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A study of the selection and uses of state-of-the-art technology in today’s Contact Centers.

business brief

CHOOSING THE RIGHT CONTACT CENTER TECHNOLOGY

a jabra report, in conjuction with

SUMMARY

in addition to employees, advanced technology plays a critical role in today’s contact centers. according to contact center managers, the main reason their organizations implement state-of-the-art technology is to improve agent performance. as discussed in a previous jabra business brief*, high-performing contact center agents are ones who have a desire to do their jobs well, act as team players and actively work to meet company goals. in addition to improving agent performance, contact center managers also say they deploy state-of-the-art software to take advantage of new features, such as live updates, which help reduce the risk of downtime and improve sound quality, which help optimize the contact center operation.

The chief attribute of satisfied Contact Center agents is a desire to do their job well. A lesser, but still important, attribute of satisfied agents is that they act as team players and are highly aware of company goals and actively strive to meet them. Satisfied agents are productive, good team members and are positively adopting of new hardware/software.

When contact center managers make technology decisions, the overwhelming majority say they seek out

software that’s intuitive and easy to use. They believe intuitive software will make agents’ jobs easier and reduce training times. somewhat paradoxically, however, when it comes to selecting headsets managers choose high-tech features. The particular ones they value most during the selection process include noise cancellation for improved voice quality, noise protection for agent safety and comfort. The features they say their agents value most in-clude comfort, noise cancellation, design and ergonomics.

in selecting headsets for their organizations, contact center managers have a strong focus on and realize the importance of compatibility between headsets and phone systems, and a solution that allows for easy technology updates and configuration of multiple headsets at a time.

While state-of-the-art technology is increasingly important to operating a successful contact center, a sizeable percentage of contact center managers are wary of the cost, maintenance and complicated nature of advanced technology. nearly one-third of those interviewed regard it is an obstacle to performance. This opinion is most prevalent among managers at small contact centers.

2CHOOSING THE RIGHT CONTACT CENTER TECHNOLOGY

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KEY FINDINGS

1 The vast majority of Contact Center managers say that they invest in state-of-the-art technology as

a means to improve employee performance.

� 79 percent of contact center managers agreed with the statement, “We invest in state-of-the art technology because it’s an important investment that allows our employees to perform better.”

2 Large Contact Centers, in particular, are leaders in using state-of-the-art technology to improve

employee performance.

� 89% of managers in large contact centers (those with 500 or more seats) say they use state-of-the-art technology as a means to improve employee performance.

� 81% of managers in medium-sized contact centers (those with 100-500 seats) say they use state-of-the-art technology to improve employee performance.

� 72% of managers in small contact centers (those with fewer than 100 seats) say they use it to improve employee performance.

3 A secondary reason why Contact Centers invest in state-of-the-art technology is to take advantage

of updated software features such as live updates, which reduce the risk of downtime and improve sound quality.

� 74 percent of contact center managers agreed with the statement, “We take technology into consideration because of updated software features like live update, lower risk of downtime and the better quality sound of up-to-date equipment.”

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bACKGROUND

As with most organizations, Contact Centers are increasingly adopting state-of-the-art technology to run their operations more efficiently and profitably. Technology helps Contact Centers better deploy and monitor resources and allows agents to more efficiently and accurately handle higher levels of customer calls.

In December 2011 Jabra and analysis institute Frost & Sullivan conducted a survey of 250 Contact Center managers in Great britain, France, the U.S., China and India to investigate the connection between a good sound environment, employee satisfaction and increased productivity.

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4 by a wide margin, medium-sized Contact Centers are leaders in taking advantage of the updated

software features that state-of-the-art technology provides.

� 83% of managers at medium-sized contact centers say they take advantage of the updated features that state-of-the-art technology provides.

� 70% of managers at large contact centers say they take advantage of updated software features.

� 63% of managers at small contact centers take advantage of updated software features.

5 When investing in state-of-the-art technology, bud-get is a consideration for a sizeable percentage of

contact center managers.

� 21 percent of contact center managers agreed with the statement, “Technology doesn’t interest us; we just need headsets and software that match our budget.”

6 budget is a bigger consideration for large and small Contact Centers than for medium-sized ones

when choosing headsets and software.

When asked to agree with the statement, “Technology doesn’t interest us; we just need headsets and software that match our budget”…

� 30% of managers at large contact centers agreed. � 28% of managers at small contact centers agreed. � 12% of managers at medium-sized contact centers agreed.

7 An overwhelming percentage of Contact Center managers say they prioritize intuitiveness in soft-

ware when making technology decisions.

� 81 percent of managers say their contact center prioritizes intuitive software when making a technology decision.

8 The top reasons managers cite for choosing intui-tive software are to make agents’ jobs less stress-

ful and to reduce training times.

When contact center managers were asked for the top reason they select intuitive software…

� 38% said it was to make the agents’ jobs less stressful. � 25% said it was to reduce training times. � 18% said ease of use.

9 When choosing a headset solution, Contact Center managers say the top quality they look for is

noise-cancellation technology.

When contact center managers were asked which qualities they value most in a headset solution…

� 65% said noise cancellation and improved voice quality. � 57% indicated noise protection for agent safety. � 51% said comfort. � 38% cited high durability/damage resistance. � 38% said plug-and-play capabilities.

“The fact that noise-canceling technology is the top quality managers seek in headsets confirms a finding we presented in a previous jabra business brief*,” says Holger reisinger, jabra Vice President of marketing, Products and alliances. “in it, we found that contact centers managers’ main focus is increasing employee productivity. Headsets that provide noise-canceling technologies and noise pro-tection are outstanding choices to help contact centers reach their productivity goals.”

10 While managers most prefer headset features that help increase agent productivity, agents

most prefer features that increase their on-the-job comfort.

When contact center managers were asked which qualities their agents value most in a headset solution…

� 71% said agents most value comfort. � 60% said agents most value noise cancellation and improved voice quality.

� 33% indicated design, wearing styles and ergonomics. � 31% said intuitive software that is easy to work with. � 29% cited high durability/damage resistance.

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11 An overwhelming number of Contact Center managers place an emphasis on compatibility

between headsets and phone systems. A solution that allows for easy updates and configuration of multiple headsets at a time is important to them.

� 90% of contact center managers rate integration between headsets and phonesystems as this very important or important.

“Tight integration between headsets and communication systems can have a significant impact on the customer and contact center agent experience by improving quality and reducing stress,” says eric rossman, avaya Vice President, Developer relations and alliances. “jabra’s headsets have been tested for compatibility with avaya solutions through our rigorous, Devconnect evaluation process, to help provide agents with reliable hands-free communication that saves time and increases productivity.

12 Compatibility between headsets and phone sys-tems is viewed as most business-critical to medi-

um-size and large Contact Centers.

� 97% of managers at medium-sized contact centers view compatibility between headsets and phone systems as important.

� 92% of managers at large contact centers see compatibility between headsets and phone systems as important.

� 83% of managers at small contact centers view compatibility between headsets and phone systems as important.

“i am glad to see these results,” says Holger reisinger, jabra Vice President of marketing, Products and alliances. “it confirms our business model and proves that our efforts of ensuring headset compatibility now positions jabra as the preferred contact center headset partner. contact center managers across the world can rest assured that with a jabra headset, they are investing in a portfolio of dedicated contact center headsets with the world’s highest degree of phone system compatibility.”

13 Despite the importance of technology in the Contact Center, a significant percentage of Contact

Center managers have reservations about using advanced technology.

� 29% of contact center managers agreed with the statement, “advanced technology is an obstacle that gets in the way of our performance due to complicated use and high maintenance.”

14 Concerns about advanced technology being an obstacle to performance are more prevalent in

small Contact Centers and less so in large ones.

When asked to agree with the statement, “advanced technology is an obstacle that gets in the way of our per-formance due to complicated use and high maintenance”…

� 32% of managers at small contact centers agreed. � 28% of managers at medium-sized contact centers agreed.

� 22% of managers at large contact centers agreed.

“i was surprised, but not shocked, at how many contact center managers view advanced technology as an obsta-cle,” says brendan read, industry analyst, frost & sullivan. “new technology is meant to make jobs easier, not harder. This shows that the industry needs to do a better job of creating reliable, easy-to-use software and demonstrating its ease-of-use and benefits to its customers. jabra is taking the right step by incorporating this knowledge into its product development.”

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* jabra business brief: “improving contact center employee satisfaction and retention”, march 2012, Key finding 1, Page 4.

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FIND OUT MORE

Different working environments demand different headset solutions. The jabra range of headsets for contact centers and offices offers a wide choice of hands-free communica-tion technology covering virtually any requirement.

To find out more about which jabra headset solutions are relevant for specific working environments, please contact jabra at www.jabra.com/contact-center.

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AbOUT JAbRAjabra is the brand of Gn netcom, a subsidiary of Gn store nord a/s (Gn) - listed on nasDaQ omX. jabra employs approxi-mately 850 people worldwide and in 2011 produced an annual revenue which amounted to DKK 2,106 million. jabra is a world leader in the development, manufacturing, and marketing of a broad range of handsfree communications solutions. With a reputation for innovation, reliability, and ease of use that goes back more than two decades, jabra’s consumer and business divisions produce corded and wireless headsets, plus mobile and in-office speakerphones that empower individuals and businesses through increased freedom of movement, comfort, and functionality.