In today’s time of digital transformation, companies and businesses turn to new technologies to achieve max efficiency with human touch in customer service, with streamlined processes and lowered costs. For many companies, the digital wave has allowed them to explore different avenues to be able to improve overall company performance through innovations in Robotic Process Automation and Artificial Intelligence. In India, workforce automation is expected to double in the next three years. The reasons are clear: if mundane and repetitive back-office tasks can be automated, it allows a team to handle more complicated tasks that require a specific skill set, leading to increased efficiency and a streamlined process.
For Sidharth Mukherjee, Teleperformance’s Managing Director for Transformation and Knowledge Services, the shift in the industry landscape has led to technology innovations that have significant implications for people - both end customers, as well as the human touch in customer service agents. “As customer service plays a huge role in overall business growth, it is important for companies to ensure customers are kept happy,” Mukherjee stated. “It should come as no surprise that if customers are not satisfied with the service provided, they will not continue to interact with the brand or organization.”
The Importance of the Human Touch in a Digital World
A recent study conducted by Harvard Business Review showed that 17% of customers would stop interacting with a brand they love after one negative experience, while 59% would stop interacting after several bad experiences. While digitalization has created ease in communications between brands and customers through different digital platforms, this perk can also create a challenge for businesses and brands: it is now too easy for consumers to voice their unsatisfactory experiences with a brand or product. “It is crucial for businesses to ensure they are consistently delivering a stellar digital and human touch in customer service,” noted Mukherjee. “Automation technology cannot work solely by itself - it also requires the human touch. Combining both humans and technology together allows businesses to provide enhanced customer experience.”
Mukherjee acknowledges the value of human empathy in today’s digital landscape, and the role human interactions play in customer service: “Customers want to feel as though their query is highly important to the organization,” he observed. “Through automation and artificial intelligence, businesses are able to deal with a large number of customer queries, and be more efficient - however, all of this isn’t necessary if the end customer feels more like a commodity rather than a valued customer. This is where the human touch is needed to provide the emotional connection customers need when interacting with a product or service.”
Through a high-tech, high-touch approach that blends technology with human empathy, Teleperformance empowers the human touch while utilizing the best of technology. Contact us today to know more about our solutions and business transformation services in order to advance in the digital world.