# How Can Financial Firms Improve Customer Service after the Pandemic?
Author:  Pal Sinha, Barnali 
Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali
Published: 2021-08-19
Category: FINANCE
Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/finance
Meta Title: Boost Financial Sector Profitability with Intelligent Automation
Meta Description: Learn how financial firms can increase profitability and customer satisfaction by embracing intelligent automation in their contact centres to reduce costs and
URL: https://financedigest.com/how-can-financial-firms-improve-customer-service-after-the-pandemichtml

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_By **Troy Meyers** Chief Customer Officer at [Intradiem](https://74n5c4m7.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fwww.intradiem.co.uk%2F/1/0102017b359410dd-8ade5926-3d87-48ec-9c29-8f4588fd2242-000000/ymUdXQaU18B6fCZ0QLLQyQh6YIk=231)_

Financial firms generate profits by [borrowing](https://74n5c4m7.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fwww.intradiem.co.uk%2F/2/0102017b359410dd-8ade5926-3d87-48ec-9c29-8f4588fd2242-000000/FUhL3XOWznub27IsKFHTIpunmzU=231) short-term cash cheaply and lending or investing it for higher, long-term returns. A steeper yield curve—which indicates a wider gap between short-term and long-term interest rates—means more profitability. But the [yield curve](https://74n5c4m7.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fwww.thebalance.com%2Fsteepening-and-flattening-yield-curve-416920/1/0102017b359410dd-8ade5926-3d87-48ec-9c29-8f4588fd2242-000000/1Y3aIHKwP3cnC4jgqTomCwquQ4Q=231) has been [relatively flat](https://74n5c4m7.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fwww.statista.com%2Fstatistics%2F1059669%2Fyield-curve-usa%2F/1/0102017b359410dd-8ade5926-3d87-48ec-9c29-8f4588fd2242-000000/exZjk-Gx_JJqrFlG2KglIFNRsEs=231) in recent years, squeezing profits and adding pressure to counter with aggressive cost-cutting measures.

That’s bad news for financial sector contact centers. As noted [previously](https://74n5c4m7.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fbit.ly%2F2U5t5QI/1/0102017b359410dd-8ade5926-3d87-48ec-9c29-8f4588fd2242-000000/KcCNW-mzV-0gw2Aa6e0x8qSWpkI=231), about 70% of center budgets goes to labor, making centers an obvious target for cost-cutting. Large firms began offshoring customer service operations in the early 2000s and shifted domestic agents to remote work in more recent years. As a result, the 2020 office evacuation drill was less jarring than elsewhere.

But uneven [customer service](https://www.financedigest.com/revolutionising-customer-service-three-sectors-that-are-leading-the-way.html "Revolutionising Customer Service: Three sectors that are leading the way…") performance during the pandemic has prompted firms to reconsider the relative value of offshoring and remote domestic workers to their overall cost-control strategy. One possible response is to repatriate as least some offshored service operations; another is to expand the remote model for domestic agents even further. Either way, [intelligent automation](https://74n5c4m7.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fbit.ly%2F2TXX5y5/1/0102017b359410dd-8ade5926-3d87-48ec-9c29-8f4588fd2242-000000/N1ItY58i6jRgnVurLP6ciw1-MvA=231) is emerging as the most effective way to reduce costs while also giving a much-needed boost to efficiency and productivity.

**Tech 1.0**

[Technology has long played a role in financial firms’](https://www.financedigest.com/financial-firms-can-use-technology-combat-todays-cybercriminals.html "How financial firms can use technology to combat today’s cybercriminals") contact centers because most day-to-day transactions are easy to manage through non-human channels. Existing [technologies can provide a customer’s](https://www.financedigest.com/manchester-arts-centre-the-lowry-selects-logpoints-siem-technology-to-safeguard-customer-data.html "Manchester arts centre The Lowry selects LogPoint’s SIEM technology to safeguard customer data") account balance, payment due date, branch office locations and hours, etc. But when [mortgage loans](https://www.financedigest.com/mortgage-refinancing-how-to-refinance-a-home-loan.html "Mortgage Refinancing: How to refinance a home loan") or foreclosures are in play, no customer will accept a technology program as a negotiating counterpart. The tone of those exchanges is often set by emotion rather than reason. So financial firms need technology that actually [improves agents’ ability to satisfy the full range of customers’](https://www.financedigest.com/how-artificial-intelligence-can-help-improvethe-customer-journey-in-insurance.html "How Artificial Intelligence can help improve the customer journey in Insurance") needs.

**An agent’s complex day**

Agents in this industry [face multiple challenges](https://www.financedigest.com/factbox-the-challenges-automakers-and-now-tesla-face-with-humanoid-robots-2.html "Factbox-The challenges automakers, and now Tesla, face with humanoid robots"). In addition to providing empathy and flexibility in situations where high-stakes money matters are emotionally charged, agents also deal with [financial transactions that are often subject to federal and state regulations](https://www.financedigest.com/australia-financial-crimes-regulator-opens-investigation-into-britains-entain.html "Australia financial crimes regulator opens investigation into Britain’s Entain"). This adds to their training requirements. Large firms may employ tens of thousands of agents, which increases the [logistical challenge](https://www.financedigest.com/teslas-logistical-challenges-overshadow-record-deliveries.html "Tesla’s logistical challenges overshadow record deliveries") of delivering thorough and uniform training. Inconsistent or insufficient training could leave agents vulnerable to making mistakes, and even small mistakes can expose the firm to hefty fines or lawsuits.

Lastly, the pandemic abruptly shut down in-branch [customer service](https://www.financedigest.com/id-fraud-is-on-the-rise-can-financial-services-do-more-to-protect-their-customers.html "ID fraud is on the rise: can financial services do more to protect their customers?") access, sending customers to the phones to deal with both simple and complex issues. This caused a spike in contact center call volume and complexity. Complicated issues typically handled by account execs and managers now fell to agents, who found themselves at the customer-facing end of a chain of [service upheaval and forced to deal with more calls](https://www.financedigest.com/emergency-call-services-telcos-urge-eu-to-protect-telecoms-networks-from-power-cuts.html "Emergency call services, telcos urge EU to protect telecoms networks from power cuts") and unfamiliar issues which they were not trained to handle.

**Tech 2.0**

It’s impossible to manually address all instances when agents stay too long in after-call work or leave [customers on hold](https://www.financedigest.com/bahamas-regulator-holds-ftx-assets-pending-delivery-to-customers-creditors.html "Bahamas regulator holds FTX assets pending delivery to customers, creditors") for too long. But with intelligent automation, [business rules are put in place to monitor these metrics](https://www.financedigest.com/5-fx-metrics-your-business-should-be-tracking.html "5 FX METRICS YOUR BUSINESS SHOULD BE TRACKING") and remind agents when they cross specific thresholds.

When agents select the wrong AUX state, it’s difficult to identify which did so by [mistake and which did so to avoid](https://www.financedigest.com/top-ten-biggest-mistakes-by-novice-investors-and-how-to-avoid-them.html "TOP TEN BIGGEST MISTAKES BY NOVICE INVESTORS – AND HOW TO AVOID THEM") answering calls; coaching after the fact is not effective. Intelligent automation notifies agents in the wrong state immediately. Potential savings are huge: One [financial services customer](https://www.financedigest.com/financial-companies-delivering-better-value-for-customers-in-loyalty-programmes-compared-to-other-sectors.html "Financial companies delivering better value for customers in loyalty programmes compared to other sectors") leveraged AUX state alerts to realize $16.8 million in annualized savings.

**Tech me** [back home](https://www.financedigest.com/thatched-is-back-new-show-home-launching-in-ettington.html "Thatched is back: New show home launching in Ettington")

Many large [financial firms](https://www.financedigest.com/turning-a-blind-eye-wont-work-for-financial-firms-as-the-fca-tightens-its-grip.html "TURNING A BLIND EYE WON’T WORK FOR FINANCIAL FIRMS AS THE FCA TIGHTENS ITS GRIP") sent half or more of their contact center operations overseas, where lower wages reduced operating costs. But when the pandemic forced overseas agents to work from home, pockets of weak electricity and WIFI service availability led to poor [customer](https://www.financedigest.com/video-collaboration-is-pushing-the-boundaries-of-the-customer-experience-in-financial-services.html "Video Collaboration is pushing the boundaries of the customer experience in Financial Services") service delivery. Overloaded infrastructure caused problems among remote domestic agents too, but the problem—and its [impact on the customer](https://www.financedigest.com/the-fca-is-taking-immediate-action-on-customer-vulnerability-but-how-does-this-impact-advisers.html "The FCA is taking immediate action on customer vulnerability; but how does this impact advisers?") experience—was greater in offshore operations.

For [financial firms that choose to repatriate customer service](https://www.financedigest.com/financial-services-firms-turn-to-big-data-intelligence-to-fight-fraudulent-activity-according-to-xerox-study.html "FINANCIAL SERVICES FIRMS TURN TO BIG DATA INTELLIGENCE TO FIGHT FRAUDULENT ACTIVITY ACCORDING TO XEROX STUDY") operations, intelligent automation’s proven ability to lower costs, increase agent efficiency, and facilitate consistent customer experiences thanks to its unique blend of RPA and real-time data processing capabilities will provide a critical competitive advantage in the post-pandemic marketplace.

**Conclusion**

Technology can never substitute fully for human agents, but the right tech can amplify agents’ ability to deliver focused, empathetic [customer service](https://www.financedigest.com/customer-engagement-trends-that-will-rule-banking-and-financial-services-in-2021.html "Customer Engagement Trends that Will Rule Banking and Financial Services in 2021"). Intelligent automation takes repetitive tasks off the agent’s plate and also processes data related to agent behavior and overall center activities, detecting [service logjams across the agent population in real time and providing immediate support](https://www.financedigest.com/uk-gives-bbc-world-service-20-million-pounds-to-support-english-language-broadcasting.html "UK gives BBC World Service 20 million pounds to support English language broadcasting") to get agents back on track quickly.


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