Managed IT Support Services: Call Avoidance Means Cost Avoidance

Call avoidance has become an industry best practice intended to reduce inbound call volumes to contact centers that offer managed IT support services, particularly in the consumer market.

It became a necessity as too many person-to-person service calls were determined to have common, avoidable root causes yet were just as time consuming and costly as issues that had no viable resolution other than direct assistance from a call center agent.
The philosophy, from a cost standpoint, dictated that voice calls should be reserved for high priority, complex service requests or emergency situations where the quick response of skilled phone agents was essential.

With that, call avoidance was born.
Though ideally call centers should make constant human interaction the standard for customer service, when clients are paying for every inbound service request, it simply becomes financially impractical for call centers to provide a "live answer" for every caller especially during peak demand periods.
Otherwise, callers who urgently need to discuss an issue with a live person are typically put on hold along with callers whose requests could be better served through other channels.

In essence, both are competing for valuable talk time, but the higher priority call feels more of the adverse impact as the clock ticks.

With the proliferation of the internet and email access, progressive contact centers are moving toward self-services via a searchable knowledge base, Interactive Voice Response (IVR), or computer generated emails.
Password resets are the most popular means of self-service where clients are asked pre-established confidential questions that verify credentials before sending them a temporary password. Call avoidance strategies include the following: Voice message and blogs indicating wait times, unusual activity, downtime, etc. Web forms that gather pertinent information before a call is answered Electronic chat via the internet Online software update notices of upgrades to prevent security or virus breaches Blogs, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), web site links to common problems Simpler, clear, and concise product documentation and descriptions Automatic return policies and procedures Reports that identify key problem areas for corrective action, (i.
e.

additional instruction/training) A call avoidance strategy requires constant vigilance beginning with popular service requests that are constantly being analyzed to reduce or eliminate voice calls and re-direct them to other alternatives.
Whatever the strategy, it is important to remember that the contact center is the voice of any managed IT support services company broadcasting to the outside world. That voice and message should enhance and not detract from relationships with customers.