Understanding omnichannel routing in the workplace

There are various industries where the effectiveness is measured based on the client’s overall impression of the kind of assistance agents provide.

These are mainly found in companies like business process outsourcing (BPO) and call centers, where customer service is part of the main functions of each employee.

Although companies provide training and onboarding sessions to new staff, some demands of the customer service industry are still challenging. 

The knowledge and expertise to address issues and matters arising from customer demands should be a top priority. Poor customer support can lead to complaints and agents’ receiving unsatisfactory feedback.

This situation encouraged many businesses to consider having omnichannel routing as part of their practice. 

This article will give us a deeper understanding of the work of omnichannel routing in the workplace.

3 types of omnichannel routing 

The idea of omnichannel routing is to scale the volume of customer interaction with agents so they can cater to multiple clients. This method directly connects customers to agents with the right expertise relative to their concerns.

Here are the types of omnichannel routing that businesses can choose from depending on their nature and requirements:

1. Skill-based routing

From the word itself, skill-based is the kind of omnichannel routing focusing on the skills needed to complete a designated task. The system will automatically assign clients to agents that attain the required skills.

This kind of omnichannel routing is best for multinational organizations, catering support services to various products worldwide and in multiple languages.

2. Queue-based routing

Queue-based routing is quite challenging since customers have to wait for turns while the agent answers queries from the current caller. This routing best works with smaller organizations catering to a limited line of products.

The agents typically acquire a single skill, where received queries are initially banked for queuing through an omnichannel routing system. It will be pushed automatically to an agent once available.

3. External routing

External routing requires a third-party provider for its implementation. It usually comes with a central interface service cloud, like Salesforce, that performs customer service and support functions.

It is ideal for organizations that prefer to route work with the help of Salesforce. A dedicated developer utilizes APIs to connect the partner routing application with the Salesforce platform.

Benefits of having omnichannel routing in the business 

Omnichannel routing will require additional costs due to software applications and servers needed for downloading. However, it helps elevate the systems and processes of many organizations today. 

Statista shared that almost 40% of e-commerce companies in North America and Europe consider an omnichannel strategy a significant tool for the e-commerce industry in 2021. 

Here, we have the top benefits that may help your company to consider omnichannel routing:

Improve agent productivity 

As part of the main objective to provide an excellent customer service experience, omnichannel routing also shares a significant level of productivity with agents because of added functionality. 

It has the capability to record the complete history of customer transactions with the help of AI-powered assistance. Agents can focus on dealing with customers’ concerns rather than revisiting databases to find answers.

Here are some of the added features that are also integrated into omnichannel routing:

• Email, live chat, text, and web messaging
• Social media engagement platforms
• Chatbots and voicebots
• Predictive engagement and knowledge-based creation tools
• Co-browse and screen-sharing features
• Centralized agent workspace/service console
• Workflow automation 
• Advanced reporting and analytics mechanisms

Reduce costs and promote customer loyalty

Omnichannel routing can be a cost-effective solution in the long run by avoiding partnerships with multiple call center services. Customers benefited by reaching out to a brand through different channels and lessening the waiting time. 

It provides customers worldwide with access to 24/7 customer service availability. Self-service navigation also decreases the workloads of physical agents, boosting customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Higher customer reach 

Today, BPO and the contact center industry utilize omnichannel routing activated with technology-based platforms like Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS).

It gives businesses alternative mediums to access the partner provider’s solution through a scalable model that integrates specific features and functions as needed.

This support software allows companies to accommodate more queries without sacrificing the quality and accuracy of the service. As a result, many organizations have recorded higher customer reach and engagement.

Utilizing technology-based omnichannel routing in the workplace

Businesses always look for innovations and developments where they can better address issues and collaborate toward a more convenient and technology-enabled workplace.

Customer satisfaction is a top priority for the service industry, especially contact centers.

Taking forward-looking steps to elevate practices and refining systems to a more comprehensive structure with the help of technology is the trend.

Omnichannel routing can significantly impact many companies, increasing productivity and sales generation.

It supports the idea that technology can improve many aspects of business operations and convenience with the companies and their servicing clients.