Talkdesk Launches Talkdesk CXTalent and Talkdesk Academy

Talkdesk, a cloud contact center solutions provider, today announced Talkdesk CXTalent, a job platform for contact center agents, supervisors, and system administrators seeking work-from-home jobs.

Talkdesk CXTalent , product #14 in the Talkdesk 20-in-20 program, helps companies in need of customer service staff to alleviate inbound support pressure as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. With free training available through Talkdesk Academy, job seekers can develop essential skills through four levels of coursework and Talkdesk certifications.

"Social distancing recommendations and shelter-in-place requirements are forcing some contact centers to shut down if they are unable or unwilling to move contact centers to the cloud and allow agents to work from home," said Tiago Paiva, CEO of Talkdesk, in a statement. "The combination of Talkdesk Academy and Talkdesk CXTalent offers solutions for both the people whose employment is a COVID-19 casualty and the businesses seeing a surge in support exceeding workforce capacity."

Talkdesk CXTalent is a gig-economy job platform fed by Talkdesk Academy and open to any customer service provider in need of additional talent. Companies can find qualified and certified candidates on the Talkdesk CXTalent marketplace and hire to fill open roles, scale-up business during busy times, or augment current staff due to shortages. Talkdesk CXTalent uses artificial intelligence, powered by Talkdesk iQ, to pair job seekers with organizations ready to hire for remote contact center roles.

"While we've recently seen an immediate shift to hire staff by video-only interviews, CXTalent brings in a whole other layer as a shared knowledge base of resources," said Zeus Kerravala, founder and principal analyst at ZK Research, in a statement. This innovative approach is something I don't recall seeing from any other vendor."

"Talkdesk CXTalent can transform contact center staffing," said Patricia Loureiro, global director of customer service at Farfetch, in a statement. "The option to add trained and certified agents, who have been grouped in terms of performance, anywhere in the world, will help companies scale customer service teams faster and in places where currently they have no local offices or support."

Talkdesk Academy offers no-cost training and certification on the Talkdesk platform with AI-driven recommendations of additional skills. It follows a multi-tier process to prepare agents, supervisors, and administrators with best practices, techniques, and hands-on instruction in using, managing and administering Talkdesk for remote cloud contact center service and support operations. Talkdesk Academy graduates receive badges and credentials to confirm competencies and increase value to employers.

"The combination of Talkdesk Academy and Talkdesk CXTalent offers a single solution for a complicated problem: the rapid rise of unemployment which is contributing to a rapid rise in customer service needs without a deep enough talent pool to meet this need," said Shauna Geraghty, senior vice president and head of people and operations at Talkdesk, in a statement. "Talkdesk CXTalent offers an unlimited talent pool of skilled contact center and customer service professionals, helps identify which candidates fit roles best, and reduces traditional constraints on the hiring process for a shortened hiring timeline."