Business Systems attracted over 280 delegates to the 10th annual Improving Performance conference last November which focused on the need for real time customer engagement in the social age. Customer Service Fact! Some topical areas covered included; ‘the top 2011 call centre issues’ presented by Call Centre Helper Editor, Jonty Pearce who pointed out that it typically takes 24 hours for call centres to respond to an email enquiry. Subsequently more and more customers are turning to internet chat and other forms of social communication to achieve faster response rates with more immediate agent engagement. Being Social BT’s Head of Social Media Innovation, Bian Salins reinforced using social media as a service channel. Commenting that BT noticed their customer needs were changing, they took action and listened. Their research highlighted that via social channels, 83% of customers were saying “I buy more from companies that make it easier for me to do business with them.” By implementing a social strategy and making contact simpler, BT demonstrated increased loyalty of their customers over time. Multichannel issues Courtesy of Gerry Brown at Strativity Group delegates also gained insights into designing multichannel customer experience strategies. One of the biggest issues identified was that “34% of companies say they have difficulty unifying different sources of data across multiple channels” (eConsultancy survey). In some cases during live calls, agents can be dealing with data from across at least five different systems. Technology suppliers are increasingly aware of this and solutions like NICE’s Real Time Process Optimisation which takes data from multiple applications and processes it to help agents make executive decisions during calls, are cropping up to try and address this. View full conference videos and presentation slides here> Contact us or call 0800 458 2988 for more details. Written by: Business Systems UK
Blog 28 August, 2025 What is Conversational AI? A Beginner’s Guide to Smarter CX In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, businesses are under increasing pressure to deliver seamless and efficient customer experiences (CX). Customers expect quick responses, personalised interactions, and 24/7 availability. This is where Conversational AI comes in. By leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP), Conversational AI enhances customer service, automates interactions, and significantly improves operational
Blog 23 July, 2025 Mike Wardell Appointed Executive Chairman We are pleased to announce that Mike Wardell, former CEO of Business Systems Ltd, has transitioned to the role of Executive Chairman of both Business Systems and Wordwatch. This strategic move marks a significant milestone for both brands as they continue to strengthen their market-leading positions in customer contact solutions and communications governance and archiving.
Blog 16 July, 2025 Unlocking the Power of Conversation: How Interaction Analytics Is Reshaping Contact Centre Workforce Planning Contact centres are no longer just cost centres – they’re goldmines of actionable insight. And in 2025, forward-thinking customer contact leaders are discovering that the most untapped resource in their operations isn’t in headcount or tech—it’s the conversations they’re already having. Welcome to the era of interaction analytics. With the power to transform how you
Blog 8 July, 2025 From Hype to Impact: AI Strategies for Maximum ROI AI is revolutionising customer contact – but for many contact centres, the results aren’t matching the promise. Despite a surge in experimentation, too many organisations find themselves in “pilot paralysis”: high on potential, low on return. Contact centres need to adopt AI, but many are hitting the same wall: inconsistent ROI. Why? Because not all
Blog 3 June, 2025 Why Workforce Engagement is Key to Retaining Contact Centre Agents Call of Duty: Why Engaged Agents Stay in Contact Centres One repeat challenge our consultants see when we partner with new organisations is Agent retention. With increasing customer expectations, hybrid working models, and AI-driven efficiencies reshaping the contact centre industry, there is always an ongoing pressure for organisations to keep agents engaged and motivated in
Blog 15 May, 2025 How OpenAI’s o3 and o4 Mini Models are a major step forward in Conversational AI for Contact Centres The release of OpenAI’s latest large language models – o3 and o4 mini – represents a major step forward in the evolution of enterprise-grade AI for customer service. These new models are purpose-built to handle complexity, improve reasoning, and scale automation without compromising control or compliance. For contact centres looking to enhance customer experiences and
Blog 1 April, 2025 AI Agents in Contact Centres: Are You Ready for the Future? The Future of Customer Service is Here The contact centre industry is undergoing a significant transformation. Rising customer expectations, increasing operational costs, and workforce shortages are putting immense pressure on businesses to deliver seamless customer experiences while maintaining profitability. The companies that embrace AI agents today are the industry leaders of tomorrow – those that
Blog 10 February, 2025 What is Agentic AI and Why Does It Matter to You? Agentic AI is transforming contact centres by enabling systems to act autonomously, adapt to new situations, and proactively achieve goals – much like a human agent. But how does it differ from traditional automation, and why should contact centre leaders take notice? What is Agentic AI? Unlike rule-based automation, Agentic AI makes independent decisions, learns