Where will we be in 10 years time?

Recently I was asked to write an article addressing the question of what will the contact centre industry be like in the next 10 years? In one sense I could have made up anything because in 10 years time no-one will remember what I said!!!

Nonetheless, below is what I predict. Do you agree? Do you see other changes in store for us?

What will our industry look like in 10 years time? It will be interesting to pull this article out in 2017 and see how close to the mark it is. In predicting the future, it maybe useful to look back and think about other predictions and how successful they were. One of the classics was that television would see the death of radio. We have more radio stations than we've ever had! Another was that television would see the death of the cinema. Multiscreen cinemas are being installed in suburbs on a reasonably regular basis. I think it was Mark Twain who said, “I am somewhat reluctant to make predictions, especially about the future”. Nevertheless, here I go...

Is the following prediction true: “Technology will replace the customer service agent”? In the light of my initial examples, I am suspicious about such statements but I have better reasons than that!!

Certainly, there is, and always will be, a place for technology. Technology is a marvellous enabler. I think we'll see, over the next 10 years an increase in the use of technology and an increase in what technology will enable us to do . We have plenty of evidence to support this view. I can't remember the last time I rang an airline to book a flight. It is easier and more convenient for me to do that over the net. I expect we will see a greater move towards self-service by our customers, especially as our customers become even more technically savvy. However, I do not believe that in the foreseeable future, we will see technology replace the customer service agent in anything other than routine matters. The reason for this is quite simple. When a transaction is routine, such as booking a flight from Sydney to Melbourne, it is a transaction that only engages the mind. There is no emotion involved. However, in more difficult transactions, when the customer is not sure exactly what they want or if there are problems, emotion plays a major component. I do not see on the horizon any suggestion that we can simulate, with technology, a virtual agent with emotion any time soon. Will we be able to create a virtual agent that is able to handle emotionality? Not at the next 10 years in my view. Some research is being conducted in this area but we are a long way from Stanley Kubrick's HAL in 2001.

We have all experienced the implementation of speech recognition. The initial implementations were disastrous. The cynicism of the public is still so great that there is still a reluctance to embrace speech recognition. Organisations, of course, implement it because of the cost benefit. Obviously, as the technology improves, there will be a greater acceptance of the market of this kind of technology. Nonetheless, I suspect, the customer service agent's job is safe for a long time yet, because people will still want to deal with people when emotion is involved.

Over to you ...