CCW Eyes AI's Transformation of Contact Center Workforce Dynamics

Amid the rapid evolution of the digital landscape, artificial intelligence is significantly transforming roles, especially within customer contact centers., CCW Digital concluded in a new report.

In this era of profound change, CCW Digital expects AI to have an imminent impact on workforce dynamics and lead to a seismic shift in the agent's role.

As organizations gear up to optimize this AI-driven landscape, there is a critical need to motivate agents using empirical data-backed strategies.

Key findings from the report include the following:

• Employee engagement remains a top priority, with 95 percent of contactcenter leaders still subscribing to the idea that happy agents equal happy customers.
• Nearly 90 percent of leaders are confident agents would be willing to take on more complex work, although a non-trivial percentage believes this eagerness is contingent on improving compensation and career path opportunities.
• The fear of AI replacing jobs is palpable, with 70 percent of leaders acknowledging this concern with their teams.
• Nearly 38 percent of contact center leaders view AI for simple issues, agents for complex ones, noting that there will be enough work to keep agents on board. Thirteen percent fear there will not be enough complex work to avoid headcount reduction.
• When it comes to successfully training agents, 67.5 percent of contact leaders said not having enough time and resources represents a major challenge/inhibitor.
• To empower the next-generation agent experience, companies must cultivate a team of next-generation supervisors. Crucial competencies for the manager of the future include the ability to coach for product mastery, comfort with modern contact center systems, adeptness at managing customer and employee feedback, and a flair for managing based on big-picture outcomes rather than traditional efficiency metrics.