Sutherland, the digital transformation company, announced a strategic partnership with Augment CXM, the provider of AI-powered management tools for contact centres, to deliver Sutherland CXi, an AI-driven solution that can observe patterns, predict outcomes and provide real-time guidance to enhance customer–agent interactions.
With the partnership, Sutherland will be providing its global customers with a layer of AI and machine learning capability that will drastically impact experiences for customers, customer service (CS) agents and operations managers. Under the joint solution, the application scans in real-time every agent–customer interaction across channels and predicts which interactions have the probability of leading to negative outcomes. In addition, it provides learnings from similar interactions and feeds tips and insights so the agent can select the best possible path for the customer and the client.
“Unlike today’s slow, cumbersome ‘rear-view’ and ‘random sampling’ method of coaching agents and measuring customer feedback, Sutherland CXi will provide operations teams and our customers a real-time view of NPS drivers. It will help agents train faster and improve the ability for managers to use objective data to coach teams or isolate contact drivers,” said Philip Say, VP of Product and GM for Sutherland AI Solutions. “Augment gives our floor managers the ability to coach agents through difficult interactions in real-time and for rookie agents to become veterans in days vs. months – since they are now empowered with all the historical data, outcomes and interactions from past agents.”
Through several implementations with Fortune 1000 brands across the retail, telecommunications and hospitality industries, Augment has proven that these AI tools are not replacing human jobs, but helping to truly augment the capability of agents. In these tests, Augment has proven that clients typically see three benefits:
- Agent ramp-up: accelerates by 80% since every agent is paired with a fully trained AI
- Agent efficiency: increases by 30% with the suite of tools at the agent’s disposal
- NPS/CSAT improvements: typical improvements range from 10-15 points
“We are thrilled to be partnering with a forward-looking organization like Sutherland to bring Augment’s first-of-its-kind predictive intelligence into the workforce of the future,” said Matt Swanson, founder and CEO of Augment. “Together we’re helping the world’s largest consumer brands ensure every customer has an amazing experience.”
Very little debate exists on the value of customer experience, yet few businesses take the practical steps to transform their customer care process. A recent McKinsey & Company study found that businesses that convert their CS operation into “customer insight centres” can lift customer satisfaction by 20 to 30%, reduce contact centre turnover by 10 to 20%, and increase the return shareholder to shareholder value from 20 to 50%. “Tools like Sutherland CXi and Augment will allow companies to take that leap. And the winners in the 21st century will be the companies that know how to leverage insights coming from customer service to drive strategy,” Say said.
For more information on how Sutherland and Augment CXM are reimagining the customer experience, visit www.sutherlandglobal.com and www.augmentcxm.com.