Track: Information Systems and Information Technology

Abstract

The call centre industry is constantly changing, with it now being an integral part of organisations’ operations and a critical channel to many customers, who expect excellent customer experience. To be able to provide consistent excellence to customers, call centres are dependent on integrated systems which allow various systems within the ecosystem to interact with one another. With customers becoming more demanding regarding personal and efficient service, organisations have started to invest more into digital tools, with specific reference to artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics process automation (RPA). The aim of these tools is to assist organisations to automate processes and reduce repetitive activities for employees, thereby achieving customer objectives which are integral to their business objectives. Significant benefits are also gained by leveraging big data which contains rich customer information in creating a customer profile that allows the organisation to know their customers, which in turn they can use for cross and upsell opportunities of products. Even though organisations acknowledge the critical role call centres play in today’s business landscape, there remains a gap in fully harnessing their potential. The gap arises due to a lack of focus and investment in optimising call centre operations through system integration which hinders their ability to deliver exceptional customer service. This paper explores the advantages of using integrated systems in call centres by reviewing literature from different sources. Although the benefits of automation technologies have been confirmed, further exploration is recommended to fully leverage its benefits for both customers and organisations.

Keywords: Call centre, Advantages, Integrated systems, Automation technologies and Customer service.