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AUTOMATION IN THE CONTACT CENTER: THE RISE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE ROBOTIC AUTOMATIONBy Nicolas De KouchkovskyOctober, 2018

THE EARLY 2010S SAW THE RAPID RISE OF THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE (CX) AS A STRATEGIC ISSUE FOR ENTERPRISES. WE LIVE IN THE AGE OF THE CUSTOMER. THE ABILITY TO DEFINE AND DELIVER GREAT EXPERIENCES HAS BECOME AN ESSENTIAL DRIVER FOR ACQUIRING AND RETAINING CUSTOMERS. DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IS NOW MAKING CX CRITICAL TO BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE DIFFERENTIATION OVER THE COMPETITION.

With customer service accounting for 75% of all interactions a company has with its customers1, support organizations are on the front line. Customer care must create better experiences across an ever-increasing number of channels. It needs, in particular, to better tackle the most important dimension of good service, valuing customer time2.

Customer service organizations have been actively developing self-service, harnessing the possibilities of artificial intelligence (AI). Self-service offers fast and convenient ways to deal with simple inquiries. It also addresses consumers’ desire to look for information on their terms and by themselves. It is, however, changing the role of associates. Agents need to pick up interactions when self-service is no longer able to cope with customers’ requests. They also must be available for important questions that customers want to discuss in person. Customer service representatives might have fewer interactions to deal with but the remaining ones are getting more complex and critical to the customer experience.

In order to step up to this seemingly impossible challenge of enabling deeper customer engagements, support organizations are turning to automation. It expands self-service from responding to questions to actually completing customer requests such as returning a product or changing a flight. Automation can also assist agents who deal with a common contact center problem of having to juggle multiple systems and applications during live customer interactions. Thankfully, robotic automation has come of age. Let’s explore this critical technology and how it can help customer service.

THE EXPERIENCE IMPERATIVE

THE ENGAGEMENT CHALLENGE

AUTOMATION AT THE RESCUE

1 Gartner, 2012 https://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/19290142 Forrester, 2016 https://go.forrester.com/blogs/16-03-03-your_customers_dont_want_to_call_you_for_support/

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AUTOMATIONINTRODUCING ROBOTIC PROCESS AUTOMATION

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) uses software robots to mimic humans interacting with applications and automate steps of the process. The concept is not new. It started decades ago with macros, scripts, and screen scraping. The underlying technology has completely changed. Today’s robotic automation interacts directly with the operating system, a technique known as surface automation. It made the technology much more robust, ready to be deployed at scale on a desktop, either physical or virtualized, or in the cloud.

RPA Robots can be deployed on a desktop or in the cloud. They can run under the control of a person triggering its actions (attended RPA) or with minimal human intervention (unattended RPA). In the latter case, you can have a large number of robots doing the redundant and repetitive back-office work. This scenario is sometimes referred to as a “digital workforce.” It requires additional monitoring and control software to oversee the work of the robots and manage exceptions. In an attended RPA scenario, the robot acts as a personal assistant to the agent, coexisting on the same desktop.

Sequences can be recorded or programmed and then assembled using logic to handle the different scenarios. Robotic automation is particularly relevant when a process requires simultaneous steps with several applications. One often underlooked use case for the technology is for integrating with legacy applications. Because it simulates a human, robotic automation can integrate with any application, in particular, those with no APIs or mainframe applications. Even when APIs are available, many organizations prefer to use robotic automation because it makes integrations simpler to build and test, and, more importantly, transparent to the target application.

Today, robotic automation is not yet well suited for complicated scenarios with exceptions. It shines when the logic can be kept simple, combined with applications and people to handle the more complex situations. It can be used to automate not only tasks but also activities and even entire processes. Robotic automation is best deployed using an iterative approach. You can start by automating a few steps and progressively expand the scope of automation. This continuous improvement model is very similar to the Kaizen system that transformed the manufacturing industry in the 1980s. Lean manufacturing makes use of automation side by side with humans, transforming their efficiency and effectiveness. In the context of customer service, robotic automation can assist agents with repetitive tasks and give them time to take care of the important moments with customers. It also improves their job satisfaction with a direct impact on the experience they provide to customers.

Introducing Robotic Process Automation

Deployment models

Application integration

Automation helps people

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CUSTOMERROBOTIC AUTOMATION IS BECOMING CRITICAL FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE

Although robotic automation is still in the early stages of its adoption for customer service, its impact has been widely acknowledged. First, it takes costs out of servicing customers. Customer support organizations are not only expected to improve the customer experience. They also must reduce their costs. Savings come from shorter handling time and automation of after call work. These productivity improvements are similar to screen-pop. The magnitude of the savings is higher, measured in minutes per interaction instead of seconds. Robotic automation allowed one of Europe largest mobile network provider to repatriate its customer service operations. Assisted with robots, local employees reached productivity levels that offset their higher salary levels compared to workers in low-cost locations.

Agents having to deal with numerous applications is a huge issue in contact centers. They need to switch from one to another, copying and pasting the same information between several systems. Jacada shared the example of a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) customer service representatives having to use 15 different applications because these were systems from different third-party providers. Integration was not even an option. Using robotic automation, it was possible to preload transparently the customer context, pulling its different elements from the various applications as needed.

Robotic automation also improves process predictability. It reduces errors and helps enforce compliance and adhere to regulations. Jacada reported the example of a leading US insurer needing to summarize every customer interaction and record policy changes. It uses robots to ensure all modifications are flawlessly recorded. It could also enforce additional levels of compliance by having robots perform checks in the background. Robotic automation enables customer service representatives to no longer put clients on hold or ask them to wait. It makes customer service more human, freeing agents from tedious tasks and having to juggle applications. One of the most important benefits of robotic automation besides cost reduction is that agents get time back to take care of their customers.

Better processes

Reduced costs Simpler desktops

By enabling expedited resolution and removing hold times while the agent is doing work, robotic automation improves the customer satisfaction (CSat). One of the top-ten big-box retailers in the USA was confronted with the issue of customers calling about an order without its reference. This actually happens quite often. Agents had to find the order number using either a name, a phone number or an email address by checking 8 different systems. The automation of the lookup cut the process from 150 seconds to less than 30. Because time is a currency, such reductions have an immediate effect on the customer experience. By reducing lead times and chaining together what used to be a series of discrete steps, robotic automation can provide the first step in the digital transformation of the support experience.

Better experiences

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one another. Compounded by 200 different services, training associates on these small differences became a daunting task. With robotic automation, it became possible to have these variants taken care of by robots. Robotic automation simplifies training and shortens onboarding. It helps rebalance the curriculum with less time spent memorizing the intricacies of systems and processes and more spent learning how to better serve customers

Customer Service organizations have access to a plethora of technologies. There are three reasons why robotic automation should be prioritized. First, the solution can be layered on top of existing investments. There is no need to rip or replace the assets already in place and robotic automation can be considered a way to maximize their value. Second, projects are not required to mobilize many resources. Third, deployed in weeks or months, its time-to-value is a matter of months or quarters. Robotic automation is eventually a strategic enabler of the emerging assisted service model, upholding in-person service to take care of interactions left over by self-service

Companies are also finding that robotic automation helps meet the expectation of today’s workforce. Millennials and Generation Z employees care more about their working environments. Fully aware of the possibilities of technology, they have little tolerance for boring and repetitive tasks. They need to feel connected to the mission of their company and get frustrated by anything that hinders their ability to provide good service. Robotic automation delivers on the promise of "taking the robot out of the human. ”It is not just an automation technology. It is a tool to attract, retain, and engage agents, reducing turnover.

Better Employee Experience

Robotic automation also improves process Employee churn in customer support organizations has remained high. Training new agents on the myriad of little things they need to know is a huge challenge. A provider of back-office processing services for financial institutions found each of the banks it was assisting required to handle service requests with slight variations from

Faster onboarding

Easy addition

SELF SERVICE

Routine/SimpleComplex/Important

Deflection

LIVE SERVICE

Off loading

Manual processing(Fulfillment)

Inquiry

ASSISTED-SERVICE MODEL

Escalations

ExceptionsAutomated processing(Fulfillment)

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SERVICECUSTOMER SERVICE ROBOTIC AUTOMATION

Growing adoptionRobotic Automation is not specific to customer service. Actually, it has been widely adopted in back-offices. If the underlying technologies are the same, solutions for customer service are quite different. There are several nuances that need to be considered before deploying robotic automation for customer service and contact centers.

Application integrationIn a customer support environment, the number of applications can be staggering. Moreover, the type of systems to integrate with will range from web to mainframes through client-server applications using different clients, Java, .NET, or windows. Customer Service Robotic Automation needs to support all these connectivity options.

A chaotic environmentCustomer Service Robotic Process Automation (CS RPA) needs to not just work with a person but for a person. The software robots share the desktop environment. They must carry out their tasks without interfering with the work of the agent. A customer service representative desktop can be quite chaotic. Numerous applications are running in parallel and agents will move them around and change the windows’ size. It is critical that interaction technology is robust to handle such non-controlled conditions. This is in a sharp contrast with Back-Office Robotic Process Automation (BO RPA) where robots enjoy dedicated and stable computing resources

OrchestrationThe resolution of a customer service request often entails several tasks running in parallel. Customer Service Robotic Automation needs to be able to orchestrate several activities to complete the customer service request.

Real-timeCustomer Service Robotic Automation has to be real-time. Robots need to execute their tasks in seconds. There is a customer waiting in line and a few seconds delay feels like an interruption or being put back on hold! Back-Office Robotic Automation is tuned for off-line batch processing

AgilityFinally, Customer Service Robotic Automation needs to cope with the frequent changes happening in customer support. Small modifications need to be carried out both quickly and with little if any IT support. Back-Office Robotic Automation platforms are geared towards managing large pools of robots. They are supported by dedicated IT personnel, a luxury many contact centers cannot afford

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POSSIBLETHE ART OF THE POSSIBLE

THREE USE CASESIf most people know the use case of an agent being assisted by a robot, few are aware of the two other deployment scenarios of Customer Service Robotic Automation. Robots can be harnessed to help a chatbot fulfill customer service requests and make the chatbot transactional. After uncovering the intent of the customer, the chatbot can use automation to complete the request instead of having to pass the interaction to an agent. Robots can also augment self-service by giving access to a wide range of back-end applications and push the envelope of what customers can do by themselves .

INFORMATION LOOKUPExploring the activities that can be handled by Customer Service Robotic Automation provides also an interesting angle to visualize the art of the possible. A software robot can be used to look up information and assemble the customer context. It not only saves agent time but avoids the embarrassing “bear with me a second while I access your information”. Any application integration can be handled by a robot. Because it is a “no-code” integration style, the approach can be very compelling to organizations reluctant or unable to modify existing applications

AFTER CALL WORKThe automation of after call work is also an activity easy to automate. It has been saving minutes of agent time for the Insurance company we explored. After call work can include the disposition of the interaction, pre-populating the summary notes with the information the agent already typed. It can also include the automatic creation of a case in the CRM system or sending a confirmation message to the customer

ASSISTED SIGN-INSoftware robots can also be used as a proxy to sign-in into multiple applications. Assisted sign-in has been a key benefit of robotic automation for the financial service provider we discussed earlier. The company needed to give its agents access to numerous applications that belong to different companies. Robots handle the sign in process using a password vault that contains the encrypted agent credentials. The agent has to only sign into their working environment once at the beginning of their session.

FEWER ERRORS, MORE SECURITYThis overview of the activities that can be automated shows that Customer Service Robotic Automation does much more than just doing things on behalf of humans. It does things better. It can handle security in a safer way than having agents making notes of their various credentials. It reduces errors, improves data quality, and enforces both consistency and compliance. Robotic automation can reinforce process standardization and consistency across channels. With so many illegal activities using human engineering to trick agents, robots can also provide a way to secure certain interactions and reduce fraud. The breadth of activities that can benefit from Customer Service Robotic Automation makes orchestration capabilities essential.

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Agile methodRobotic automation projects are best approached using an agile methodology. Their success can be secured with a few simple steps. While robotic automation falls in the low-code solution category, it is important to include IT in the project from the get-go. A governance framework is required for the testing, ongoing evolution, and application integrations. The toolkit selection should carefully factor the specificities of Customer Service Robotic Automation we discussed. Many companies start with a pilot process. Forrester’s Craig Le Clair ‘rule of 5’5 provides useful guidelines to select it. He recommends to choose one with no more than five decisions to keep the logic simple, no more than five applications to integrate with, and no more than 500 clicks. Software robots can be deployed on the desktops of workers or virtualized. By working hand-in-hand with the agent, robotic automation provides the instrumentation to identify new tasks and processes candidate for automation.

Reduced costs Robotic automation enjoys multiple measures of success . The reduction of handle time and after call work can be in minutes and often provide a return on investment in a matter of a few quarters. Cost savings will also come from reduced training times. The reduction of errors and escalations should also be tracked. An important benefit of robotic automation is the standardization of processes. It makes them more predictable and enforces compliance.

Faster resolutionsThese improvements compound into a faster resolution of customer issues. This is why robotic automation is important to better the customer experience and improve satisfaction. We live in a world where time is a currency. Robotic automation gives their time back to both customers and agents. Most projects are actually looking at the hours recovered rather than full-time equivalents (FTE) taken out of customer service.

GETTING STARTED MEASURING SUCCESS

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A step towards digital transformationEnterprises are actively exploring how to leverage digital technologies to transform customer-facing processes and make them fluid and effortless. Many are looking at retooling their IT infrastructure using cloud applications, low-code platforms, and APIs. Robotic automation should be considered as part of this toolkit, enabling a component-based approach to automation. It delivers compelling first steps for such transformation journeys. Robotic automation also augments these new technologies. In particular, it accelerates their deployment by simplifying how they can integrate with legacy applications.

Artificial IntelligenceRobotic automation is often mentioned in conjunction with artificial intelligence. With AI at the peak of its hype cycle, the relationship can be confusing. It is fundamental to understand that robotic automation doesn’t need AI. This should be considered as a positive aspect of robotic automation. AI is harder than most people think and avoiding it as a prerequisite does simplify what a project requires. Robotic automation and AI can be combined. For example, AI can help identify processes to automate. In this context, it is important to stress that robotic automation provides an instrumentation to collect the data about process execution that will be needed by any AI applications.

Expanding self-serviceWith many companies looking at using self-service to scale their customer service operations, one might wonder why to consider robotic automation. Both work hand in hand. The two technologies are not only complementary but their combination is greater than their addition. Self-service hinges on human backup for exceptions and complicated inquiries. Robotic automation plays a critical role in assisting agents dealing with them. Self-service experiences that cannot be flawless tend to harm significantly the customer satisfaction. Businesses are finding that automation can be a less risky alternative to using a chatbot. Indeed, having access to the two technologies let you choose between the two depending on the use case and find the optimal balance.

It’s time to actIt is unfortunate that the level of awareness on the possibilities of robotic automation for customer service has remained low. It is a great technology to give back time to both support associates and customers. The technology is mature and solutions geared to the specificities of customer care are available. Customer Service Robotic Process Automation has become an essential application for your customer service toolbox.

THE STRATEGIC ROLE OF ROBOTIC AUTOMATION

You must consider robotic automation in the broader context of the evolving customer service. You want in particular to understand its interaction with digital transformation, artificial intelligence, and self-service.

About the AuthorNicolas De Kouchkovsky is a recognized industry expert in customer engagement and customer service. He is an advisor and fractional CMO for B2B software

companies, helping them with all aspects of marketing and market development. Nicolas was previously CMO at Genesys, driving the company’s expansion into the broader multi-channel contact center market.

www.jacada.com

ABOUT JACADA

Jacada Inc. helps enterprises to significantly reduce costs of their customer service

operations by deploying automation solutions and contextual bots. From guiding the

contact center agents and automating their manual tasks to fully automated self-

service solutions, Jacada automates interactions while improving customer experience.

Our 27 years of experience in automating customer service processes for global

enterprises, together with proven outcome-focused integration capabilities, enable worry-

free deployments with lower Total Cost of Ownership. Founded in 1990, Jacada operates

globally with offices in Atlanta, USA; London, England; Munich, Germany; and Herzliya, Israel.

More information is available at www.Jacada.com