When Datacraft representative Paul Goode moved to New Zealand he was initially impressed with the high level of technology adopted by contact centres. His first thoughts were that the local scene was equal to Scandinavian countries in being the most technically advanced in the world.
Then he discovered that while New Zealand contact centres might have the gear, they aren’t using it effectively. He estimates that only 50% of technology in contact centres is actually utilised.
Goode has 15 years experience in contact centres in Britain, Europe, Australia, US and South Africa. He mentioned the low usage of high-end technology at last week’s Contact Centre Networking Event, where he was presenting the Dimension Data Global Contact Centre Benchmarking Report 2007.
Some of the key international trends identified in the report were that call volumes have flattened out, staff remain the biggest expenditure, there is a more realistic approach to customer service and multi-channel contact with customers is on the rise.
The number of New Zealand contact centres who participated in the Dimension Data survey was very low, so during the presentation Goode focused on the Australian situation. However he urged those present to participate in the next survey in order to build up a more realistic and relevant picture of the local scene. As with most of these benchmarking reports, those who participate are sent a full report for free, those who don’t are charged (in this case $US 1500.00).