The Future is Bright

By Peter DeHaan

Jan 23, 2008

In this issue of eConnections, I conclude the observations I made at the 2007 ATA Convention & Expo.  In reading my previous five articles, which detailed five general observations, one might have gotten a bit discouraged or even downright pessimistic about the future of the call center industry.

After all, I first said that outbound is dying and then that we should expect additional regulations for it, as well as inbound, and many other forms of marketing.  I said that there would be an increasing scarcity of willing and qualified agents to staff our centers (at least in the US).  And that the readily available strategies to address agent shortages would not present a long-term solution.

As a result of this shrinking agent workforce, offshoring will be the inevitable conclusion.  Another response to agent scarcity will be a proliferation of computer agents, that is computer programs that increasingly function as a person, to the point of being indiscernible to the caller.  Although, this is a seemingly ideal solution to our present and future-expanding labor woes, this development will have the side effect of removing a significant barrier-of-entry for companies wanting to open a call center.

While most business shy away from embarking on labor-intensive endeavors, there is great appeal in launching a technology-based enterprise.  After all, a computer doesn't complain, take vacations, call in sick, cause dissention among co-workers, or quit without notice - and they do work 24-7.  Executives and managers have no qualms about buying, installing, and maintaining technological resources, but they generally lack the skills and fortitude requisite to successfully hire and manage human resources.  That is why many avoid having a call center and opt to outsource that work - at least until the computer agents arrive en masse.

While many view these developments with great consternation, I embrace them with excitement and expectation.  Granted, I can observe all this from a safe vantage, being no longer involved in the daily operation of a call center, nor tasked with ensuring its long-term viability.  Still, these trends and anticipated developments exude opportunity - tremendous opportunity.

Everyone needs to look at these five future eventualities, asking which ones will have the greatest effect on their call center the soonest.  The next step is to search for creative solutions that will turn a threatening situation into an organizational distinctive.  With innovation and ingenuity, you can set your operation apart from the pack, thereby establishing your company as a market leader.  As others are losing market share, you will be gaining it.

What are these "creative solutions?"  That is left for you to discover and delineate on your own, in accordance with your specific situation and particular circumstance.  A universal answer does not exist, but solutions do abound.  Some initiatives may be counterintuitive, others will be amazingly simple but illusive to most, and a few will be spectacularly creative.

In many regards, this is a contest of the survival of the fittest.  For those who can evolve with these changing conditions, the future is good; they will endure.  To those who can capitalize on them, the future is even more promising; but to those who choose to ignore them and insist on maintaining the status quo, there simply is no future. 

Embrace these opportunities; the future is yours for the taking - if you are willing.