1159 — German contact centre managers positive about the future, study reveals

Mar 11, 2004 | Conteúdos Em Ingles

The latest study commissioned by Aspect to Strateco to 480 managers of in-house and outsourced contact centres in Germany, Austria and Switzerland reveals the primary roles fulfilled by contact centres across the three countries are customer service/ support (over 50 per cent of respondents stating this was the primary role of the contact centre, order processing and sales/customer acquisition

‘The study paints a rosy picture about the prospects for contact centres in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. While the shift towards support for full multimedia working and IP telephony is slower than some analysts predicted, there is a confidence in the sector, making it a perfect time to build for the future in a considered manner. Solutions that can deliver a quick ROI, cut costs and maximise operational performance stand every chance of success’ states Julia Ullrich, marketing program manager for Aspect Communications.

The study also revealed that:

* Over 90 per cent of customer contacts are by phone – although email, SMS and MMS levels are rising.

* Automatic Call Distributors are the most common form of advanced technology found in contact centres (in more than 80 per cent of centres surveyed).

* Over 50 per cent of contact centres use Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) solutions.

* 44 per cent of contact centres use interactive voice response (i.e. automated call handling). This figure rose from 32 per cent a year before.

* Less than 1 per cent of contact centres have an IP-based phone system

* 61 per cent of managers expect the contact centre market to grow in 2004 with ‘agent training’ the most important item on the agenda of contact centre managers.

* While 40 per cent of managers are not planning to introduce any cost-cutting measures in 2004, 90 per cent of managers state that Return On Investment will be a more important criteria when making new contact centre investment decisions

2004-03-11

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