Seen as a flexible resource staffing solution, staff augment can help you better manage increased interaction volumes, offer new services or support special projects. Get the help you need, when you need it, without having to commit to a long-term contract or full-time staff member. We’ve already discussed the benefits of staff augmentation in a previous article, but here’s a quick refresher as to why staff augmentation can be the solution to your staffing challenges.

How staff augmentation adds immediate, on-demand value to your contact center operations

There are many reasons why you might choose staff augmentation for your contact center needs. Perhaps you have a project that requires specialized skills or knowledge – such as cloud migration or platform redesign. Or maybe you need specialized support during peak times, support for day-to-day business challenges or to optimally manage seasonal spike volumes. A contact center configurator could provide best practices in IVR setup and reporting, while a consultant can help develop a progressive customer experience strategy that leverages technology, process redesign and organizational structure. Whatever the reason, staff augmentation can provide the flexibility and skilled resources you need to keep your operations running smoothly.

Benefits of staff augment include:

• Increased flexibility – You can staff up or down as needed, which gives you the flexibility to respond to changes in your business.

• Cost savings – You only pay for the resources you need, when you need them. There is no need to pay for benefits or other overhead costs associated with full-time staff members.

• Access to skilled resources – Tap into a pool of highly skilled resources with the specific knowledge and experience you need, without having to commit to a long-term contract or full-time staff member.

• Gain from an impartial and objective inside/outside perspective – Expert advice and insight with no agenda other than completing the task at hand.

• Bridge the recruitment gap – Finding the right resource can be time-consuming and almost impossible considering global hiring challenges faced in just about every industry.

• Focus on building your operations – Instead of hiring, training and managing specialized resources, remain laser-focused on optimizing your operations by developing strong customer experience strategies.

• An extension of your team – A staff augment resource works exclusively on your project for a specified period becoming a valued member of your team.

Staff augment supports the evolution of your contact center

Contact center organizations generally turn to staff augment to address a specific, short-term challenge, such as a significant spike in call volume. On the surface, this can be easily remedied with hands-on support or recommendations that can support this moment in time. Easy enough.

A trusted contact center solution and service partner will provide a solution for the current challenge while also digging deeper to better understand why the problem arose in the first place by taking a holistic view of operations.

Through an all-encompassing health check (technical, organizational and process) gaps and inefficiencies are uncovered that detail important areas for improvement that deliver lasting high-value outcomes, in multiple operational sectors.

By providing detailed, strategic recommendations to operational challenges, you gain from optimized processes, streamlined operations, improved service offerings – and more – that serve in the evolution of your contact center operations.

Now, what if that significant spike in call volume requiring staff augment services leads to a meaningful series of recommendations that touches every corner of your contact center? From improving self-service functionalities and decreasing call volumes to helping agents become more self-reliant and designing a technology roadmap that outlines the future of the contact center – with the right partner, staff augment can be a strategic and operational windfall for your organization.

Contact center knowledge and expertise, that’s the true benefit of staff augmentation services

When you partner with a contact center staff augmentation provider, you have access to their extensive expertise – and so much more. With in-depth knowledge of contact center solutions, operational and industry best practices, staff augmentation is not just about filling a missing resource seat. It’s about gaining a valuable resource or set of resources that act as an insider/outsider that can guide and direct how to best optimize your operations. The experience these professionals bring to the table can help develop improved customer service strategies, optimize contact center performance, and ultimately help your business reach its goals.