Imagine one billion virtual assistants optimizing productivity and performance. Working seamlessly in the background, these assistants are transforming operations from manually reactive to strategically proactive in the blink of an eye.

For many global call centers, this transformation has become a reality. Based on the unique needs of each center, real-time automation performs one billion automated actions enabling improvements in customer experience, agent productivity and efficiency while yielding massive cost reduction benefits.

This call center transformation should not remain as a secret for just a few. We live in a dynamic world where data is today’s business currency and that currency is being served up as a digital explosion. Let’s take a look at four areas that deliver significant positive impact to initiate true call center transformation:

• Solidify First Call Resolution: Real-time automation enables the delivery of essential training tools to your agents that are fit-for-purpose as well as ensures delivery at the optimal times during their schedule to enable them to better assist customers. When you consider that, real-time automation ensures that service levels are not impacted; plus, agents are empowered to gain the knowledge to provide the best customer care on the first call. By leveraging automation, I’ll share that a leading telecom provider improved FCR by 4.5%. That’s 4.5% due to targeted training. Prepared agents. Happy customers. Better outcomes.

• Strengthen Average Handle Time (AHT): One of the most critical components for call centers is the average time to handle each customer. While there is no silver bullet, the value-add is that real-time automation is currently unmatched when it comes to managing each call in regard to hold time, talk time as well as time spent on After Call Work (ACW). Add peak time and high volume and then the value-add of automation is exponential. As an example, recently a top telecom company shaved four seconds off handle time. That seemingly small four seconds equated to savings of $7M annually! Time and money saved were both made possible because of real-time automation. Now peace of mind is possible realizing that your call center is optimized with highly efficient agents and automation.

• Decrease Costly Shrinkage: Unfortunately, shrinkage is a daily reality; however, automation is currently the best tool to effectively manage it. For example, when an agent is idle for more than seven minutes, automation actively monitors idle time to enable the delivery of timely coaching or best-in-practice training. That’s a two-fold benefit. Automation enables you to address your company’s priority to develop agents as well as reduce shrinkage. Additionally, as the decision maker you can choose to fill that time with what best suits your business needs including delivering critical updates, enabling agents to remain on schedule and reducing adherence issues. The proof you might ask? A leading insurer moved two hours/agent/month from shrinkage and saved $500,000 a year. Again, $500,000 is a solid step for transforming a call center and made possible by real-time automation.

• Improve Occupancy: Maintaining service levels is another critical component for all channels in order to deliver a seamless customer experience across the omnichannel. Avoid gaps in service by proactively handling volume fluctuation while at the same time balancing resources across channels. Then add the benefit of pre-set volume identify that allows agents to receive automated Voluntary Time Off (VTO) offers, eliminating manual staffing adjustments. If this all sounds too good to be true, then I challenge you to further examine the very tangible benefits of real-time automation. In fact, a top organization increased occupancy by .5% and saved $272,000 by automating the VTO process. Think for a moment. That’s an annual savings of more than a quarter of a million in VTO alone.

Real-time automation is designed to tackle the toughest call center challenges. When I compare it to Robotic Process Automation (RPA) which is more focused on simple interactions like order tracking and balance inquiries, real-time automation can be viewed as a supreme solution that enables your workforce to resolves complex issues described earlier. Let’s give agents the tools to feel and be prepared to address all customer situations head on.

Lastly, I recently read where the CIO shared that 85 bots were required to automate 13 processes handling 1.5 million actions on an annual basis for Deloitte. Now consider the value difference gained by having one billion virtual assistants to handle processes as in real-time automation. This example highlights how the capabilities and outcomes of real-time automation far exceeds the outcomes of 85 bots. It’s no wonder that large enterprises across the globe readily view real-time automation as a mission critical solution to their operations.

My goal here was to provoke more thought and conversation around proven means to optimize the call center. I’ve shared real-life company stories for only four scenarios. There are many more. Now is the time that you too can transform from manually reactive to strategically proactive to become better equipped to serve customers and meet cost reduction goals.