- Talent is scarce and expensive: 47% of CFOs report that it’s hard to hire talent, and of candidates who accepted a job in 2021, 49% had at least three other offers to consider.
- Global supply chains are still scrambled: 48% of CFOs believe that supply chain volatility and shortages will last beyond 2022, and supply chain issues are three times more likely to lead to customer disloyalty than price increases.
Recession ahead: How contact centers can do more with less and win in the turns
January 11, 2023
This is the first of a three-part blog series in which we explore lessons learned from the previous recession and define the strategies and tools contact center leadership should implement now in order to do more with less and win in the turns ahead.United States speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno trailed three competitors as he rounded the final turn of the men’s 1,500 short track at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Heading into that turn, as momentum was shifting, visibility was poor, and the outcome uncertain, Ohno battled hard, forced two lead skaters to wipe out, and secured a second-place finish and his sixth Olympic medal.Gartner calls this ability to accelerate performance during and following periods of high uncertainty “winning in the turns.” It refers to the business practices that balance strategic discipline with bold action on cost and talent management, just when the instinct to slow down is strongest.The ”high uncertainty” ahead is beginning to come into focus as inflation reaches record levels in the United States and Europe. In October 2022 Europe broke its own historical personal record (PR) with a 10.7% inflation rate; the United States reached a new 40-year high in June 2022 with a 9.1% inflation rate.Companies are also signaling rough winds ahead. E-commerce furniture company Wayfair announced in August 2022 that it will be laying off about 870 employees (roughly 5% of its payroll) and 10% of its corporate team. The company joins tech giants such as Microsoft, Meta, Facebook, and Netflix that either slowed or froze hiring over summer 2022.Contact center leadership must lean on the lessons learned in the 2008 recession to prepare for what’s coming. However, Gartner points out how the coming recessions is infused with two new pressure points that weren’t in play in 2008: