BPOs Utilise New-Age Technology

The Gleaner | October 5, 2018

  With digital disruption at its peak since the turn of the 21st century, companies are yearning for innovative ways to deliver out-of-this-world customer experience (CX) through the use of new-age technology. This is the fundamental objective of the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, which is bursting with disruption from its use of machines geared at enhancing the CX. At the launch of itelbpo's Happy Hour Series last Thursday, founder and executive chairman Yoni Epstein highlighted how CX disruption advances people success in BPO. With mediator Mark Hilary, host and presenter of the CX Files podcast, Epstein delved into the combination of modernised and traditional soft skills, the increase of career prospects, and the practical terms associated with the CX becoming a lot more complex. Epstein spoke on the creation of "superagents" who are highly trained individuals capable of executing any task. "In order to keep pace with business and consumer trends, there needs to be a shift towards more engaging agents who not only attract consumers, but get them fully on board with the brand," he said. As the BPO industry evolves, so does its agents. "The emergence of superagents on the front line stems from the industry creat-ing a niche for talented individuals who are capable of meeting the customer's needs through any channel," he said. Superagents, he noted, are an investment that will lead to cost reduction and even increase the value of the business. "Training takes tremendous time, energy, and resources. However, the long-term gains outweigh the initial setbacks of the company," Epstein added. With the growth of the BPO industry across the globe, the CX has become more dynamic to meet consumers' needs. Language barriers are greatly reduced from the growth of alternative nearshore locations that facilitate the growing number of English-speaking consumers. Countries such as Belize, Malta, and several in the Caribbean have greatly benefited from the creation of jobs within this innovative sector. "The machines are here to speed up the process to get to a human," Epstein said as he commented on the way machines are used within the CX.