Agent Crunch Pushes CX Providers Into Outsourcing and Wage Hikes

The shortage of skilled professionals is putting pressure on CX providers to increase wages, with 58% of service organizations now outsourcing at least part of their agents’ work.

The scarcity is also driving the use of AI-powered bots, according to a recent survey conducted by Deloitte Digital.

CX providers generally stick to the belief that personalized service delivers the best customer experience. Nevertheless, currtent circumstances have left them with no choice but to embrace automation technologies.

The move towards bots is also being pushed by customer demand for self-service alternatives available around the clock.

Dounia Senawi, a Deloitte executive, said that using new technology to suit changing consumer needs will put contact centers on a path to success.

Around 74% of organizations are currently at some stage of testing or deploying customer-facing chatbots, with voice/text analytics increasing to 81% from 62% in 2020.

More than 90% of executives surveyed said they would invest in additional “self-serve” capabilities over the next two years.

The Battle for Talent

As the talent scarcity worsens, several call centers are hiking pay and even attempting to employ a big number of remote agents from beyond their turf.

According to Deloitte’s survey, 63% of contact center operators are encountering workforce shortages and are trying to retain existing talent, while 58% have resorted to outsourcing some agent capacity.

Remote working has also come to their aid. In the survey, more than 69% of the organizations said they still have a work-from-home program in place. This trend could become much more prevalent in the coming years, according to the research firm.

Modernizing Infrastructure

Despite economic uncertainties, businesses have continued to upgrade their technological infrastructure.

Over the past two years, about 50% of organizations have moved their analytics, CRM, knowledge management, interaction recording and workforce management systems to the cloud.

Cloud-based technology can assist organizations in improving customer service by providing agents with real-time data and analytics. Agents can address client concerns more quickly and efficiently.