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Cloud-based software, also known as software-as-a-service (SaaS), is an application or service that is hosted and delivered over the Internet by third-party providers. Unlike traditional on-premise software, cloud-based software removes the need for businesses to install and maintain applications on their own servers or computers.

Cloud-based software has become hugely popular in recent years, and for good reason. SaaS (Software as a Service) takes away a number of in-house IT headaches, leaving many technology-related challenges in the specialist hands of a third-party vendor. That frees up businesses to get on with their core activities.

That’s true for companies in many sectors, but particularly so for contact centres. Here, cloud-based software can make a significant difference to efficiency, productivity and ultimately the bottom line.

In the rest of this blog, we’ll explain what the benefits are, and how contact centres can take full advantage.

What is a cloud contact centre?

Very simply, a cloud call centre or contact centre makes all the tools and services necessary to run a contact centre available on the internet. Essentially, it’s contact centre software housed in the cloud. The ability to make and take calls, along with other communications channels and a wealth of complementary features, is delivered as a software service that is run by a third-party vendor. Contact centres access the service through an internet connection.

This is a significant shift from traditional analogue telephone technology, which relied on physical hardware and infrastructure maintained on-premises. With analog systems, businesses had to invest in costly equipment, such as private branch exchanges (PBXs), phone lines, and complex wiring setups. These systems were inflexible, difficult to scale, and required dedicated IT resources to manage and maintain.

In contrast, cloud contact centres eliminate the need for expensive on-premises hardware and infrastructure. Through cloud computing, contact centres can access a fully-featured contact centre solution without the high upfront costs and maintenance overhead associated with legacy systems.

Cloud contact centre vs on-premise contact centre

Before cloud-based software, everyone housed their own contact centre solutions in-house within data centres. They owned and managed the hardware and the software. Some businesses still operate in this way, though the trend is heavily towards cloud. Here are some of the differences:

The features of cloud contact centres

One of the advantages of cloud contact centres is the wide range of advanced features they offer, which help contact centres improve operations, boost customer experiences and gain valuable data insights. These features can help to strengthen both inbound and outbound activity.

Let’s take a look at some of them:

1. Workforce Management

Cloud contact centres provide workforce management tools that optimise agent productivity and scheduling processes. Features like skill-based call routing make sure customer interactions are routed to the most qualified agents. In turn, this improves first-call resolution rates and customer satisfaction. Real-time monitoring and analytics also give supervisors better visibility into agent performance. It helps supervisors intervene earlier and provide targeted coaching to their call agents.

2. Customer Engagement

Allowing customers to communicate on their preferred channels is fast becoming an expectation in today’s omnichannel world. Cloud contact centre platforms can facilitate customer engagement away from traditional phone calls. Customer support is offered through self-service options like chatbots and interactive voice response (IVR) systems.

Customers can communicate through multiple channels (voice, email, social media, etc.) and easily transition between them without losing context. This is enabled by intelligent agent routing, which connects customers to agents they have previously spoken with.  

3. Reporting and Analytics

Gaining actionable customer data and insights drives continuous improvement in contact centre operations. Cloud solutions have comprehensive reporting and analytics capabilities, and can track agent performance metrics, customer satisfaction scores, and other key performance indicators (KPIs). Features like call recording and quality monitoring help identify areas for improvement and inform training programs, ultimately leading to enhanced customer experiences.

4. Speech Analytics

Speech analytics is a powerful tool that gives contact centre managers better insight into call agent performance. With speech analytics software, contact centres can monitor call recordings for quality assurance, ensure compliance with regulations and optimise agent performance through targeted training. This drives improvements across service quality, operational efficiency and customer experience. Cloud-based software’s scalable computing power and storage can handle large volumes of voice data and integration with other data sources.

Seven reasons why cloud contact centre solutions are the better choice

Aside from the wide range of features cloud-based contact centres offer, there are many other reasons why the trend is heavily leaning towards cloud.

1. Scalability: Cloud solutions make it simple to scale up or down. You don’t own the solution, so you just add or remove seats from your licence. It can be done in a couple of mouse clicks, it’s that easy.

2. Flexibility: On premise solutions can expand to include remote or travelling workers, but it’s tricky. By contrast, a cloud solution is available anywhere, anytime, wherever you have an internet connection. It’s made for hybrid work and a new world of flexible working.

3. Enhanced customer experience: Cloud contact centre platforms bring together a multi-channel experience, combining inbound and outbound calls, text, chat, email and more into a complete customer communications solution. At the same time, powerful analytics let you continually refine customer journeys. It all adds up to a more satisfactory customer experience.

4. Increased collaboration: With the right implementation, cloud contact centre software can easily integrate with other systems and processes, sharing data and improving information flows across your organisation. It opens up silos, increases collaboration and leads to better, data-driven decision making.

5. Seamless integrations: Cloud-based solutions make it easier to integrate with other systems due to their API-driven architecture and pre-built integrations, allowing you to link up all of your platforms for a seamless experience.

6. Better data management: Cloud software automatically collects and saves data. Good systems then put powerful analytics tools to work on it, sifting it for valuable insight in the form of customer trends or agent behaviour.

7. Cost savings: On top of it all, cloud can save you money. You lease the service rather than owning it, replacing a variable CapEx cost with a predictable OpEx one. You can also say goodbye to maintenance contracts and emergency engineer call out fees. At the same time, you free up in-house IT for more creative tasks. New features are often provided as part of the contract.

Preparing for a successful implementation

What do you need to consider before switching from an on-premise to a cloud-based contact centre solution? And how do you make sure you’re choosing the best contact centre software solutions for your call centre?

Choosing the right provider

Not all contact centre solution providers are the same. There are significant differences in the quality of their products – particularly dialler algorithms and data analytics – and the variety of features they offer.

Check certifications (especially in regard to security and data privacy), ask who else they work with and request to see the solution in action. Talk to a variety of people – do they understand the needs of contact centres?

Migrating to a cloud contact centre

You need to put a migration strategy in place, to make sure day-to-day operations are not affected by the transition to a new system. Liaise with your vendor and get firm commitments on essential questions: when the switch will happen, how long it will take and what support they offer. Prepare staff well in advance.

Training and support

Talking of staff, make sure agents are fully up to speed with the new system before you let them loose in the wild. Your vendor should offer comprehensive training and support as part of the service. If not, consider another vendor.

Integrating with other technology

One of the main advantages of cloud-based solutions is that they can easily integrate with your other systems and technologies and turn your contact centre into an information powerhouse.

For example, when your contact centre, payments and CRM solutions work together, agents go into calls equipped with a complete summary of customer activity at their fingertips. So always ask: will your new solution work with your established systems? Ask the vendor.

Some, like MaxContact, will create new APIs (the tech that lets digital systems speak to each other) if an existing one is not available. In fact, we add new integrations all the time.

Implementing cloud solutions: the benefits in action

We’ve helped many businesses successfully switch from on-premise to cloud-based contact centre software.

Take ICX, for example, a prominent player in the automotive industry. ICX struggled with frequent glitches, limited functionality, and inadequate support using their on-premises contact centre system. It was impacting their growth and ability to meet clients’ multi-channel needs.

ICX partnered with MaxContact, and we helped to migrate them to our flexible cloud-based contact centre, which offered omnichannel capabilities, easy integration and reliable support.

By migrating to MaxContact’s cloud contact centre solution, ICX has overcome the limitations of their legacy system and gained the agility, scalability, and omnichannel capabilities needed to deliver superior customer experiences and drive sustainable growth.

Thanks to the system’s advanced features and improved reliability, contact rates with decision-makers increased by over 30%, from 7-8 per hour to 11-12 per hour.  

Unlock the potential of a cloud contact centre solution

It really is the era of cloud, and that’s as true in the contact centre as it is in any other area of business. Cloud offers huge advantages in terms of scalability, flexibility, customer experience, collaboration and even cost. It brings new efficiencies and better ways of working. It should be the future of your contact centre.

Ready to harness the power of a cloud contact centre solution for your contact centre? Book a demo today.

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Labour is the single biggest cost for most contact centres, and with agent turnover hovering at around 30%, recruitment and training also eat into already tight margins.

So yes, cutting costs is a logical goal. But it’s not as simple as slashing spend. Every change you make has to be balanced against customer impact.

Why? Because customer expectations have never been greater.

Our Voice of the Consumer 2025 report found that:

• 42% of customers have switched providers after a poor service experience.
• 55% abandon calls because of excessive wait times.

That leaves contact centre leaders with a tough question: how do you reduce costs without damaging the customer experience?  The good news is these two things aren’t always in conflict.

In fact, the very strategies that cut wasted cost, like smarter workforce planning, integrated omnichannel software, and automation, are the same ones that improve customer experience.

1. Turn to omnichannel contact centre software

Running separate systems for phone, email, SMS, and webchat is inefficient and expensive. Multiple vendors mean extra licences, admin headaches, and longer training times. Worse, agents are forced to jump between disconnected systems, which slows them down and leaves customers repeating themselves.

An integrated omnichannel platform removes these barriers. One system, one supplier, one invoice. Agents get the full picture of the customer journey in one place, and customers get a smoother, faster resolution.

This matters because customers don’t stick to one channel. According to our Voice of the Consumer 2025 report, 67% prefer the phone for urgent issues, while 45% prefer email for routine updates. What they really want is the freedom to switch between channels without friction.

Omnichannel makes that possible, and it’s a win-win: lower overheads for you, less frustration for them.

2. Focus on agent training

Well-trained agents are one of the most effective cost-saving assets you can have. They resolve issues faster, make fewer mistakes, and keep customers satisfied. That translates into higher first-call resolution rates and shorter average handling times.

The cost of not training is clear. Our research shows 35% of customers have abandoned a call because the agent didn’t understand their situation. And that’s a failure of training, not technology.

Good training goes beyond scripts. It should focus on listening, empathy, compliance, and giving agents the confidence to handle difficult conversations. A confident agent doesn’t drag out a call unnecessarily, and they build trust, which leads to higher retention and lower repeat contacts.

And don’t underestimate the link between training and retention. Ongoing coaching and feedback improve job satisfaction, reducing the turnover that drives recruitment and training costs sky-high.

The end result is fewer expensive recruitment drives and a more capable, stable workforce that can build trust with customers.

3. Better workforce management

Even if you retain your agents, the next challenge to overcome if you’re looking to reduce costs is utilisation. Overstaff your contact centre, and you’re paying for idle time. Understaff your contact centre, and customers are left waiting, and abandonment rates rise.

That’s where platform features such as Workforce Management (WFM) will help you strike the right balance. WFM allows managers to forecast busy periods, optimise schedules, and monitor performance in real time. That way, you keep service levels high without wasting resources.

AI-driven workforce management tools take this further by learning from historical data. For example, they can predict Monday morning surges or seasonal peaks, so you always have the right number of agents in place.

The result is lower labour costs, smoother service, and happier customers.

4. Reduce call waiting times

Nobody likes to be kept waiting. So it’s no surprise that long waiting times are one of the biggest deal-breakers for customers. 55% abandon calls due to excessive waits, and a further 34% hang up after being transferred multiple times.

However, it’s worth rising to the challenge, as reducing average handling time (AHT) lowers costs by making your call centre more efficient, enabling more interactions to be resolved with the same-sized team of agents.

But the goal here shouldn’t be pressurising agents to rush their connected calls. A rushed interaction will result in missed details, poor compliance, and frustrated customers.

Instead, the goal is to remove wasted time, not valuable conversation. Intelligent call routing, integrated CRM, and access to full customer histories shorten handling times, while still ensuring issues are resolved thoroughly the first time.

It’s also worth noting that not every query needs to be a call. With omnichannel options like webchat, self-service, or automated payment lines, customers can often get what they need instantly, freeing up agents to focus on complex issues where human interaction matters more.

5. Route calls accurately

Call routing is another silent cost driver. Poor routing means customers are bounced between agents, leading to delays, repeat transfers, and frustration. In fact, 34% of customers abandon calls after being transferred multiple times.

Skill-based routing fixes this by matching customers with the right agent the first time. Simple issues can be handled by newer staff or self-service, while complex cases go straight to your experienced team.

The impact is twofold: customers get a faster resolution, and you reduce wasted handling time. Regularly testing and refining your call flows ensures your routing stays aligned with both customer needs and agent skills.

6. Make automation work

AI and automation shouldn’t be used to replace agents. But it can be used to free them up from repetitive, low-value tasks so they can focus on complex conversations where human empathy matters most.

Removing repetitive and low-value work that drives costs up and satisfaction down, is a win-win for customers and agents alike.

AI-powered tools make it possible in a more practical way than traditional automation ever could.

AI Agents can handle routine interactions end-to-end. This includes queries such as:

• Customer authentication requests
• Simple account queries
• Making payments
• Getting status updates.

When fewer calls reach human agents in the first place, less time is spent on tasks that don’t need human judgement or empathy.

AI Chatbots support the same goal but across digital channels. They give customers the instant answers they need to common questions, and a simple way to complete everyday tasks without waiting in a call queue. From a cost perspective, this reduces inbound call volume. And from a customer perspective, it removes friction and frustration.

However, if an interaction does need to move to a human agent, it escalates quickly. The context that’s already been captured is passed through to a live agent. This means that human agents can focus on resolving the issue without having to repeat checks or re-gather information.

This means lower call handling time and better agent utilisation without compromising service quality. AI solutions support an always-on customer support model, allowing contact centres to extend availability without increasing headcount.

With recruitment and training costs already high, not automating these predictable interactions is a direct and avoidable cost.

7. Re-evaluate your technology

Technology is one of the biggest hidden cost centres in a contact operation. Outdated systems, overlapping vendors, and complex licensing drain budgets without delivering value.

That’s why regular reviews of your tech stack are essential. Are you paying for tools that duplicate each other? Are agents wasting time switching systems? Do your licences scale with demand?

Modern platforms should consolidate multiple channels, integrate core features like secure payments and WFM, and scale with your operation.

MaxContact’s omnichannel platform is built to do exactly that: consolidate, streamline, and grow with you, so you can reduce overheads while improving service.

Contact centres can’t afford to ignore rising costs, but neither can they afford to let service slip. The good news is, cost reduction and customer experience don’t have to be at odds.

By optimising your workforce, investing in training, using automation wisely, and rethinking your tech stack, you can cut wasted spend and deliver smoother, more satisfying customer journeys.

That’s how you build a contact centre that’s efficient, resilient, and ready for the future.

Learn how MaxContact’s AI-powered contact centre platform helps reduce costs without compromising CX.

Book a Demo.

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How does your contact centre support potentially vulnerable customers?  

As agents speak with countless people daily, while trying to meet targets and other responsibilities, sometimes it can be tough to give each customer the time and sensitivity they deserve.  

However, there has been an increasing number of vulnerable adults, in part due to the cost-of-living crisis and the pandemic. MaxContact commissioned research on 1,000 customers who identified as vulnerable across the country to find out more about their needs and how contact centre staff could better support them.  

In this webinar session, MaxContact’s Sean McIver speaks with Sandra Thompson, Goleman Emotional Intelligence coach in the UK and Founder of Ei Evolution, and Helen Lord, CEO and Founder of the Vulnerability Registration Service (VRS), to explore how contact centres can support vulnerable customers.  

Keep reading for the top takeaways from our discussion or tune in to the full video.

Identifying vulnerable customers

How do we define a vulnerable person?  

Unfortunately, there is no one single answer to this. Vulnerability comes in all different shapes and sizes. It could relate to financial vulnerability, recent job loss, age or disability-related issues, mental illness, or bereavement. Any of these things can affect how people make decisions and how much support they need.

When handling sensitive topics in calls, it’s so important that first line staff have some training in how to best respond to and support customers going through tough times.  

As Helen explains, there’s greater recognition of the different aspects of vulnerability these days – especially following the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis we currently face. People are generally more open about things like financial hardship and mental health, which is a positive step.  

However, there’s still a long way to go in Helen’s opinion. There is currently a lot of talk and not enough action.

How businesses have responded to an increase in vulnerable customers

Sandra says that when leaders and staff have a better understanding of compassion and empathy, they can help to keep customers calm and resolve their problems more effectively. Part of that includes being proactive in giving out information so that customers feel like they have more control over their own situation.  

Many organisations are realising this and are doing what they can to train their staff in this way. However, there are still plenty of organisations that don’t do this. As a result, contact centre staff often suffer from burnout, and customers are left feeling like the agents don’t understand them.  

This leads to greater tension between the organisation and the customer, which means that issues take longer to resolve.  

There are two stages of handling customer vulnerability. The first is to identify it, and the second is to think about how we can accommodate it in customer interactions.  

As Helen says, dealing with vulnerability comes down to good customer service first and foremost.  

Beyond that, organisations need to rethink how they map customer journeys because not all customers will experience things the same way.  

For example, those experiencing mental health issues or people who are victims of economic abuse will have an entirely different experience. That’s why it’s important to consider all the different types of customer journeys.  

While you may not be able to map out each individual one, understanding that everyone experiences things differently and taking things on a case-by-case basis will help agents support each customer individually.  

The key to this is emotional intelligence. When agents have greater emotional intelligence, it makes them more empathetic and understanding of each customer’s journey. It also helps to keep agents themselves calm when dealing with emotionally difficult calls with customers.

Three things organisations can do to provide a better service

1 . Create content to support customers

Sandra says that if you have a good understanding of your customers and their needs, you should create content such as videos that help to build that emotional connection.  

Videos with useful advice can help customers feel empowered to tackle their own challenges. This can also reduce the number of customer calls.  

2 . Ensure you have the right statistics  

This means, for example, having a way to see if a customer has called multiple times and keeps getting cut off. If people are discussing emotional issues on a call and they get cut off, it can increase mental stress.  

Having that data keeps agents informed and ready to help customers right away.  

3 . Try something counterintuitive

While many call centres have targets on call handling times, Sandra has a method that might seem a little counterintuitive.  

Instead of trying to speed up the call, simply say “take your time.” When customers are stressed and are scrambling to remember a password, for example, saying “take your time” helps to keep them calm.  

Once they’re calm, they’re more likely to remember a password, and you can resolve the issues much faster. While it might seem like this phrase would increase call time, you might find it does the opposite.  

Protect contact centre staff

Dealing with difficult situations and emotions can take its toll on your agents as well. That’s why it’s so important to think about their wellbeing and mental health as well.

Helen suggests doing what you can to avoid a blame culture. By focusing so much on call times and targets, you just add more stress to the situation. Agents might feel rushed when dealing with sensitive issues, and this can affect customer service.  

Another way you can protect contact centre staff is to ensure they have adequate training to deal with difficult calls. If agents don’t feel prepared, this can increase stress, and that affects the customer’s experience as well. Good training is a win-win for all.  

Sandra shares some more ideas about how you can improve the training side of things.

1 . Don’t forget to check in on your remote staff

It’s important in today’s world to make sure you’re checking in on your remote staff. You can try out tools such as TeamMood, which staff can use to share feedback and let you know if they’re feeling low or stressed.  

Remember, people won’t usually come to tell you this themselves, but a tool can prompt them.

2 . Check-in on team meetings

Before diving into your meeting agenda, have a quick check-in with everyone. Ask how they are and if they give vague answers, dig in further and ask more specific questions.  

Sandra suggests, “what’s the top thing you feel amazing about?” Specific questions can help you understand your staff more easily and spot when something is wrong.  

3 . Invite people to develop their understanding of emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence is essential when handling difficult calls and emotional situations. Sandra suggests encouraging your agents to learn more about what it is and how you can improve it via online articles and videos.  

Improve outgoing communication

Incoming communication from customer calls is one thing to think about, but we can also improve any outbound communications as well.

Sandra has three ideas you can try out:

1 . Prepare your customer for calls they’re due to receive

A quick email to let them know to expect a call over the next few days or a check-in can help to prepare customers. That way, they’re not suddenly dealing with a call and trying to figure out their account details. This can just increase stress, so a simple heads-up can go a long way.

2 . Make sure you’re tuned in to responses

Hearing and listening are two different things. When you make those outbound calls, are you really hearing the response the customer is giving? What words are they using? What behaviours are they showing when they receive calls?  

3 . Empower agents

What degree of risk is there for agents who go above and beyond to help individual customers? Are agents empowered to resolve customer issues without passing them on to another member of staff?  

By empowering agents to really help customers, they can feel good about their work and your customers will also get the care they need quickly.  

By increasing openness and understanding – while improving staff training, contact centres can better support their customers.  

To learn more about customer vulnerability and what call centres can do to improve their approach to it, tune in to the full webinar.  

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As a business process outsourcing (BPO) leader, you know that more and more businesses are turning to outsourcing as part of their growth strategy.

In fact, the global business process outsourcing market, valued at $232.32 billion in 2020, is expected to grow by 8.5% until at least 2028.

BPOs provide client companies with valuable services at reasonable cost, because they use specialisation to create economies of scale. Nowhere is that more true than in the contact centre space.

Unlike client businesses, BPOs can focus entirely on providing great contact centre services, because that is their core business. But to do so, they have to employ systems and processes that allow them to scale, flex and support clients effectively without increasing costs too much.

Here are some of the challenges your BPO contact centre may be facing and how to solve them.

You want to offer your clients the best possible service, but your contact centre software doesn’t flex as you need it to.

As a BPO contact centre, you need to flex with your clients’ needs. Maybe you’re onboarding new clients quickly. Maybe some of your clients have seasonal peaks and troughs in their trade.

A BPO contact centre has to be able to flex up and down easily to meet these changing requirements, or risk providing a substandard service or piling on costs.

With a solution like MaxContact, you can add or remove licences instantly. What’s more, as a secure cloud-based service you can hire the best talent wherever they are in the UK or around the world. By contrast, on-premise solutions tie you to a location. At a time when talent is hard to find, that can be a considerable drawback for an outsourced contact centre.

You want to win new business but your contact centre provider doesn’t support you on tenders or react quickly enough to new instructions.

Winning new clients depends on being fast and nimble. You want to be ahead of the competition. You also want to provide a comprehensive review of the benefits of your service and solution.

Not every contact centre solution provider supports clients on tenders, but MaxContact does. We’ll advise on RFPs and help you hit tight deadlines. We react quickly so you can seize every opportunity. If you need a new campaign setting up in a week, we’re happy to oblige.

Your team is growing and you’re struggling to train staff quickly enough.

BPOs often have to hire large numbers of staff quickly to fulfil contracts. Those staff then need to be trained to a high standard. That’s a continual challenge for outsourced contact centres.

MaxContact is designed for ease of use. It’s an intuitive system that allows agents to seamlessly move through the steps needed to fulfil customer requests logically and simply. It also provides team leaders with the option to provide regular and detailed feedback for continuous improvement purposes. MaxContact also provides free training that quickly gets your teams up to speed.

5 tips for finding the best contact centre solution for your outsourced contact centre

If you’re looking for a contact centre solution for your BPO, always take the following into account:

• Security and compliance

All contact centres have to be secure and compliant. BPO contact centres, often dealing with several clients or campaigns at once, even more so. At the very least, you need tools to ensure that you’re GDPR and Ofcom compliant, the latest security certifications and – if you take payments – a secure payments manager. Make sure cloud based systems are housed in secure, compliant data centres.

• Ease of implementation

You can’t be left without a contact centre solution while you implement a new system. Make sure your chosen software is easy to install, maintain and upgrade, and that your provider will support you at every step. Cloud-based solutions mean the hardware and infrastructure is housed elsewhere, so they’re the quickest and easiest to install and update.

• Ease of use

The easier the software is to operate, the more likely it is that your teams will make full use of all its tools and features and the quicker they’re productive. It also makes it straightforward for agents to swap between clients and campaigns. Ask for a free trial – MaxContact offers one – and ask your team how they get on.

• Scalable and flexible

A BPO’s needs can change quickly, and then change again soon afterwards. Your solution must be able to scale up and down easily, to meet the demands of your clients. BPOs with inflexible solutions risk losing clients if they can’t scale quickly enough.

• Service and communication

A BPO contact centre depends heavily on a nimble software solution and the service that supports it. Ask potential providers how easy it is to raise support tickets, and how long do they typically take to be resolved. Get to know your providers before you make a decision. Are they contact centre experts or just resellers? Do they answer queries quickly and comprehensively?

Expert solution for outsourced contact centres

As a BPO, you rely on your contact centre solution to help you provide a professional and cost-effective service to multiple clients. At MaxContact, we get it. We’re contact centre experts with wide experience of helping BPOs meet challenges and seize opportunities. We offer a powerful, customer engagement platform that adapts to your clients’ needs, and a partnership model of service that makes our team an extension of your own.

For more information about how MaxContact could help your BPO, click here or get in touch.

Customer complaints are an expected part of the job when it comes to contact centres. But if you want to reduce complaints and improve the customer experience, you have to be proactive in your approach.

We sat down with CX+EX Coach & Expert, Natalie Calvert, and MaxContact

Product Owner, Sean McIver, to get their takes on how to reduce complaints and set up winning systems to improve the customer experience.

To hear Sean and Natalie’s top strategies, tune in to the full webinar or keep reading.

Why you need to know your customer journey

The very first thing businesses should do when handling complaints is to prioritise the customer experience. By putting the customer front and centre of everything, you’re naturally going to understand their frustrations and where the bottlenecks in your business are.

The common challenge Sean highlights is that while many businesses talk about the importance of customer experience, many don’t know what that journey looks like. That’s why companies should proactively test out their customer journeys, whether that’s signing up for a new service or making a complaint.

When was the last time you tried to call in or communicate via email as a customer would? By taking some time out to do this, you can understand what the customer experiences and find the snags in the process.

What businesses can do to reduce complaints

Rising customer complaints are becoming much more commonplace. Customers are more vocal and have higher expectations today.

So what can we do about rising complaints?

Natalie says first, you need to create a strategic review of your company. Strategic reviews can help you gain a good picture of what’s going on in your business. You can see what’s causing the issues by looking at your processes, volumes, customer types, and key triggers. This will help you understand what’s really going on so you can get the whole thing moving towards a resolution.

You can also look at the training quality of your staff. Most staff are trained not in how to deal with complaints, but how to follow the standards that the company wants to deliver – which are two very different things.

Another thing you can do is calculate the cost versus the value of a complaint. What does it cost you to deal with complaints, and what is the value you get back when you do or don’t deal with a complaint?

It’s also important to look at this from both a customer experience (CX) and an employee experience (EX) angle as well. Dealing with angry customers all day can take a toll, so it’s important that frontline staff get the support they need. By ignoring the EX side of things, you could have issues with high staff turnover and absences.

Modelling your complaints procedures on other companies

Customer service and handling complaints can vastly differ from company to company. But spend some time thinking of the companies that give great customer experiences and resolve complaints quickly and efficiently. Does your complaints procedure follow suit? Or does it look more like a company that doesn’t return phone calls or has an inconsistent service?

Natalie gives two examples of companies that manage their complaints efficiently – Amazon and Apple. They deliver a consistent, organised experience on a mass scale. While you may not be able to replicate Amazon’s customer service resources, you can take ideas from them and adapt them for your own strategy.

Why staff are at the heart of the customer experience

At the heart of your complaints strategy is the staff who deliver the communication and resolutions to customers.

Natalie says that over 60% of complaints are around staff attitude and behaviour. So, it’s not just about building a clear customer journey and process. It’s also about how the staff themselves deliver that experience.

We need staff to be fully trained in not just the process, but also how to deliver what the customer wants and expects.

Natalie says that contact centre staff need to learn and understand three things:

1. When customers get the trust and transparency they need, the staff member becomes the customer’s hero. Think about how you can become a customer hero.

2. We should aim for a win-win scenario – so that the resolution is good for both the customer and the organisation.

3. We have to be trusted advisors. How can staff build their knowledge, resilience, and skills to become that trusted advisor?

How to get to the root cause of complaints

To understand the root cause, you need to look at those early feedback loops – something that Sean believes is often missed.

The frontline members of staff who talk to customers on a daily basis are a resource that can be utilised. They know which issues are cropping up the most and how they directly affect customers. By utilising this resource, you can find root causes for issues and resolve them before they turn into more complaints.

Another plus side for this is that it ensures frontline staff don’t have to deal with the same issues over and over again because this can make them become robotic. Once you become robotic in your customer interactions, it’s harder to display empathy and truly engage with customers, which affects their experience overall.

If you wait until the later stages when those issues have built up over time, it can be too late. You’re then fire-fighting problems instead of preventing them, which costs time, money and effort.

So it’s important to have a system that helps your team raise early red flags.

Natalie believes this all starts with having a complaints culture in the boardroom. By being proactive and positive about complaints, the entire team can work together to find solutions.

You can do this in three ways:

1. Design the conversation by deep diving into what practices work best and replicating them.

2. Empower your staff to make decisions and resolve complaints without passing them on to other departments.

3. Create good stakeholder management (both internal and external) to keep everyone informed and involved.

Six strategies for reducing complaints and improving the customer experience

1. Staff training

Once you have proper staff training, you can eradicate a lot of complaints that come through. There are lots of different types of complaints that require different competency levels to handle. Make sure your staff get the right training and are empowered to tackle those different types of complaints.

2. Active listening

Active listening is about using empathy to get to the root of the problem and show the customer that you truly understand. If you actively listen, you can engage with the reasons behind the complaint and be empathetic and transparent about any shortfalls or mistakes in the process.

3. Complaints culture in leadership

By building a complaints culture, you ensure that complaints aren’t just a number. You can be proactive and look at root causes, staff training, and active listening to boost your understanding of the problems and provide better resolutions for the customer.

4. Proactivity

Don’t assume customers know the next steps in the process. Tell them and clearly outline what will come next after they make a complaint. This can completely transform the customer’s experience, especially when you follow up later to check if the complaint has been resolved.

AI technology can support this process by handling your customer’s frequently asked questions without impacting your agent’s availability. Find out how our AI-powered chatbot for contact centres can support you.

5. Continuous improvement

Like most things in customer service, building a strategy for complaints is not a one-and-done thing. You should continually look to improve your methodology by looking at data, feedback, quality control, and strategic reviews to reduce complaints.

6. Accessibility

Avoiding complaints from customers just leaves issues unresolved. So ensure that it’s easy and quick for customers to make complaints because you’re much more likely to resolve that issue quickly and effectively.

Poor processes often mean that the method of making the complaint becomes another problem for the customer. And this just results in more wasted time and frustration for everyone. Check your own process for making complaints and tweak it to make it as simple as possible.

Complaints might not be anyone’s favourite thing to spend time on, but they are an ongoing part of contact centre work. By being proactive, strategizing, and really taking the time to understand customers and support staff, it’s a win-win for everyone involved. For more on this, be sure to watch the full webinar session.

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Debt resolution is an important part of the job for many contact centres, but there are multiple factors at play in today’s debt experience for individuals and businesses.

The cost of living crisis, on top of the multi-faceted impact of the post-pandemic era, has put a real squeeze on both consumers and businesses. In some cases, this has meant taking on additional borrowing, along with paying bills and invoices as late as possible and making difficult choices with finances. On average, adults in the UK now hold £4,279 of unsecured debt, which means that debt recovery activity is likely to continue to rise while economic uncertainty continues.

For those contact centres involved in debt collection, managing processes so that the money can be effectively recovered, but without piling significantly more pressure on those struggling with debt, can be a fine balance to walk.

In this article, we look at the wider context of debt resolution strategies for contact centres and why they matter, how the right call centre software can improve processes and manage debtors more effectively, and how to help ensure more positive interactions for both contact centre staff and customers. Take a look at the webinar below for an expert-led discussion on how to create and execute the best contact strategies for easier debt resolution, and keep reading for more actionable tips for contact centre managers.

The Importance of Effective Debt Collection Strategies

Debt collection as a sector doesn’t always have the best reputation. If businesses and individuals that have fallen into debt feel harassed by those tasked with recovering money from them, it can add considerable stress to the situation and make for extremely fraught and negative interactions with contact centres, on all sides.

Contact centre staff can suffer if a high percentage of their customer interactions are negative and it doesn’t usually encourage customers to clear their debt any more quickly either.

A much more effective way to recover debt is to prioritise both customer and staff welfare, while implementing strategies and techniques that foster a sense of cooperation, trust, support and clarity.

Debt Collection Call Centre Techniques

Debt recovery calls to customers can often make for challenging conversations and difficult negotiations over payment plans. However, there are lots of different techniques that can be used by contact centres dealing with debt recovery to help make the process smoother and more positive for all parties. These may include:

Scripting and conversation starters

While every call and customer is unique and needs to be treated as an individual, it can sometimes help to set a positive tone for the rest of the call if the contact centre staff use a predetermined opening script to quickly and clearly explain why they are calling and the purpose of the conversation, before then tailoring the rest of the call around the customer’s responses.

Active listening

There are few things more frustrating to customers than feeling like they aren’t being listened to or heard properly. By using active listening techniques, call centre staff can help to put the customer at ease that they are being understood and taken seriously, which helps maintain full engagement in the conversation on all sides. Active listening builds trust and rapport, which increases the chances of smoother debt resolution.

Active listening methods for contact centre debt recovery teams include:

• Using affirmative responses to customer statements to illustrate they are being heard
• Repeating or paraphrasing what they are saying, to demonstrate understanding
• Asking questions when needed, to establish context in what the customer is saying and make sure that there is no ambiguity in the information being taken or given
• Using positive language to minimise stress and the chances of escalation.

Displaying empathy and validating customer feelings

Being able to put themself in a customer’s shoes is important in debt recovery calls, because customers need to know that their situation is understood and being taken into account. It can help ensure the call is constructive when call centre staff validate the customer’s opinions and emotions about the situation. This can make them more willing to find a resolution that everyone can agree on.

Transparency

Honesty and transparency are important factors on any debt recovery call, because it helps build trust and being clear about the debt is also a regulatory requirement. Some of the ways to ensure transparency include:

• Clear identification at the start of the call about the caller and what the purpose of the call is
• Accurate information about the debt owed, including any fees or interest also due
• Avoid giving any misleading or ambiguous information.

De-escalation

Some debt recovery conversations can be difficult, so being able to effectively use de-escalation techniques can be valuable skills for contact centre staff. Along with incorporating active listening, using positive language and displaying empathy for the customer’s situation, other de-escalation methods can include:

• Staying calm and composed
• Set clear boundaries for the conversation if the customer becomes aggressive or abusive
• Ask for support from a supervisor
• Offer to follow up in a separate interaction and provide a timeline for this.

Leveraging Call Centre Software for Debt Collection

Alongside the contact centre staff using a variety of techniques during their customer conversations, debt collection with call centre software that is the right match for your business can significantly increase your resolution rates.

A debt collection call centre using software that streamlines repetitive and resource-heavy processes can make all the difference to productivity and the amount of money recouped. Some of these features can include:

• Diallers – to automate the outbound call and connect with the customer without the need for manual number lookup or dialling.
• Call prioritisation – to make the most urgent and important calls first, which can help with customer satisfaction as well as being more efficient.
• Speech analytics – to identify problem areas in the customer journey so the contact centre can take steps to improve processes and performance.
• Scripting – to provide call centre staff with useful guidance to set a positive tone and achieve the best outcomes during calls.
• Secure IVR payments – to give customers a secure, encrypted way to make phone payments 24/7 without relying on contact centre staff to enter data manually.
• Quality Assurance (QA) – to evaluate contact centre call performance and enable the team to make improvements as needed.

Making the most of automation in call centre software

A great way to boost productivity in contact centres involved in debt recovery is to automate as many repetitive processes as possible. This not only frees up time for staff to focus on offering excellent personalised customer service, it can also improve morale and workplace satisfaction.

Some of the tasks and processes that can potentially include automation in debt collection call centres include:

• Communication – with tailored communications going out to individual customers automatically on a pre-planned schedule.
• Payment reminders – including emails, WhatsApp messages and texts, tailored to the payment plan put in place for each customer.
• Chatbots – to respond to common questions and send any complex requests through to staff to deal with.

Using call centre software data analytics to drive debt collection strategies forward

With built-in data collection and analysis in the best call centre software solutions, not only can the platform make the day-to-day operations run more smoothly and productively, it can also inform future debt collection strategy decisions.

By analysing data and outcomes, insights can be delivered on contact centre performance KPIs, as well as potentially predicting future behaviour and patterns of customers. This kind of information can help contact centres to future proof their debt collection strategies and maximise efficiencies.

Creating a Debt Resolution Plan

The key to maximising debt recovery is to develop an effective debt resolution plan, utilising all of the relevant functionality within your call centre software and the skills of your call centre staff, that can be easily tailored to individual customers and their circumstances and preferences.

• Step 1: Understand each customer’s individual debt and its context, including the barriers that are preventing them from clearing the debt straight away.
• Step 2: Establish the communication channels and preferences that work best for individual customers.
• Step 3: Offer flexible payment options, based on an honest discussion about the debt and circumstances.This might include out of hours payments as well as setting a schedule to pay off the debt.
• Step 4: Implement personalised communications and reminders to continue the debt recovery process after initial contact.
• Step 5: Use your data and the insights it provides to improve the service further.

With an effective debt collection call centre software solution monitoring your plan and integrating with other aspects of your business, such as your CMS, CRM, payment gateways, various communication channels and regulatory compliance, you can create a debt resolution plan that delivers better outcomes and an improved customer and staff experience, all while reducing costs.

Managing Staff Wellbeing in Debt Collection Call Centres

With an increase in the levels of debt and busier times ahead for debt collection contact centres, managing staff wellbeing is an important consideration for managers. A happy, well-supported and productive workforce means a more positive culture, lower staff turnover and lower recruitment, onboarding and training costs.

Find out the main employee stressors in your specific contact centre

You might think that you already know exactly why working in a debt collection call centre is stressful for staff, but you might be surprised by some of the things that your employees say.

Putting in place a supportive feedback process is important, to help you understand the real call centre agent experience.

Staff need to feel comfortable enough to be honest about what makes their job tough. While every contact centre is different, some common issues that cause stress may include:

• Management expectations are unclear to staff
• High customer expectations and challenging conversations are difficult to deal with repeatedly
• Striving to meet call targets
• Being measured and monitored every minute of the working day
• Feeling disconnected from the company and coworkers if working remotely

Take steps to mitigate the main causes of stress for staff

There are always going to be challenges when working with customers through a contact sector, but there are ways that call centre managers can reduce some of the stress for the workforce, such as:

• Regularly discussing work stress with teams to create an atmosphere where it’s accepted to talk about this topic
• Improving the quality of internal communications – making sure that it’s a two-way conversation.
• Ensure targets are reasonable and provide support for employees finding this a challenge
• Providing training and coaching when a need is identified
• Implementing wellbeing practices as part of the working day, such as breathing exercises, visualisation, exercise and taking breaks when needed.

Implement regular staff check-ins and wellbeing reminders

Giving contact centre staff a clear route to provide feedback about their role and wellbeing is important. Having regular check-ins can be a good way to do this, either individually or in a small group setting, depending on employee preference.

Setting up wellbeing reminders can be a great way to help staff working remotely to deal with the sense of isolation they may feel after coming off a particularly tricky call. Wellbeing reminders can regularly nudge contact centre workers to take screen breaks, have a drink, do some stretches or breathing exercises. These little things can have a significant positive impact and help employees to feel more valued and supported, as well as encouraging healthy habits that don’t cost anything.

Providing call centre workers with a straightforward way to engage in conversations with those who understand exactly what they are going through can also be a big help when working essentially alone.

Individual wellbeing solutions for your contact centre workers

It’s worth remembering that what one employee finds stressful, another might thrive on, and what reduces stress for one person might be the last thing that another worker wants. In the same way that debt collection customers need to be treated as individuals, with their own preferences, so do debt collection call centre workers.

Enabling employees to choose their preferred options for managing their own wellbeing at work is important, giving them a greater sense of ownership and providing them with what they personally need to feel supported.

For more insights into debt collection solutions, how to improve your processes and achieve easier debt resolution, tune into the full webinar session.

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