Are You Preparing for Self-Service Options. You Should.

Information and Referral centers have long celebrated humans' ability to interact with other humans to solve issues. We train at length on active listening and effective problem-solving with those who reach out to our programs. Many of the metrics that contact centers report on relate to phone-based interactions: abandonment rate, wait time, and average handle time. Other methods of service delivery do not require significant staff time or resources and may be measured just as easily.

The contact center industry, however, is evolving. More people are seeking and, in some cases, demanding self-service options. Chatbots, text bots, and automated IVRs (interactive voice response) are becoming more popular in other industries. Yet, the I&R industry is resisting this shift toward self-service, insisting that contact with a person through email, text, chat, in-person, or on the phone is the best way to receive assistance.

However, according to ICMI’s State of the Contact Center in 2024, 73% of people will attempt to use a self-service tool before contacting someone for help. Contact centers outside of the I&R space are reporting metrics related to deflection and self-service accessibility. These metrics focus on “the portion of customer queries that are resolved via self-service options.”

Statistica.com further demonstrates the decline of contact center development across the globe. In 2023, Latin America and Central America had the highest number of contact centers that were opened or expanded that year. In the United States, however, far fewer contact centers were opened, and the number of employees decreased between 2020 and 2023. These eye-opening numbers can be seen in the graph below. If it is beginning to look like the contact center industry in the United States is in a freefall, you may be right.

Gartner reports that Millennials and Gen Z customers prefer third-party customer service channels. “In fact, 52% of millennials and 44% of Gen Z customers have as much confidence in noncompany guidance as in customer service guidance.” In other words, these individuals trust the information your company provides through automation or websites as much as they trust your customer service staff to provide them with the information. 

The I&R industry should begin to explore these options in earnest. If there are ways that persons can get their questions answered through self-service options, it would free up our taxed front-line staff persons and navigators for those individuals who have extensive situations that require additional time. I&R professionals know that some situations presented have a complexity that surpasses what can be accomplished within a three to five-minute interaction. If self-service was more prevalent for persons with quick questions, how effective would we be for those with complex situations?

Resolution rates, according to a Gartner study, indicate that 36% of simple questions, like phone number or address requests, are fully resolved in self-service. If 36% of your I&R contact base can be served through self-service, let’s free up those precious front-line resources for those persons with the most critical needs.

The I&R industry needs to continue pushing forward with new trends, using self-service and even artificial intelligence where appropriate. There is certainly a continuing need for person-to-person interaction. As sources of funding freeze or go away, we owe it to our communities to provide them with appropriate pathways to get information that empowers them.