Take a look at your tech stack for customer interactions. Chances are, it’s way more than three applications… or four, or five, or even six. An overwhelming 80% of agents report using four or more applications for each customer interaction, and nearly a quarter use a whopping 10 to 15.

Multiple productivity applications running concurrently not only induces stress and visual clutter for agents but also significantly slows workflows and congest limited desktop resources.

So, it comes as no surprise that one of the primary challenges identified by financial services contact center employees is the easy access of available desktop tools. In fact, one in five contact center employees has listed desktop tools among their top operational challenges for four years in a row.

With software snafus rampant among financial services contact centers, something’s got to give, right?

Top Challenges Voted on By Financial Services Contact Centers

Leading industry publication, Contact Center Pipeline, conducts an annual survey of contact center operators and team supervisors to gauge the challenges and priorities highlighted within various verticals throughout the year. This year marked the seventh-consecutive survey, in which financial services represented nearly one-third (31.6%) of all industries polled.

As it has since 2019, a lack of and/or poor desktop tools was named among the top strategic challenges for contact centers in 2022. Financial services contact centers, in particular, have named the availability of proper software as one of three key challenges for four consecutive years. Another 10% of respondents listed a lack of channels and/or integration for omnichannel as a primary issue.

Without the right tools — like a responsive agent and manager dashboard and cohesive CRM — it’s next to impossible to maintain omnichannel abilities or average speed of answer (ASA). Not to mention, a dispersed tech stack creates major barriers to agent proficiency, onboarding, and training. Take a look at how these challenges can manifest in financial services contact centers.

Does a Disjointed Software Stack Impede Operations?

Contact centers often accumulate various hardware and software as they scale operations, adding to their tech stack with each new channel in the customer service network. At this point, each financial services center has an assortment of technologies that were never designed to work together in the first place. Once in action, a disjointed software stack can significantly delay operations.

Poor Desktop Tools Do Little to Lessen Increasing Workloads

One of the most prominent issues raised by contact center operators in 2022 is the increasing workload, namely contact volume and average handling time. Unfortunately, multiple productivity applications running concurrently do little to lessen agent workload. Rather, the survey shows that a robust collection of disjointed desktop tools ultimately slows an agent down even more.

Behind increasing workload, the most pressing issue in contact center performance is inadequate training to support current processes and technologies. Given that financial services contact centers have reported high agent attrition for the past several years, it stands to reason that improper software is a key driver behind inadequate technology training, especially for new hires.

Lack of Visibility Into Desktop Tools Creates Blind Spots for Operators

Though no industry benefits from a lack of visibility, few maintain security and compliance requirements as strict as banking and financial services. Beyond basic individual fraud protections, agents must remain on top of ever-evolving regulatory compliance policies, from Know Your Customer (KYC) to Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) laws.

Limited visibility into desktop tools implements major blind spots for operators — blind spots that can lead to costly fines, or worse, the accidental funding of an organized crime or terrorist group. Likewise, without the proper software to track calls in real time, all quality assurance (QA) and agent training efforts must be taken retroactively, taking managers three-fourths of their day to complete.

Rise of Digital Channels Leaves Many Contact Centers Outdated

Omnichannel services are at an all-time high for banking and financial institutions. Nearly every avenue of financial services now offer AI-powered chatbots, self-service knowledge libraries, and mobile applications with customizable interfaces. More than 22% of banking customers turned to online self-service tools during the COVID lockdown, and 80% reported a positive experience.

However, the widespread success of digital channels has left many financial services contact centers in the dark ages. Nearly 70% of customers now say chatbots could answer their questions more quickly than a human agent could. And in the contact center, more than 10% of operators cite a lack of channels and/or integration for omnichannel as the chief barrier to strategic initiatives.

Top Priorities for Financial Services Contact Centers in 2022

The number one workload and performance priority for contact centers in 2022 is to redesign, automate, or improve their processes, starting with technology. As a matter of fact, 45% of all top contact center priorities listed for 2022 revolve around technological advancements.

For financial services contact centers, the top priority is to increase focus on coaching and development, followed by improved training to support technologies. It’s no wonder these initiatives take the top spots, as the financial industry shows the strongest shift to a hybrid working model.

A hybrid model is defined as some agents on-site, and some dialing in from home. Larger contact centers are resoundingly hybrid today, with 60% hybrid employees. Financial services have the fewest all-remote staff, though a strong shift to hybrid now necessitates new technology for 2022.

Bring Your Contact Center Software Up-to-Date With Balto

Financial services contact centers have been facing increasing workloads, continuous regulatory compliance policy changes, and a tech stack that does little to alleviate any of the above. Rather than stress over improper tools, simply consolidate your tech stack with a suite of real-time products.

From Real-Time Guidance to Real-Time QA and Coaching, Balto helps financial services contact center operators eliminate common snags in operations with solutions that address compliance and call flow directly as they happen. Even better, Balto can be embedded directly into your existing CCaaS or UCaaS system to create a single point of reference for agents and managers alike.

It’s time to take your banking or financial service contact center into the 21st century with Balto. Make real-time solutions a natural part of your agents’ workflow and simplify contact center software for good. Schedule a demo today to experience the difference and unleash agent performance.

Simplify App Management and Unleash Agent Performance