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A webcast hosted by Interactive Intelligence Group Inc. has suggested that one of the most important trends affecting contact centres in 2012 will be the increased employment of remote agents. Interactive Intelligence is an IP business communications solutions and the webcast attracted more than 2,300 registrants including many contact centre industry experts.

The increased use of remote agents was flagged by Art Schoeller, a principal analyst at Forrester Research Inc. “Driven by more flexible staffing, reduced real estate costs, a broader recruitment base, and improved retention, it’s clear why the use of remote agents is on the rise,” he said. 

Other trends identified included a renewed focus on the customer experience, the adoption of cloud solutions and the impact of social media on contact techniques.

When audience members were asked, “How are you using social media?” the largest number, at 45.5 per cent, indicated they used it to listen to what customers were saying about their brand. That was followed by the use of social media to provide customer support (35.9 per cent), and its use for lead generation (32.9 per cent). 

"Growing social media usage will have an enormous impact on how companies engage with their customers,” said Don Van Doren, founder and president of Vanguard Communications. “Understanding how best to use these new channels will challenge traditional contact center thinking, and will require new system solutions."

Interestingly, the evolution of customer service job titles seems to reflect the increased importance placed on customer experience. Data from Indeed.com, has shown that job titles including the phrase, “customer experience,” grew by around 100 percent in 2008, and by 350 percent in 2010.

“If there was any doubt about the importance of the customer experience, it’s clear that 2012 is the year that it becomes the competitive differentiator among organizations,” says Art Schoeller. “It’s the wise contact center manager who heeds this and develops a plan that lets customers interact from anywhere, using any device, and across all channels, especially social media platforms.”