Next-Generation Agent Desktop
Address the Empowered Customer Trend with Happy Agents
October 2013
Omer Minkara
Next-Generation Agent Desktop: Address
the Empowered Customer Trend with Happy
Agents
The empowered customer trend has rapidly influenced the core dynamics
of many contact centers. Indeed, while the top objective cited by companies
participating within Aberdeen’s October 2007 Contact Center Analytics: Do
You Know How Well You Are Doing? study was driving operational efficiencies
(e.g., improve first contact resolution and average handle time), findings
from the July 2013 Contact Center Optimization: Use Data to Deliver Superior
Customer Care research reveals that today’s contact centers are laserfocused on improving the customer experience. Agents are at the front and
center of customer experience management (CEM) programs, considering
the mission-critical role they play in directly interacting with clients.
Between March and June of 2013, Aberdeen surveyed 301 firms on their
contact center efforts where 79 businesses reported using agent desktop
optimization (ADO) initiatives (see sidebar). This Aberdeen report will
outline how ADO helps companies empower their contact-center agents
with information needed to serve their clients in a timely and personalized
fashion. Findings will also demonstrate numerous best practices in the
effective use of agent desktops helping companies achieve 9.1% annual
increase in first-contact resolution rates and retain 91% of their customers.
Happy Agents = Better Business Results
While the focal point of ADO initiatives is improving agent productivity and
performance, the business benefits extend beyond these goals. Figure 1
below demonstrates the year-over-year performance gains ADO users
enjoy, compared to their peers without this initiative.
Figure 1: Benefits of ADO Programs Extend Beyond Productivity
8%
7.5%
5.1%
Year-over-year percent change
6%
4%
2.8%
2.2%
October 2013
Analyst Insight
Aberdeen’s Insights provide the
analyst’s perspective on the
research as drawn from an
aggregated view of research
surveys, interviews, and
data analysis.
Definitions
For the purposes of this study,
Aberdeen defines:
√ Customer empowerment
as a trend where buyers use
numerous technology tools
(e.g., smart phones and
tablets) as well as information
resources (e.g., social portals
and online user groups) to
access and share information
that influence their purchase
and loyalty decisions.
√ Agent desktop
optimization (ADO) as an
activity aimed to provide
agents with the ability to use
their desktop to access the
information needed to serve
customers in a timely and
personalized fashion.
2%
0%
-0.7%
-2%
-4%
-6%
-8%
Companies with Agent Desktop Optimization
Initiatives
All Others
-10%
-10.3%
-12%
Annual company revenue
Agent productivity
Average number of transfers per
call
n=301
Source: Aberdeen Group, June 2013
This document is the result of primary research performed by Aberdeen Group. Aberdeen Group's methodologies provide for objective fact-based research and
represent the best analysis available at the time of publication. Unless otherwise noted, the entire contents of this publication are copyrighted by Aberdeen Group, Inc.
and may not be reproduced, distributed, archived, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written consent by Aberdeen Group, Inc.
Next-Generation Agent Desktop: Address the Empowered Customer Trend
with Happy Agents
Page 2
Businesses incorporating ADO as part of their contact center programs
drive 82% greater annual increase (5.1% versus 2.8%) in agent productivity,
compared to their peers. Agents within companies with ADO initiatives are
better positioned to access the relevant information in a timely manner
which supports their ability to achieve 10.3% annual improvement
(decrease) in the number of times they transfer customers due to lack of
information. These benefits ultimately help organizations reduce their costs
and delight their buyers, which translates into a 7.5% year-over-year
increase in annual company revenue, compared to a 2.2% increase by
businesses without ADO programs.
Trend analysis between Aberdeen’s October 2012 Agent Desktop
Optimization: Agents can Finally Focus on the Customer study and the recent
survey findings reveals that contact centers have made significant strides in
managing the agent desktop over the past year. Businesses have reduced the
average time agents spend looking for appropriate resolution information
from 26% of an agent’s time to 14% over the past year. Assuming an annual
agent salary of $30,000 (not including benefits) in a contact center with 300
seats, this decrease amounts to a cost-savings of approximately $1.08
million ($2.34 million minus $1.26 million) year-over-year (see sidebar for
calculation). This signals that companies are rapidly learning how to
implement an ADO strategy that delivers a better agent experience.
However, there is still plenty of room for improvement considering that a
contact center with 300 seats would incur approximately $1.26
million in unnecessary costs resulting from the inefficient use of
agent desktop.
Cost of Poor Agent Desktop
Optimization Programs
Assuming that a contact center
with 300 seats is paying
$30,000 for the annual salary of
each agent:
√ 26% of agent time spent
looking for resolution
information corresponds to
$2.34 million incurred
annually as unnecessary
costs ($30,000 X 300 X 26%
= $2.34 million)
√ 14% of agent time spent
looking for resolution
information corresponds to
$1.26 million incurred
annually as unnecessary
costs ($30,000 X 300 X 14%
= $1.26 million)
In the next section we’ll observe how top performing organizations
distinguish themselves in optimizing the use of an agent desktop and outline
the building blocks that support their continued success.
Building Blocks of Effective ADO Strategies
Superior business results are one of the main characteristics of topperforming ADO users. We used three key performance measures to
identify organizational success in empowering agents to improve contactcenter productivity and deliver better customer experiences. Table 1 below
illustrates the results of these leading firms in these metrics, in comparison
to their Laggard counterparts (see sidebar).
© 2013 Aberdeen Group.
www.aberdeen.com
Aberdeen Methodology
Aberdeen Group used selfreported company
performance data to classify
each respondent within either
one of two groups:
√ Leaders: Top 30% of
respondents based on
performance in the metrics
outlined in Table 1
√ Followers: Bottom 70% of
respondents
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Next-Generation Agent Desktop: Address the Empowered Customer Trend
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Table 1: Top Performers Earn Leader Status
Mean Class Performance
Definition of
Maturity Class
Leaders:
Top 30%
of aggregate
performance scorers
 91% customer retention rate
 9.7% year-over-year improvement in first contact
resolution rates
 8.4% average year-over-year improvement (decrease)
in average handle time
Followers:
Bottom 70%
of aggregate
performance scorers
 32% customer retention rate
 0.0% year-over-year improvement in first contact
resolution rates
 0.9% average year-over-year improvement (decrease)
in average handle time
Source: Aberdeen Group, May 2013
The ability to deliver a seamless and enhanced agent experience plays a
crucial role in an organization’s ability to accomplish the aforementioned
results. To this point, when asked about the top factors impacting agent
experience, the top answer provided by organizations participating within
Aberdeen’s June 2013 Workforce Optimization in the Contact Center: Secrets to
Improve Agent Performance study were workflows and the technology tools
agents use to access and manage customer information — an increasingly
challenging area considering the number of systems and processes involved
in managing today’s multi-channel customer interactions. Aberdeen data
indicates that the business processes and technologies below serve as
building blocks that help leading organizations alleviate these challenges and
empower their agents with the right information at the right time.
Key Business Processes
As noted above, addressing the requirements of the empowered customer
trend requires organizations to be laser-focused on ensuring that their
agents are able to deliver superior customer experiences across multiple
channels. To accomplish this objective, 86% of leading ADO users ensure
that their existing data flows allow for the retention of customer
information when clients are transferred between agents or from an IVR
system to a live agent (Figure 2). This activity helps reduce customer effort
and improve agent productivity by eliminating the need to ask the same
questions within the same interaction. Even though 60% of Followers
currently have this process, considering the potential impact (e.g., customer
frustration and lost productivity) of asking repeat questions to the same
clients, increasing adoption of this key capability is highly recommended for
the remaining 40% of these businesses. As illustrated in the sidebar on the
next page, Leaders also utilize a series of technology enablers to support
their ADO initiatives. Workflow and knowledge management are two
enablers that help them execute on the ability to retain customer
information during transfers.
© 2013 Aberdeen Group.
www.aberdeen.com
Fast Fact: Integrating Mobile
with the Agent Desktop
√ Aberdeen’s October 2013
Omni-Channel Customer Care:
Empowered Customers
Demand a Seamless
Experience study shows that
37% of contact centers today
are using mobile applications
(HTML 5 and native) as part
of their customer care
programs.
√ Leaders in ADO are 28%
more likely (46% vs. 36%)
than their peers to integrate
their company-owned
mobile apps with their
contact center, giving agents
a comprehensive view of
customer’s profile and
h
h
h
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Next-Generation Agent Desktop: Address the Empowered Customer Trend
with Happy Agents
Page 4
Figure 2: Key Processes Supporting Leading ADO Programs
90%
86%
Leaders
80%
Followers
75%
69%
70%
60%
60%
60%
50%
50%
46%
40%
30%
20%
20%
Key Technology Enablers
10%
0%
Ability to access all
Updates made on agent
Ability to seamlessly
Retain customer
information while
customer information on a desktop are rolled back manage multi-channel
into other enterprise interactions through agent
transferring between
single screen / desktop
agents
systems
desktop
Percent of respondents, n=301
Source: Aberdeen Group, May 2013
Retaining customer information and reducing the likelihood of asking the
same questions to the same client is a step in the right direction to decrease
customer effort. However, companies need to also address other
expectations of empowered customers to truly differentiate themselves in
ADO. One activity that helps Leaders accomplish this goal is empowering
their agents with the ability to manage multi-channel customer interactions
via the agent desktop without the need to log-in to different applications
such as social media monitoring tools or live chat. Top performers are far
more likely (46% versus 20%) to have this process in place compared to
their peers. This capability becomes even more critical when considering
that Aberdeen’s October 2013 Omni-Channel Customer Care: Empowered
Customers Demand a Seamless Experience study shows that approximately
half (51%) of contact centers today use at least seven different channels (see
sidebar next page) to engage their clients.
Additional steps that leading ADO users take to enhance the agent
experience include enabling their agents with the ability to access all
relevant information needed to serve customers through a single screen
within a single application — a capability that eliminates the need to log-in
to multiple applications. Seventy-five percent (75%) of Leaders provide this
crucial capability that helps their agents reduce the time spent looking for
information during a customer interaction, and rather focus on identifying
and solving the precise needs of customers in an efficient manner. Leaders
are 25% more likely (75% versus 60%) than Followers to have this capability.
Trend analysis with the Agent Desktop Optimization: Agents can Finally Focus on
the Customer research shows that the number of screens agents use in
a typical interaction reduced from five to three over the past year,
which indicates a 40% year-over-year improvement (decrease). This
decrease is one of the reasons companies have been able to reduce the
average agent time spent looking for resolution information from 26% to
14% over the past year. As indicated in the sidebar, Leaders are 26% more
likely (73% versus 58%) than their peers to use single sign-on tools that
© 2013 Aberdeen Group.
www.aberdeen.com
Aberdeen research shows that
in addition to the key business
processes in Figure 2, Leaders
utilize a set of technology
enablers to support their ADO
efforts.
These technologies and their
deployment figures are:
√ Database management –
Leaders: 88% vs.
Followers: 62%
√ Workflow management
– Leaders: 82% vs.
Followers: 69%
√ Business intelligence –
Leaders: 82% vs.
Followers: 66%
√ Knowledge management
– Leaders: 78% vs.
Followers: 56%
√ Contact center and CRM
integration – Leaders: 75%
vs. Followers: 58%
√ Single-sign on to
multiple applications
from agent desktop –
Leaders: 73% vs.
Followers: 58%
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Next-Generation Agent Desktop: Address the Empowered Customer Trend
with Happy Agents
Page 5
allow agents to access numerous applications by logging in only once to a
system.
A top performing ADO initiative is not complete until companies
successfully bridge the gap between the agent desktop and numerous
enterprise systems capturing and storing customer data, such as customer
relationship management (CRM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Sales
Force Automation (SFA), and social media monitoring tools. This requires
businesses to deploy business process management (BPM) and database
management tools to streamline the processes that enable agents to access
crucial data stored within disparate enterprise systems. Research shows that
Leaders are 38% more likely (69% versus 50%) than their peers to integrate
the agent desktop with numerous enterprise systems to synchronize
contact center activities with customer records stored across different
databases. The Leader’s adoption of contact center and CRM integration
tools illustrated in the sidebar on the previous page further validates their
focus on ensuring that agents can seamlessly access customer data within
enterprise systems to personalize their activities and establish a “360-degree
view” of their customers.
Key Takeaways
Channel Adoption
Aberdeen’s October 2013
Omni-Channel Customer Care
study shows that approximately
half (51%) of companies use the
following channels as part of
their contact center programs:
√ Phone
√ IVR
√ Web
√ Social media
√ Email
√ Mail / fax
√ Mobile (e.g., SMS, mobile
websites, and mobile
applications)
Customer empowerment is rapidly changing the dynamics of contact center
activities. Findings from Aberdeen’s June 2013 Workforce Optimization in the
Contact Center study shows that customer demand for better service is the
top challenge businesses struggle with when managing their agent
workforce. Considering that contact center agents often serve as the face of
the brand when clients need support, this comes as no surprise. Research
findings outlined within this report noted that contact centers made
significant strides in ADO programs by reducing the number of screens
agents use in a typical interaction from five to three and decreasing agent
time spent looking for resolution information by 46% over the past year
(2012: 26% versus 2013: 14%).
Despite these encouraging findings, Aberdeen data indicates that there is
still plenty of room for improvement in managing the agent desktop as a
critical asset to enhance agent productivity and experience. In fact, a 300
seat contact center is losing approximately $1.26 million each year due to
poor processes resulting in agents spending 14% of their time on
unnecessary tasks to access appropriate resolution information. Aberdeen
recommends contact centers deploy the below activities to overcome these
challenges and empower their agents with the right information at the right
time to deliver on the rapidly changing needs of empowered customers.
•
Go beyond agent productivity and utilization; establish an
organizational mindset where contact center agents are deemed as
your brand ambassadors focused on addressing the precise needs of
each customer.
•
Map all the processes and technologies involved in agents’ access to
appropriate resolution information. Partner with IT to identify and
solve bottlenecks that affect the agents’ ability to seamlessly access
© 2013 Aberdeen Group.
www.aberdeen.com
Telephone: 617 854 5200
Fax: 617 723 7897
Next-Generation Agent Desktop: Address the Empowered Customer Trend
with Happy Agents
Page 6
customer information across numerous enterprise systems through
their desktop.
•
Incorporate multi-channel capabilities within the agent desktop.
Today’s customers live across multiple channels; agents should be
trained and empowered to respond to customer issues across any
touch-point that clients prefer to engage the business.
•
Help your agents do their jobs better by providing them with the
ability to access all relevant information through a single screen
within a single application.
For more information on this or other research topics, please visit
www.aberdeen.com.
Related Research
Speech Analytics: Making Effective Use
of Voice in a Multi-Channel World;
September 2013
Contact Center Optimization: Use Data
to Deliver Superior Customer Care; July
2013
Workforce Optimization in the Contact
Center: Secrets to Improve Agent
Performance; June 2013
Transitioning your Contact Center from
On-Premise to the Cloud; April 2013
Next-Generation Customer Experience
Management; March 2013
The Hidden ROI of a Cloud-based Contact
Center; January 2013
Contact Center Optimization: Use Data to
Deliver Superior Customer Care; July
2013
Multi-Channel Contact Center: Delight
Customers where they Live; November
2012
Agent Desktop Optimization: Agents can
Finally Focus on the Customer; October
2012
Author: Omer Minkara, Senior Research Analyst, Contact Center & Customer
Experience Management ([email protected]), LinkedIn, Twitter
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This document is the result of primary research performed by Aberdeen Group. Aberdeen Group’s methodologies
provide for objective fact-based research and represent the best analysis available at the time of publication. Unless
otherwise noted, the entire contents of this publication are copyrighted by Aberdeen Group, Inc. and may not be
reproduced, distributed, archived, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written consent by
Aberdeen Group, Inc. (2013a)
© 2013 Aberdeen Group.
www.aberdeen.com
Telephone: 617 854 5200
Fax: 617 723 7897