An office filled with employees busy on calls with their headsets on. They're rapidly typing away one email after another and swiftly drinking their coffee during breaks. Is this your image of a customer contact centre? Then we'd like to dispel that image for you, as ContactCare sees changes emerging in the world of customer contact.

We can't stress it enough — a lot has changed due to the Coronavirus. The image of an office full of busy calling staff used to be a given. However, thanks to Corona, we’ve realised that hybrid working works well and opens up more opportunities. These changes make the customer contact industry an ideal flexible job for the likes of a newly starting freelancer, a mother of three children looking for a side job, or retail staff who can no longer work in physical stores because shops are largely transitioning to E-commerce.

With the pandemic, more and more physical stores are disappearing, and E-commerce is taking over. When you order a package, however, 'experiencing' it is often missing. It simply doesn’t offer the same experience as visiting a shop. As a brand, you naturally want to share this experience as best as possible with your customers, especially if something has gone wrong with a purchase. In this case, customer contact is the last safety net to share the experience and feel where the customer's needs lie. Customer experts listen and ask the right questions to uncover the question behind the question. As a customer service expert, you make the difference! A job (of the future) to be proud of!

Service that is now provided in a shop is becoming decentralised and taking on a new form. Think, for instance, of a pop-up location of your favourite E-commerce store at the station where you can visit by appointment with your purchased product for repair or explanation. Or that 'Click and Collect' remains popular even after 2020. This form of ordering is not new, but in 2020 it saw a massive surge. In May 2020, the Click and Collect model increased by more than 550% (DutchBreeze.com). Customers love fast, easy, and low-cost services but with the service they are accustomed to. Our industry can tap into this.

We are happy to illustrate the future customer contact employee based on personas:

The starting freelancer

The newly-started freelancer has worked for years as a marketing employee. After years of experience, it’s time to start their own business. Unfortunately, there isn’t (yet) enough income generated to pay the rent and put a fresh meal on the table every day. It’s perfect to practise a profession that provides steady income, allows for working from home, and offers flexible hours. Thus, the newly starting freelancer can schedule appointments at the most practical times, work at their own pace, and be flexibly scheduled as a customer service employee.

The mother of three children

In the morning they’re busy getting the kids to school, and at the end of the day, they’re busy with shopping, picking up the children, and helping with homework. During the day, they have only a few productive hours left to work. It’s ideal to work short days from home. Customer service employees can log in at 11:00 and log off at 14:00. It’s ideal to be productive for a few hours and act as a safety net during peak times, such as the holiday season.

Former retail staff

E-commerce is a growing market, with various retail chains disappearing from different locations and opting to have a few large flagship stores focused on experience. Additionally, brands focus on a scalable online business model. This means that many retail staff will look for new challenges. They love working with people, giving advice, and being customer-oriented, so the shift to expert in the field of customer contact is easily made!

The ambitious student

The need for customer contact is growing. As a result, the demand for specialists is also increasing. Large customer contact organisations are currently mainly concerned with facilitating customer contact. In the future, it will be seen that strategic decision-making will also be more placed with consultants. Customer demand and the customer journey are becoming more varied, making the delivery of bespoke solutions increasingly complex. That’s why we need smart minds!