Investing in state of the art technology and equipment is vital for the success of the modern contact centre. In a recent survey carried out by Jabra and the analysis institute Frost & Sullivan, 79 per cent of all contact centre managers and 89 percent of managers in large contact centres, see technology as an important step towards improved agent productivity.
Especially integration between existing equipment and the successful integration of the headset was seen as crucial for business. In order for the purchase to be a success, the audio end point or headset must be versatile enough to integrate seamlessly with the contact centres’ existing technology; this provides the agent with a comfortable and intuitive solution and prevents time wasted on down time and ensures a high sound quality.
“Tight integration between headsets and communication systems can have a significant impact on the customer and contact centre agent experience by improving quality and reducing stress,” says Eric Rossman, Avaya Vice President, Developer Relations and Alliances. “Jabra’s headsets have been tested for compatibility with Avaya solutions through our rigorous, DevConnect evaluation process, to help provide agents with reliable hands free communication that saves time and increases productivity.
Contact centre managers in the survey are strongly supporting the fact that their agents must be equipped with quality headsets and technology in order to achieve an optimal productivity. Only 21 per cent of all managers (Figure 1. and 4 % of national contact centre managers) opted to put budget before technology and 81 per cent specifically choose intuitive software solutions for their contact center. However, the most important feature mentioned by 97 per cent of surveyed contact center managers concerning their business critical processes was compatibility.
“I am glad to see these results,” says Holger Reisinger, Jabra Vice President of Marketing, Products and Alliances. “It confirms our business model and proves that our efforts of ensuring headset compatibility now positions Jabra as the preferred contact centre headset partner. Contact centre managers all across the world may rest assured that with a Jabra headset, they also get the assurance of investing in a portfolio of dedicated contact center headsets with the world’s highest degree of phone system compatibility."
While the majority of the contact centre managers express that compatibility and intuitive software and hardware is mission critical and a parameter when choosing a provider, not all products or services are created equal. According to the survey, 22% of managers in the larger contact centres and 32% of managers of smaller contact centres (Figure 1: 20 % of UK managers in the national contact centres) express that the use of advanced technology can also be an obstacle that can get in the way of performance due to complicated use and high maintenance.
Jabra counter these obstacles even before the product leaves the Jabra research and development facility in Ballerup, Denmark. In the development phase of Jabra products both partner technology and Jabra’s own processes are taken into account. Working closely with strategic alliance partners from the initial conceptualisation of a product ensures compatibility of Jabra headsets with products from all the world’s leading providers of telephony and unified communications platforms.
“I was surprised, but not shocked, at how many Contact Centre managers view advanced technology as an obstacle,” says Brendan Read, Industry Analyst, Frost & Sullivan. “New technology is meant to make jobs easier, not harder. This shows that the industry needs to do a better job of creating reliable, easy to use software and demonstrating its ease of use and benefits to its customers. Jabra is taking the right step by incorporating this knowledge into its product development.”