Now more than ever, companies have realized the importance of strong work at home program as part of a business continuity plan. Countries around the world are placed in a lockdown, forcing businesses to allow their employees to work at home.
Those that are quick to adapt, seamlessly transitioned online which kept their business running despite this trying time. Others, however, are already feeling the financial crunch and are expected to close down in the coming months. Deborah Weinswig, CEO and founder of Coresight Research, believes that over 15,000 retail stores will shut down because of the pandemic. According to a survey by Goldman Sachs, 50% of small business owners say they expect an end to their operations in the coming 3 months.
However, work at home is not the only solution to get through these challenging times.
Even with a strong work at home program business won’t keep up with the demands of the customers. They need faster responses and AI-powered bots are the best way to mitigate the volume volatility.
Here are three conversational Artificial Intelligence solutions that can improve the efficiency of your work-at-home support agents.
Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
Natural language IVR is more than the “press 1” voice you heard during call support. IVR is now coupled with CX technologies that enable companies to automate inbound and outbound calls through a voice-based virtual assistant. This leads to a superb CX that shortens the usually long IVR workflows.
With the unpredictable increase of calls caused by COVID-19, a Natural language IVR solution manages call volume and customer satisfaction in the most natural, human way possible.
Chatbot to Home-Based Agent
According to Kayako, 41% of customers prefer chat support over voice. Statistica also, reports that chat support gets 83.1% customer satisfaction compared to the most common CX platform. Most commonly live chat is directly connected to an agent. But according to Everise’s work at home solutions, a chat-based robot can reduce inbound calls by as much as 70%. This means, companies can save time and money if they run chats to an AI program before transferring to a work-at-home agent, if the robot cannot answer the questions.
Using predetermined key phrases or text signals, an AI-based chatbot can answer customer queries. The efficiency of these bots helps reduce repetitive tasks so agents can focus on more important call support. With innovation in communication, chat programs are much easier to implement.
Apps like Twitter, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Wechat can now install AI plugins. And since these are widely used apps, customers can connect with brands whenever and wherever they are.
Human Resource Helpdesk Assistant
Despite the uncertainty of the future, the human resource department should always be available to answer all the questions of their employees. During these difficult times, access to information is important to ensure applicants and employees won’t feel left out.
Unfortunately, because of the limited movement from HR, this task can be quite difficult. This is where robots can keep a positive employee experience. Smart helpdesk assistants can be easily programmed to send the latest information on COVID-19, basic health tips, and alerts regarding process changes due to the virus.
Information should also be displayed in an interactive app, with a chat interface so users can easily find data in a system they are familiar with.
If your business is affected by the global pandemic, it is high time that you look into work at home solutions to keep your customer experience afloat. Robots can effectively and efficiently help you jump-start this strategy.
Remember, in calamities like today, companies that are quick to react are the ones that stay. If you keep on wasting time, your customers will move to your competitors with the possibility of never looking back.
As the saying goes, “out of sight, out of mind.” So, move fast!
