The retail CX playbook for surviving and thriving during the holidays.

WHITEPAPER PLAYBOOK TheretailCXplaybookforsurviving(andthriving)duringtheholidays Aguideforbrandstoimplementautomatedcontactcentersolutionstosupportseasonalagentworkforces. Halfofconsumerssaythattheystoppedworkingwithacompanyinthe pastyearbecauseofasingleinstanceofpoorcustomerservice. Introduction Asbrandsendureyetanotherholidayshoppingseason,theyonceagainfaceanunprecedentedconsumerlandscape.Supplychaininterruptionspairedwithneweconomicrealitiesarepressingbothbrandsandconsumerstochangetheirhabitsduringthetraditionallybusyfourthquarter. Retailersareaccustomedtorampinguptheirworkforce—inbothstoresandcontactcenters—tomeettheend-of-yearrush.Butwith58%ofU.S.shoppersplanningtoincreasetheiruseofonlinestoresthisholiday season,theneedforeffectiveandefficientagentsupport,andseamlesscommunicationbetweendigitalandphysicalchannels,willbegreaterthanever. Thechallengesofseasonalstaffinginthecontactcenter. Manyorganizationschoosetohireaseasonalagentworkforce—orworkwithabusinessprocessoutsourcer(BPO)—tohandletheincreaseddemand.Thisgroupoftemporaryagentsfacesasteeplearningcurve,astrainershavelimitedtimetogetnewhiresuptospeedonthetechnologyusedtomanageincomingqueries,aswellasonthebusinessandbrandvaluesthatmustbereflectedineverycustomerinteraction. Traditionalonboardingprogramsmaytakemonthstoprepareanewhireforcustomerconversations,butthesetemporaryagentsneedtogetthereinamatterofdays.Andbecausecustomerloyaltyandretentionareatanall-timepremiumintoday’sinflationaryenvironment,seasonalagentsmustbeabletomatchtheperformanceofyear-roundcounterpartswhohavemonthsoryearsofexperience. AI-poweredtoolsprovidesolutionsforseasonalteams. Automationtoolspoweredbyartificialintelligenceofferawaytoslashtherequiredtrainingtimeforseasonalagents,boostproductivity,andreducethecostofresolution.Thesetoolscanmonitoragentinteractionsandinterpretcustomerintentandsentiment,allowingcontactcentermanagersto TheAmericanPsychiatricAssociationreportsthatAmericansarefivetimesmorelikelytosaytheirlevel ofstressincreases,ratherthandecreases,duringtheholidays. Andwhilethiswon’tbeasurprisetomostcontactcentersuperviors,it’s importanttoaccountfortheheightenedemotionsthatcansometimesbeatplayduringtheholidayseason. understandagenteffectivenessandpinpointissuesatscale. Let’stakealookatacoupleofwaystoapplyAI-poweredautomationtosupportseasonalagentsandoptimizecustomerexperience. I.Automatedassistance:Empoweragentswithreal-time,on-the-callsupport. Rampingupthecontactcenterworkforceforholidaydemandoftenrequirestrainingtobecompressedintoaveryshortperiodoftime.Inamatterofdaysorweeks,brand-newagentsneedtounderstandenoughaboutpolicies,procedures,brandguidelines,andcontactcentertoolstobeabletoadeptlyhandlecallsduringanunusuallybusyseason. ProvidingagentsaccesstoanAI-poweredassistancesolutionlikeTalkdeskAgentAssist™allowsretailerstostreamlineonboardingtraining—focusingonfoundationalconceptsandallowingtheAIassistanttofillinthegapsinrealtime.Withthissupport,contactcenterscangetnewhiresonlinequicklywiththeconfidencethatcustomerswillexperiencethehighstandardofservicetheyexpect. Howitworks. AgentAssistlistenstoandtranscribesconversationsinrealtime,helpingtheagentkeeptrackofwhatcustomersaresayingandhighlightingwhat PLAYBOOK ismostrelevant. Prices,supplychaindisruptions,inventoryshortagesorexcesses,deliverytimelines,andchangesin returnpoliciesareallcommonissuesforcontactcenteragentstohandle.It’sessentialthatretailersthinkthroughproceduresandguidelines-andimplementtoolsto ensurecustomersaretreatedinawaythatmaintainsloyaltyandpositivesentiment. CombinedwithTalkdeskKnowledgeManagement™(whichallowscontactcenteradministratorstobuildAI-readyknowledgebasesorconnecttoexistingknowledgebases),AgentAssistprovidesintelligentguidancetoagentsinreal-time—pullingupquickanswers,knowledgebasearticles,recommendedprocedures,andcustomerinformationbasedonthecontextoftheconversation. 5waysAgentAssisttransformscustomerinteractions. AgentAssistmakesanagent’sjobeasierwhileimprovingthecustomer’sexperience.Here’show: 1.Reducedaveragetimetoresolution. Withoutanagentassistancesolutioninplace,contactcenteragentsmustrelyonmanualsearchesthatforcethemtonavigatethroughseveralscreensandsiftthroughuncuratedinformationtoaccesstherightinformationforthecustomer’sneeds. Thisresultsinincreasedeffortandreducedproductivityfortheagent,whowilltakemuchlongertogetwhatthecustomerneeds.Theagentmaybe unabletoprovidetherightinformationtosuccessfullyresolvetheissueonfirstcontact.Italsomeansincreasedeffortandwaittimeforthecustomer,whocouldpotentiallycallthecontactcentermultipletimestoresolvetheirissue. AgentAssistseamlesslydeliverstherelevantinformationtotheagent’sfingertips,reducingholdtimeandansweringcustomerquestionsquickly. AgentAssistseamlesslydeliverstherelevantinformationtotheagent’sfingertips,reducingholdtimeandansweringcustomerquestionsquickly. 2.Reducedmultitaskingandimprovedfocusonthecustomer. Experiencedcontactcenteragentsareoftenaccustomedtomultitaskingonacall,takingnotesorsearchingtheknowledgebasewhiletheylistentothec