Nowadays, when we think about relationships with the customer and in the universe of call and contact centers, it is undeniable that the industry is under a real revolution promoted by smart technologies – even called futurists – like, for example, the Artificial Intelligence.

Cognitive virtual agents are already a growing reality and in full evolution to accurately and effectively serve the needs of demanding customers. Machines already interpret customers’ reactions through feelings analysis to measure their degree of satisfaction – such as shorter and drier answers – and decide if it is time for human intervention.

In the face of this constant evolution, the question remains: How is the human role in the call center of the future, where the machines are increasingly smart?  

The call center of the future will combine Artificial and Human Intelligences

According to experts, we already faced other change cycles in the call center field before.

The emergence of URAs is a great example of these changes’ cycles. In the past, people used to spend hours on the phone to be answered. As the technology was evolving, the URAs started to direct the customer to the service sector responsible for solving its problem, reducing the waiting time in queues. Today, we have increasingly modern, smart and humanized URAs that, in addition to optimizing the service time and streamlining internal processes, promotes a more personalized experience for that customer”, explains Antimo Gentile, CEO of DNK Infotelecom.

According to the expert, we are facing a new technological phase, with new opportunities for the call center sector, being necessary, thus, that the attendant follows this transformation, specializing themselves and getting to know these new technologies.

“The result will be a service with gains in terms of intelligence and efficiency, that can benefit all those involved”, guarantees Gentile.

Attendants will need to understand about technology to adapt themselves to the contact center of the future

In the context that is developing, Gentile explains that, to adapt to the contact center of the future, the attendant will necessarily need to handle technology very well, since it will be part of its daily routine interacting and working with the robot’s assistance.

“Today, a call center attendant spends a considerable time navigating to search for data in many systems while the customer waits anxiously – or nervously – for an answer on standby. As the smart bots will give ready information quickly, in addition to showing solutions already successfully applied in other similar cases, this question will probably be in the past”, says the DNK’s CEO.

Despite the information access being streamlined in the call center of the future, Gentile warns that, to successfully use this benefit, it will be necessary that the attendant have an agile logical thinking.

“It is fundamental that the call center agent has an agile logical thinking to make decisions, in addition to bigger analytics capacity to deal with complex situations. It is worth remembering that the work of this attendant will be a two-way street, as he will receive constant support from intelligent robots and even be trained by them, but he will also need to help them with their learning, contributing to make them increasingly intelligent. It is a mutual gain”.

About the mutual gain, consequence of the man-machine combination, Gentile gives an example of the bot curator, a function that has the objective of improving the robot’s interpretation and involves the registration of phrases, the definition of possible answers in each context, the coordination of the service flow, the identification of failures, etc.

“Today, many attendants are already receiving qualification and migrating to this work, being a clear example of the possibilities that are appearing in the sector”.

How will the transformation process of the call center be in the future?

In the experts’ opinion, the contact centers’ transformation process should face another change: the aggregation of services in the first service that currently remain with the back office, thanks to the support of technology.

“Let’s imagine, for example, a SAC of a computer company. If a customer calls today to communicate a problem on their notebook, the professional across the line will register the call and schedule a technical visit. In the near future, however, it is probable that the attendant itself has the capacity of helping in the resolution of low complexity problems. With the help of robots and augmented reality, he will be able to access images and find a solution without the need to call a specialized professional”, explains Gentile.

“The idea is that a chatbot performs the repetitive tasks of a call center, like for example, giving information about the address of a store, a bank agency or answering a simple and very common doubt. This would open space for a new attendant profile capable of solving more complex problems, while the bot will be responsible for issues that demand less attention from these agents”, continues the specialist.

This change can be explained due to the fact that attendants will have conditions to perform tasks that are currently impossible and perform the complete service cycle, even from their homes (home office).

It is estimated that, since the COVID-19 pandemic, an average of 40% of call center agents are performing their activities from home. Of course, that number changes between companies, according to Gentile.

Human beings are fundamental for the call center of the future, guarantee experts

In the DNK’s CEO and others experts’ opinion, it is inevitable that the call center of the future, marked by the increase in the automation of processes, generates an optimism in the same proportion as I fear, mainly due to a possible reduction in service stations.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, the growth in RPA usage was 15% to 20% in a month and a half. In the future – especially with the new technologies that are appearing – the trend is for the number to grow more and more. However, it is necessary to remember that, even with the digital transformation, the role of the human being must continue. What will change is that it will be necessary to receive proper training to take on new roles. In addition, working together with new technologies, we will have what we call ‘super attendants'”, guarantees Ântimo.

DNK is a leader in solutions for call centers and contact centers

Aligned with the market trends and needs, DNK offers the best solutions for call centers and contact centers, being specialized in the development of high-performance services, products and solutions for companies in the field.

The use of state-of-art technologies together with a team of experienced professionals, takes DNK to constantly innovate to transform the experience of customers and partners with their consumers.

DNK cherishes excellence in customer service, providing their partners with tools and platforms with innovative and customizable functions in order to guarantee a satisfactory and unforgettable Customer Experience.

With DNK’s products and services, customer service is made through an integrated omnichannel platform, which connects all service channels (WhatsApp, voice, web, chat, among others) with fast customer’s data and information recovery, in order to provide a complete and satisfactory management of customer journey with differentiated results, maximum security and in compliance with the standards required by the LGPD.

The company is recognized by the market and awarded by its solutions and successful cases. Winner of the “Best Self-service Solution” category in the XXI Modern Customer Award and champion of the silver trophy at the 2020 Cliente SA Award, in the “Leader in Innovation Strategy” category, in partnership with a customer, DNK understands that a well-served consumer is the secret to successful service.