A well-known bank realized that over the last six months, the number of consumer complaints has moved up by 3X while it’s rating on the ‘’Customer Satisfaction’’ survey took a beating. A quick recon divulged that the contact center of the bank was stamped with larger volumes of calls and troubled with higher agent attrition, in the said period.
It was time for adopting Speech Analytics and the management finally chose a vendor out of three, for the proof of concept or POC for deep business insights from customer interactions.
Instances such as the above are not uncommon within the services sectors, such as Telecom and BFSI. When organizations finally take a call on adopting Speech Analytics, the ice-breaker moment is when you sign up for a Proof of Concept (POC) to get a holistic view of the technology and its functioning.
But then, what factors should the organization consider before implementing Speech Analytics?
Here’s a checklist –
Business objectives: First and foremost, is the formulation of the business objectives of the contact center. Is the adoption of Speech Analytics aligned with the business objectives of the contact center and the overall business strategy of the organization? It is also essential to involve the CXOs and achieve management buy-in for the POC to be implemented in a smooth manner.
Budget: So, the management is convinced, but does the organization have the budget for implementing POC? Has there been a specific budget allocated for technology/Speech Analytics adoption or should the funds be borrowed from other areas?
Right time: Once the decision to go ahead with Speech Analytics has been taken, what matters is the ‘’when’’ part of the implementation. When is the right time to roll it out? Are all things in place for implementation? Are all stakeholders kept in the loop and sensitized?
Create a test environment: It is important to create the required test environment before going ahead with implementing Speech Analytics. The right test environment will have all the required hardware and software in place to roll-out in the desired manner. Test environment will also include the required prep from the organization’s side in terms of selecting certain problem areas. For example, multi-channel analytics and keyword search detection can be two areas the organization wants to be tested.
Set expectations right: It is natural to have high expectations from any test project but at the same time, it augurs well to set the expectations right.
Organizations must keep in mind that the initial few months will be mostly about fixing teething issues and is the best time to put processes in place and let machines do their learning. Setting specific test criteria helps predefine expectations and thereby, helps assess and analyze the results in a fair manner. Setting expectation right also allows ‘’quick wins’’ which can further motivate organizations.
Right team: A successful implementation is possible only by having the right team in place. Just like any other project, Speech Analytics requires champions to take ownership of different teams that combine to facilitate a successful implementation. It is also important to sensitize all stakeholders to ensure everyone is on the same page.
POC is an important phase that helps organizations understand the importance of adopting Speech Analytics solutions. POC also costs organizations money and time, so, before going ahead with POC implementation organizations must consider the aforementioned factors to be Speech Analytics ready.