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By Tim Critchley, CEO, Semafone

As we speed headlong into 2017, it is a good time to take a moment and consider the trends shaping the call center industry now and throughout the coming months. Having worked with many call centers around the world, I’ve noticed a number of key factors driving changes in the global call center industry, including an evolving security landscape, upcoming regulations and an increasing number of work-from-home agents. Drawing upon those experiences, here are my top five predictions for the call center industry and the trends I expect to see throughout the rest of 2017:   

1.       Data security will move to the top of the call center agenda.

A growing number of data breaches, coupled with the increasing number of card-not-present (CNP) transactions and consumer complacency, will make the act of protecting customers’ sensitive information more important and more challenging than ever before. A recent report from the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) revealed that breaches increased by 40 percent from 2015 to 2016 in the United States alone. At the same time, the Aite Group reports an increase in CNP fraud as criminals turn their attention to online and phone-based channels. I predict that 2017 will be the year that call centers make data security their top priority. The good news is that by being more proactive in safeguarding their customers’ personal data, call centers will also be better protecting their own brand reputations from the damage caused by data breaches. They will also enjoy the added benefit of maintaining compliance with current and pending data security regulations.    

2.       Companies will step up their preparation for the impending EU GDPR.

The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR) will be top of mind throughout 2017, as enterprises prepare for its May 2018 enactment. Although this is an EU regulation, it affects any company that holds or processes data pertaining to EU citizens. U.S. companies cannot afford to be complacent – enterprises who do not comply face fines of up to €20 million or 4 percent of their global annual revenue (whichever is the greater). I predict that throughout the year, companies will pay greater attention to complying with the EU GDPR, as well as educating their business on the ramifications of the regulation.

3.       Call centers will place continued emphasis on customer experience.

Despite the increase in call center automation, personalized customer service remains a competitive differentiator. More call centers are finding that delivering a more efficient and superior customer experience involves an approach that blends self-service technologies with “live-agent” assistance. For example, when it comes to taking payment card numbers via the phone, organizations should look to technologies that allow customers to discretely key in card data, while agents remain on the line to handle wrap-up tasks and assist when needed – thereby simplifying and streamlining the customer journey. This approach helps call centers balance average handling time (AHT) with other KPIs, such as first contact resolution (FCR) and of course, customer satisfaction scores. In the end, data is secure, the agent is more efficient, the customer is happy, and the organization achieves additional cost savings as an inherent benefit of reduced AHT.

4.       We will witness an “Uberization” of contact center activity.

We are seeing companies use more remote, outsourced and work-from-home call center agents. While this allows them to expand their call center operations and add staff quickly and easily, it creates a whole new batch of security issues. Companies are taking greater strides to ensure Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and other security measures are extended to home and outsourced offices. This is achievable by adopting a single, secure platform that is scalable across the enterprise – even to remote workers – to protect customers’ personally identifiable information (PII).

5.       Call centers will adopt a more proactive approach to compliance.

Effective PCI DSS compliance involves more than simply checking a box. We predict that throughout the rest of the year, call centers will take a more active and decisive approach to compliance (and therefore, security), investing in solutions that reduce the scope of PCI DSS by decreasing the business’ exposure to payment card information. Such solutions also provide continuous compliance and security measures that keep customer information safe and companies’ names out of the media – no one wants to be the next victim of a headline-grabbing big data breach!

The surge in headline-making data breaches and growing CNP fraud rates, combined with pending data security regulations and trends like the “uberization” of call center agents, will surely move data security to the forefront of call center managers’ minds in 2017. Call centers that take a proactive approach by seeking solutions to protect customers’ personal information both at rest and in transit – or keep it out of the business infrastructure altogether – will find themselves better prepared for success throughout 2017.