Multimedia the Norm in Call Centers but Use is Spotty

Call centers have largely evolved into multimedia contact centers, according to a report recently released by the International Customer Management Institute. But some of the newest available multimedia technologies have either peaked or have yet to gain traction at call centers. ICMI, founded in 1995 and based in Annapolis, Md., offers training and research in various aspects of call center management.

The report says that more than four in five centers (84 percent) handle customer email transactions, with 68 percent of these centers implementing an e-mail response time objective of 24 hours or less, and 44 percent operating an email response management system to enhance email routing, tracking and reporting.

Additionally, 70 percent of centers handle customer fax transactions, though nearly half receive fewer than 500 faxes per month. More than 88 percent of these centers have an automated fax-back system in place. 

The report adds that just more than 55 percent of centers support a Web self-service application, with the most common features of these apps being frequently asked questions (FAQs), customer access to personal accounts, help options, and a knowledgebase/search engine.

However, some of the multimedia capabilities of call centers may have reached their peak, according to the report. Fifteen percent of centers surveyed this year currently handle chat transactions, about the same number as in the previous study conducted in 2005. However, more centers today have their chat agents use Web collaboration tools during sessions with customers –58 percent vs. 50 percent. Similarly, Web callback transactions aren’t finding much support, with just 9 percent of centers handling such contacts, down from nearly 11 percent in 2005.

Another much ballyhooed technology that has yet to take off is click-to-talk Web calls. According to the report, only 6 percent of centers surveyed currently handle such contacts, though that is up from about 4 percent in 2005.