Customer attitudes and behaviour have shifted over the past two years.
But despite investment in chat bots, enhanced social media channels etc, latest research from Ofcom - reviewing customer interactions with broadband providers - shows that 73% of customers prefer to telephone someone.
And it’s no surprise that as more consumers experienced home delivery and trialled new sales channels over COVID that expectations around customer service has increased.
The latest UK Customer Service Index highlights that 34% of customers are willing to pay more if they get excellent service - an increase of 4.5% compared to a year ago.
Which is a challenge for organisations with significant contact centres.
The number of Customer Service/Advisor roles advertised in the UK have risen and are now 28% higher than in 2019, whilst the candidates seeking these roles are 50% lower than in 2019.
A perfect storm.
A confidential poll by PeopleScout amongst a number of major contact centre employers highlights that reducing applicant levels is having a business impact – with Average Wait Times increasing and decreasing Customer Service scores.
In response we’re seeing employers looking to significantly streamline recruitment processes and differentiate themselves through more innovative attraction messaging & channel mix to reach a wider candidate pool.
UK's hot labour market cools a touch in January - REC survey Surging demand by British employers for staff lost a bit of momentum in January when hiring rose at the slowest rate for nine months, although pay growth remained strong, a survey showed on Thursday. With the Bank of England worried about over-heating in the labour market, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), a trade body, and accountants KPMG said their index of demand for staff eased to 68.6 from 69.3 in December.
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