The economy is facing uncertain times in the upcoming year, with some parts of the world fully in a recession and others bracing for one. Macroeconomic forces created on the tails of COVID have left contact centers from financial services to retail to the tech sector needing to shore up resources. 

Leaders and staff alike are feeling anxious, so we’ve turned to the experts at Gartner^® for recommendations on how to navigate these choppy waters. In their November 2022 report “Predicts 2023: Collaborate, Automate and Orchestrate to Optimize Costs and Value During the Economic Crisis” they offer suggestions for operations leaders. We’ve outlined a few below, but you can download the complimentary full report for a limited time here. 

Tighter budgets can refocus priorities

Doing more with less can help improve call center service while being cost-effective during tough economic times.

To prepare your contact center for a downturn, it’s important to take care of your agents by offering training opportunities and support; give them better tools like software that offers agent assistance and leans into the new wave of AI capabilities that make customer service more efficient; move conversations online via digital channels that help to unify and streamline customer journeys; focus on customer experience by minimizing agent turnover impact. 

Gartner®^. predictions for operations leaders in 2023

• Start planning now
• Find a middle ground between value, impact, and cost
• Leverage AI as both tool and technology strategy
• Document where you’ve been to see where you need to go

Download the full Gartner report here. 

Gartner, Predicts 2023: Collaborate, Automate and Orchestrate to Optimize Costs and Value During the Economic Crisis, Daniel Betts, Cameron Haight, Hassan Ennaciri, Chris Saunderson, Henrique Cecci, George Spafford, 1 November 2022.

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