As the hub of every customer touch point, your contact centre is certain to be handling, changing and processing personal data, warranting careful assessment of the GDPR regulations. It’s critical that housing providers continue to deliver exceptional customer experiences to their tenants as they implement the changes required for compliance. So what are the elements of tenant engagement excellence in the contact centre?
Consistency
Beyond simply ensuring as little disruption as possible to existing services while implementing GDPR-related changes, it’s important to offer consistent service levels and capabilities across channels, business units, and agents. For example, GDPR regulation includes the ‘right to erasure’, meaning individuals will have the right to have all of their personal data erased when being processed using the legal basis of consent, legitimate or public interests. Organisations have to comply without undue delay if such a request is made. This capability, and indeed all services offered, should be available across all contact methods for a consistent tenant experience.
Tracking all interactions
To be more certain of GDPR compliance, contact centres should have the capability to capture and analyse every customer interaction. This will provide a total picture of a customer’s contact history which is vital to evaluating GDPR compliance in cases where customers choose to exercise their rights. Having a platform that allows for easy capture and tracking of disposition codes for each interaction is critical, along with the ability to include multiple reason codes per contact.
Personalisation
Although GDPR is about privacy of information, this doesn’t negate the contact centre’s ability to provide personalised, informed service. Personalisation can include understanding and leveraging the customer journey, the context of previous discussions with the business, and even preferences in terms of channels and agents. It also includes the consistency and consolidation of information shared, as contacts are transferred within the organisation.
Visibility and reporting
One of the GDPR requirements is quick access to an individual’s information and history to allow them to exercise their rights, and with the right contact centre platform, it is possible to have an immediate and holistic view. Seamless integration to all systems storing a customer’s personal data can provide all of the information required to perform an action.
Build trust with GDPR
As you prepare for GDPR, it’s important to look beyond the minimum viable compliance. The enforcement of these regulations can be viewed as an opportunity for organisations to make trust and service excellence their key competitive differentiators while also updating current systems and processes.
Andy McDonald is senior vice-president for worldwide sales at Upstream Works.
