Digital technologies are changing the way businesses and government communicate with clients and constituents. While the legacy call center will never go away, it will be transformed in the future. How the next generation of customer care is taking shape.

1. Thedeathof
thecallcenter
A vision of the future of Customer Service

2. Thecallcenterhasdone
itsjobwellforalongtime.
Butlet’sfaceit–itsdays
arenumbered.

3. In our recent survey of 6,000 technology,
media and telecomm consumers in five
countries, 42%of people say there will
be no call centers at all by 2025.
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
42%

4. Noneatall.

5. Here’s the disconnect:
Call centers are currently
the preferred channel of
one in four consumers
worldwide and one in
three in the US.
1/4
1/3

6. So they’re still popular,
but consumers think
they’re on the way out.
Why is that?

7. Because people believe
they’ll be replaced by
automated systems
– which is the way
everything else is going
these days.
Why should Customer Service be any different?

8. Itisn’t.

9. Buthere’stheobvious
question:ifautomation
ishererightnow,why
isn’tthecallcenteralready
deadandburied?

10. Several things are keeping
it alive: habit, convenience
and frustration with digital
systems that don’t quite
match up to expectations.

11. Old habits die hard,
and people like talking
to people. (Sometimes,
it’s the fastest, easiest
way to sort things out.)
That said, it is a generational thing.

12. While Baby Boomers, Generation Xers
and over-70s like picking up the phone,
Generation Zers and Millennials are
open to virtual assistants, powered by
artificial intelligence.
So things will change naturally over time,
as new consumers come on the scene.
1940’s
1950’s
1960’s
1970’s
1980’s
1990’s
2000’s
2010’s
Preferred communication
Call Center
Virtual assistant

13. CALL CENTER
For now, the call center
isn’t going anywhere.
But it’s far from perfect.
Just ask any caller.
Long wait times, agents who don’t understand
your problem, and being passed from one
department to another.

14. We’veallbeenthere.

15. Companies aren’t crazy
about call centers either.
Just ask any CEO.
They’re resource-intensive and cost-intensive.
They tie up large numbers of staff on routine,
repetitive tasks, and they’re expensive to scale.
CALL CENTER

16. Soautomation
istheanswer.

17. Butguesswhat?
That‘answer’isfailing
todeliverrightnow.

18. 56%of people overall say they’re
happy to use a virtual assistant
when contacting brands.
In practice, they can’t actually
find what they’re looking for.
100%
80%
60%
40%
0%
20%
56%

19. So they pick up the phone.
Not because they want to.
Because they have to.

20. 36%of call center
volumes are a direct
result of digital
channels failing to
provide answers.
And each ‘fallback’ call costs $10
(which soon mounts up).
100%
80%
60%
40%
0%
20%
36%

21. So there’s a big incentive
to get automation right.
And that will happen, as robotic process
automation and artificial intelligence,
based on machine learning, delivers service
that matches or exceeds human interaction.

22. Intheend,thefuture
ofthecallcentercomes
downtotwothings:
convenienceandcost.

23. CALL CENTER
Customers want an easy,
hassle-free option that
gives them answers fast.
Organizationswanttominimize
their costs while keeping their
customers happy.
So for the moment, the call center isn’t going away.

24. Butastechnology
comesonlinethat
transformsthe user
experience,call
volumeswilldrop.

25. With virtual agents
handling routine queries,
and automated systems
streamlining complex
tasks, the call center
will have to evolveinto
somethingelseinstead.
And it will.
CALL CENTER

26. Andhere’sthereallyinterestingthing:
Allofthistechnologywon’tmeanthe
endofCustomerServiceagents.
Instead, it’ll mean the emergence of a new breed of ‘super-agent’ who can
find answers faster, keep customers happier and add value at every turn.

27. Super agents will increase customer retention rates,
making big savings on costly customer churn (and our
survey has some fascinating insights on churn too).
Clients may even pay more for a premium service
that delivers better customer experience.

28. So the call center becomes a
high-touch, high-value resource
that handles complex queries
and critical interactions. It’ll
become a place where loyalty
is developed and nurtured.CALL CENTER

29. Which means the call center could
potentially become a profit center.
Now there’s a thing.

30. So does all this mean
the death of the call
center as we know it?

31. Yes.
Andthat’sagoodthing.

32. Because it’ll be replaced
by something far better.
Focused on quality, not quantity. On smart
solutions, not routine issues. On relationships,
not transactions. And on profit, not cost.
CALL CENTER

33. This is a huge opportunity
for all organizations.
And the time to seize it is right now.

34. © 2017 Conduent Business Services, LLC. All rights reserved. Conduent™ and Conduent Design™
are trademarks of Conduent Business Services, LLC in the United States and/or other countries.
About Conduent
Conduent is the world’s largest provider of diversified business process services
with leading capabilities in transaction processing, automation, analytics
and constituent experience. We work with both government and commercial
customers in assisting them to deliver quality services to the people they serve.
We manage interactions with patients and the insured for a significant portion
of the U.S. healthcare industry. We’re the customer interface for large segments
of the technology industry. And, we’re the operational and processing partner
of choice for public transportation systems around the world.
Whether it’s digital payments, claims processing, benefit administration,
automated tolling, customer care or distributed learning – Conduent manages
and modernizes these interactions to create value for both our clients and
their constituents. Learn more at www.conduent.com.