Contact Center News from Down Under
-- By Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer
Another study on the trends in the contact center industry, and the difference here is that it does not address the issue of outsourcing as is generally the case with issues relating to contact centers. The subject deals with the industry status Down Under, and the good news is that contact centers are expected to grow, both in terms of personnel and technology, according to Aspect Software, Inc.
The company’s report, Aspect Software Australian Contact Center Index, covering the third quarter of 2006, estimates that more than AU$385 will go towards staffing and improving technology at Australian contact centers by the end of this year. Dr. Catriona Wallace, director of ACA Research, the independent market research consultancy that developed the Aspect Software Index in tandem with Aspect, says that the industry has grown by 8 percent since 2005, with the critical factors for growth being customer satisfaction, agent satisfaction, and enabling technology.
With Australia’s high attrition rate and the dearth of skilled labor, contact centers are switching over to automated machines for the repetitive and voluminous routine work, while retaining their best agents to deal with higher-value interactions with customers. As Michael Woodham, country manager of Australia and New Zealand for Aspect Software, puts it, the emphasis is on the optimization of human resources and performance-enhancing technology, in order to swim with the tide in Australia’s tight labor market.