The State of the Contact Center in 2022

Author: ICMI

Publisher: ICMI

Number of Pages: 63

Sponsor:

In this annual report, ICMI presents the current state of contact centers, focusing on staffing, skills, and salaries, operations, processes, and technology.

In this inaugural report, ICMI presents the current state of contact centers, focusing on staffing, skills, and salaries, operations, processes, and technology. Add these key findings and more to your contact center toolbox!

• 9 out of 10 contact centers plan to grow their workforces in 2023, with 43% filling roles as they come open and 51% creating new roles; 5% of respondents’ contact centers are under a hiring freeze, but just 1% are planning to eliminate positions.
• 33% of respondents' contact centers held salaries and hourly rates steady in 2022; 53% of respondents are planning to increase salaries and hourly rates in 2023.
• 81% of respondents have a quality management program and/or process in place in their contact centers.
• 75% of respondents have a performance management program and/or process in place in their contact centers.
• Most contact centers provide ongoing training at all levels (beyond new-hire training), but training time is limited. On average, contact centers allocate 10 days or fewer to ongoing training annually, across all levels.
• 70% of respondents feel that new agents receive adequate training in their contact centers. Two-thirds of respondents have a program or curriculum in place for grooming existing agents to take on supervisor/leadership roles in the future.
• A little over half of respondents require supervisors to complete a formal training program; nearly two-thirds (60%) feel that their supervisors receive adequate training to be effective in their roles.
• Almost 90% of respondents are outsourcing some or all of their contact center services/interactions; 74% of those who are outsourcing aren’t planning to make any changes to their current arrangement in the coming year.
• Contact centers that are investing in new or upgraded technology are doing so for three main reasons: continual process improvement, to better align with business requirements, and due to business model changes.