The chatbot is dead. Long live the chatbot
Chatbots have almost become a synonym for frustration, and bad service. The recent rapid uptake of digital communication channels has only worsened this problem. Digital transformation and the drive to customer self-service have been pushing voice into the background...
AI-enabled speech analytics transform the contact centre
The world has moved out the office and into the home. Remote working and a growing customer trust in virtual and online engagements have transformed how companies connect with their customers and manage their interactions. As McKinsey points out, remote channels have...
Capitec migrates client care and helpdesk call centres to the cloud
Capitec, South Africa's leading digital bank with over 15 million banking clients, had an urgent need to migrate their client care and helpdesk call centres to the cloud. Circumstances did not allow for a traditional cloud migration project (that could take months),...
SA’s BPO sector surges on the back of global recovery
As world economies drive their Covid recovery plans and reopen markets, South Africa's business process outsourcing (BPO) sector has surged on the back of steps taken by global businesses to mitigate their location and overhead risks by offshoring to the country. With...
Advanced reporting: the unsung hero of a modern data-driven contact centre
With research showing that up to 96% of customers would consider switching from a business after a single bad service experience, there can be no doubt that service is a key differentiator for today's customers. By Anne-Meine Gramsma, chief commercial officer of...
Leroy Merlin integrates WhatsApp contact centres
Global communications company Infobip, together with illation, has been selected to provide a WhatsApp for Business Application Programme Interface (API) and chatbot solution for Leroy Merlin's contact centre. The collaboration and joint implementation allow Leroy...
Chatbots: the solution to SA’s service delivery woes?
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni recently said that communities and businesses are becoming increasingly intolerant of municipalities that can neither deliver basic services nor conduct their administration effectively. With lack of employee capacity being one of the...
You hate robocalls for the wrong reasons
Think back to your favourite robocall experience. You probably don't have one. By JD Engelbrecht, MD of Everlytic Last week, at a dinner party, I asked the guests to recall their favourite robocall experiences. It was interesting and thrilling...not quite...nobody...
VoIP, cloud-based contact centres could enable SA’s BPO sector
South Africa has been a major destination for global business services -- often called business process outsourcing (BPO) -- for a few years now. In particular, the country has steadily climbed the ranks when it comes to contact centre operations. Among the factors in...
Clickatell launches chat commerce workflow builder
Clickatell has launched Chat Flow, a new product that enables organisations to easily create, edit, test, and manage chat commerce communications across multiple channels. With Chat Flow, companies deploy turnkey user experiences with little or no-code requirements...
Compliant call recording unlocks business benefits
While almost everyone has heard the phrase: "This call may be recorded for quality control purposes," while waiting to speak to a business service representative or call centre operator, businesses are starting to appreciate that the effective and compliant recording...
Sector innovation creates work from home call centre jobs
No single organisation - whether government, corporate or civil society - can solve South Africa's unemployment crisis alone. With nearly two-thirds (63,2%) of the country's young people not in work or education, a co-ordinated effort is required to offer them...