In the digital age, contact centres have evolved beyond traditional call-handling. They now serve as crucial hubs of customer interaction, leveraging cutting-edge technologies to deliver seamless, efficient and personalised customer service.
At the same time, housing providers and local authorities face unique challenges. They’re tasked with meeting Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) while dealing with rising costs and the need to modernise customer interactions.
As someone who has worked in the housing sector for over two decades, I aim to shed light on the requirements of housing providers in a non-sales(y) way, focusing on several common requirements we regularly come across, and how the technology is available to meet these challenges and exceed targets.
CRM, IVR & AI integration
CRM and interactive voice response (IVR) systems, when integrated with artificial intelligence (AI), are transforming the way housing providers interact with their tenants. By identifying a customer through their phone number, the CRM can provide relevant information to the IVR system, which can then interact with the customer to provide information, such as repair appointment times, without the need for an agent.
These advanced solutions offer a range of benefits. AI-powered IVR systems can handle routine or repetitive customer enquiries easily, providing self-service options that exceed customer expectations. AI can also intelligently route calls to the most qualified agent for faster call resolution and transform antiquated or frustrating IVR experiences by reducing wait times with more efficient call-handling and processing.
This integration has further enhanced the capabilities of contact centres, providing a more consistent, effortless and personalised customer experience.
Enhancing agent efficiency with pop-ups
In the fast-paced environment of a contact centre, efficiency is key. When a call or message is received from an existing tenant, having immediate access to the tenant’s details can significantly enhance this efficiency. This includes information such as the tenant’s address, phone number, recent call information and case details.
This instant display of information allows the contact centre advisor to have a comprehensive understanding of the tenant’s history and current situation. It eliminates the need for the advisor to manually search for this information, saving time and allowing them to focus on addressing the tenant’s needs. A recent example of this technological advancement is the integration between 8×8’s contact centre system and MRI Housing, implemented for Beyond Housing, a Social Telecoms customer.
Moreover, this feature can also improve the quality of customer service. With all the necessary information at their fingertips, advisors can provide more personalised and effective service. They can anticipate the tenant’s needs, provide relevant information and resolve problems faster.
In essence, the integration of pop-up information into contact centre systems is a powerful tool that can boost both efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Leveraging speech recognition & call transcription
Speech recognition and call transcription can enable a ‘knowledge base’ article to appear for the contact centre colleague when a tenant enquires about a specific problem, such as a fault code on their boiler. This allows the advisor to quickly provide the tenant with the necessary information.
Ensuring data security & compliance
In the era of digital transactions, ensuring data security and compliance is paramount. When a tenant asks to be transferred to their income officer to pay a bill, it’s crucial that the system not only records the call and creates a transcript but also protects sensitive data. Alternative ways to provide payment details, such as via a keypad or speaking to an automated system, must remain PCI-compliant to ensure the security of the tenant’s financial information.
A recent development in this area is the new integration of payment processing systems with Allpay, a widely-used payment merchant in the housing sector. This integration offers a secure and efficient method for tenants to make payments, further enhancing the capabilities of contact centres while ensuring data security and compliance. Not only does this mean that housing providers can take PCI-compliant payments but it also results in cost savings. For example, Muir Group (another Social Telecoms customer) was able to shift from its current vendor, which had call-forwarding costs, leading to significant savings.
Accessing call recordings & transcripts
In contact centres, accessing call recordings and transcripts is vital for quality control and compliance. Advanced solutions offer comprehensive analysis of these, including sentiment analysis, which gauges the emotional tone behind words. This allows for a deeper understanding of customer interactions and enhances agents’ performance. Real-time coaching options for supervisors and performance templates for evaluators foster continuous improvement.
Enabling performance management
Performance management is crucial in contact centres. Advanced solutions provide a unified workspace for monitoring and managing agent performance and overall efficiency. These solutions blend real-time analytics, trend analysis and agent performance data, offering a performance-centric focus that drives higher performing agents and enhances the customer experience. They also automate trend analysis, actionable alerts and intelligent coaching recommendations.
Furthermore, these solutions offer enhanced insights and control for every business leader, from executives to team leaders, quality assurance managers, supervisors and directors. For example, workforce management tools can identify skill gaps with a scorecard view into key performance indicators (KPIs) such as adherence and attendance. This allows for a comprehensive view of agent performance across all desired KPIs in a single report, enabling effective performance management.
More than a communication hub
Contact centres are more than just a point of communication; they are crucial hubs that can significantly enhance the tenant experience.
By understanding and leveraging the capabilities of advanced technologies such as AI, CRM, IVR and secure payment processing systems, housing providers can ensure their contact centres are ready to meet the needs of the future. These technologies not only enhance efficiency and customer service but also ensure data security and compliance, fostering trust among tenants.
By sharing these insights, we hope to inspire Housing Technology’s readers to explore these technologies and consider how they can be integrated into their organisations.
Pippa Saunders is the senior business development manager at Social Telecoms.
