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Not much can be done with topline, so the focus is now shifting to bottom line and many companies across industries are looking to improve efficiencies, increase productivity and outright eliminate jobs. And, customer service and contact center functions among others are definitely starting to look at cutting costs. Infact, a recent IDG CIO Covid-19 research said that the #1 priority for leaders in the COVID-19 crisis, is process efficiency to drive costs down.

Over the past few weeks, most contact centers have transitioned some or all their agents to a work from-home environment—no easy task. First agents had to be set up with the tools and technology to be productive in their new setting. Once agents were home and safe, priorities shifted to keeping them engaged and productive. This is a lot to handle while also maintaining exceptional customer service outside of the traditional contact center.

As employers move to work-from-home models to comply with governmental mandates and ensure the safety of their employees, companies and employees alike are adjusting to a new normal.

It would be difficult to find a small business that has not been adversely impacted by the current pandemic. And to say that most small business have been negatively impacted is putting it mildly. Recent findings from National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) show that the three leading causes of small business decline is due to 1) lost sales, 2) disruption in supply chain and 3) disruption in workforce due to employee illness. Furthermore, nearly 70% of surveyed business say, that unaided, they do not have the financial resources to survive more than four months.

Last week, I noticed headlines announcing yet another business that’s decided it “won’t reopen half its offices after pandemic, amid restructuring and work-from-home success”. Maybe that’s not so shocking, though, considering that work-from-home contact center agents have an 80% better retention rate than those working out of a physical call center (according to a recent ICMI benchmark study on agent experience).

Clearly the last few months contact centers were focused on ensuring the safety of their employees by moving everyone to work from home very quickly, while trying to keep operations going seamlessly.

Unnati Patel joined the NUG board in 2013 and held positions as the NPM and Workforce Management Reporting chairs. She has served as the Director of Business Applications since 2015.