The importance of digital transformation in banking contact centres

Not that such pressures are anything new. In recent years, the financial services sector has done its best to navigate a new dynamic where customers not only want 24/7 access to their accounts but the ability to engage with customer service staff at any time, day or night. For the modern banking consumer, there is increasingly little difference between business hours and after-hours. Rather, it’s a case of expecting a response to an enquiry almost as soon as they make it.

The challenge for banking contact centres is resourcing. Amid a global labour shortage, it is already difficult to recruit and retain quality agents, let alone when they are needed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Given 67% of customers cite a bad customer experience as the main reason for walking away from a product or service, banks need to find ways to provide real-time responses and resolutions to ensure they are staying ahead of their competitors, this is where digital CX transformation comes in.

What is digital transformation?

Digital transformation is defined as the process of using digital technologies to create new or modify existing business processes, culture and customer experiences. More importantly, it is essential for banks that want to stand out from their competitors and provide the next level of service to their customers.

The likes of intelligent automation, interactive voice response (IVR) and robotic process automation (RPA) are enabling their contact centres to offer 24/7 support, reduce average handling time and deliver smarter, quicker and easier interactions. The rush towards omnichannel solutions means customers can use more than one channel to communicate – the phone, social media, SMS, chat, async messaging, email – and know that their information or ‘conversation’ history will follow them as they switch between them.

Returning to where it began, it is little wonder further contact centre digital transformation is a priority for the banking sector. With interest rates on the rise, experts are forecasting a wave of financial hardship concerns to sweep Australia in 2023. As the cost of living pressures mount and home loan repayments start getting missed, there will be a steep climb in the number of customers reaching out to their banks for support, advice and fiscal relief.

When that happens, it is essential the contact centres are supported by the best technology and resources to allow solutions such as RPA and virtual agents to complement quality employees in increasing efficiencies, improving accuracy and maximise savings. That journey needs to start sooner rather than later by assessing digital transformation risks and challenges, studying strategy examples and creating an ironclad road map.

After all, it is great to say one’s technology stack is meeting the needs of today but the question that needs to be asked is if it is fit for purpose for 2023 and beyond … especially when storm clouds are building on the horizon?

From creating new business processes to enhancing team culture, digital transformation is a chance to use technologies to drive fundamental change within an organisation. Discover how to make that a reality by exploring the eight steps to a successful digital transformation roadmap.