/h2>\n

Workers all over the world were already exhausted \u2013\u00a0and <\/span>resigning at record-setting rates<\/span><\/a> \u2013 prior to the latest COVID-19 surge. But the most recent wrinkle has added even greater stress to employees\u2019 lives as absences increase, childcare and school closures become more unpredictable, and <\/span>customers become angrier<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In contact centers, this has highlighted the need for additional employee support. If you\u2019re leading a team, it\u2019s important to view your employees as a reflection of your brand. Customers calling brands with greater support resources regularly use that to inform their total spend with a business.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Harvard Business Review\u2019s list of <\/span>employee support strategies<\/span><\/a> include training and upskilling. Learn more about how <\/span>AI can help employees learn new skills<\/span><\/a> rather than compete against humans.<\/span><\/p>\n

The need for flexibility has never been higher<\/h2>\n

With unpredictable staff numbers day-to-day, entire departments can be forced to sit out weeks at time. Unfortunately, call volumes in most industries are not just impossible to forecast, but rising by the month.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Contact centers experiencing difficulties with under- or over-staffing are great fits for conversational AI. Replicant\u2019s Thinking Machine can not only fully resolve tier-1 customer requests, it scales up and down based on your needs. <\/span><\/p>\n

It can be positioned in front of live agents, during after-hours or weekends, or be turned on and off based on your headcount and call volumes. The best part? You only pay for what you use.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Download<\/a><\/p>\n

Traditional solutions are no longer enough<\/h2>\n

The challenges of 2021 were unprecedented and have accelerated the need for innovation in the contact center. It\u2019s imperative that every stakeholder in your organization\u2019s customer service operation takes a step back in 2022 to reassess how they traditionally addressed uncertainty and risk, and evaluate the limits of those solutions against recent challenges.<\/span><\/p>\n

Drawbacks of Seasonal or Temporary Hiring:<\/strong><\/p>\n