This post was sponsored by Jabra, a leading global provider of wireless headsets and headphones for offices and contact centers.
As we move further into 2021, and year two of the pandemic, it’s a good time to take a step back and analyze some of the ways the contact center space is changing underfoot.
As we explain in a new Jabra white paper titled “Exploring the Post-COVID Contact Center Market,” COVID-19 undoubtedly remains the top overarching contact center market driver heading into 2021. However, it’s far from the only factor at play.
Here are some of the top contact center predictions to consider in 2021.
Digital Transformation and Industry 4.0 Will Accelerate
We are moving deeper into the Fourth Industrial Revolution, or Industry 4.0, which is generating rapid advancements in global intelligence, connectivity, and communication — a trend that’s bound to increase in in 2021. Despite dealing with the lingering fallout from COVID-19, expect contact centers to continue pumping money into emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Remote Work Will Continue
The widespread shift to remote work was a major change for the contact center industry. As it turns out, only 13 percent of U.S. contact center agents worked remotely at the end of 2019. By mid-April of 2020, this figure increased to 71 percent.
Expect contact centers to continue leveraging remote agents in 2021 and beyond. All signs indicate that remote work is here to stay in the contact center space— and companies that attempt to buck this trend and keep agents on site risk alienating talented workers and suffering from higher turnover.
Agent and Customer Experience Will Remain Top Priorities
The truth is that the shift to remote work did not come easy for contact centers this year, as many companies were not prepared for the challenges that came with it.
But CX is more important than ever, with 68% of CX experts agreeing that expectations from customers are rising. At the same time, the agent experience is rising in importance, as companies are looking for ways to improve and enhance remote work.
In 2021, expect companies to increase their investment in technologies that enable first class agent and customer experiences from noisy and unpredictable home environments — like premium, noise-cancelling headsets.
Of course, these are just a few ways that the contact center industry is changing. For a complete breakdown, check out our new white paper.
