Adrian Grove, Sales Director at Realise, outlines the importance of embracing apprenticeships for individual career development and the success of contact centres.
Change. Some people embrace it. Others are more reticent to accept it.
And whichever camp you fall in, the nearly one million people who currently work in a contact centre in the UK are experiencing it at a pace that the industry has never seen before.
The role of contact centres has grown beyond recognition over the last 30 years. With social media channels galore and no end of online reputation apps and websites to leave feedback, every contact between a business and its customers is absolutely crucial.
Often, contact centres can represent the first line of communication between a customer and a company and can shape not only an early opinion but also potential purchasing habits for the future.
One slip of the tongue by an employee and it’s not only the individual responsible who is under scrutiny, but the company which is employing them.
Apprenticeships have always been at the heart of the success of contact centres.
The ability to learn new techniques, technological developments or progress the careers of individuals to the next level have been crucial in the growth of contact centres.
That now rings truer than ever before, whether it is to achieve one of the three targets above or to provide those in more senior positions with the training to manage the transition we are currently living through.
Even for the most experienced contact centre professional, the rate of change the industry is undergoing meant the requirements to digest fresh techniques and new methods of working have never been greater.
Customer expectations have never been higher. Offering simply a phone option is no longer enough for any call centre. They must be supplemented by social media, chat or e-mail alternatives, placing new demands on staff to provide accurate and speedy responses across multiple platforms.
The introduction of artificial intelligence and innovations with automation are allowing contact centres to operate more efficiently, with technology dealing with straight-forward customer enquiries while leaving humans to deal with more complex requests.
Data collection and analytics are also becoming ever more sophisticated. Where an individual’s personal details – age, address and marital status for example – would previously have been revealed in the discovery stage of a conversation between contact centre and customer, they are now often known simply from a telephone number.
Whether it be the Level 3 Customer Service Specialist or Team Leader qualifications or the Level 5 Operations Manager Apprenticeship, there are huge opportunities for individuals to advance their career and for businesses to successfully navigate the period of change contact centres are undertaking.
With an ability to tailor apprenticeships to bespoke offerings to meet the needs of learners and employers, embracing qualification opportunities could be the key to ensuring a business thrives in the new era of contact centres.