More than half of A/NZ contact centres plan to increase tech investment

By Hafizah Osman (ARM) 

More than half of contact centres in A/NZ plan to splurge on technology investments during the next 12 months, according to a recent survey.

The survey conducted by global unified IP business communications solution provider, Interactive Intelligence, looked into the state of planned technology investments in the A/NZ contact centre industry. It showed 85 per cent of Australian contact centre managers and 64 per cent of New Zealand contact centre managers specified they will grow their spend on IT infrastructure in the next 12 months.

Top three technology investments planned across the region were in the areas of customer relationship management, workforce management and Web chat/SMS. Investments in social media were ranked highly as well.

The results also reflected challenges contact centre managers faced.

It showed that improving customer satisfaction was the most substantial challenge, affecting nearly 17 per cent of them. Contact centre managers also face HR-related issues –including staff turnover, recruitment, workforce scheduling and training.

“Contact centres are looking for investments in technology that will improve customer service and also help them more efficiently use internal resources,” Interactive Intelligence A/NZ and Pacific managing director, Brendan Maree, said.

According to the company, the statistics reflect a period where 39 per cent of A/NZ contact centre managers forecast an increase in operating budgets in the year ahead.

The Interactive Intelligence customer survey polled contact centre and IT managers across Auckland, Sydney and Melbourne.