Series: Contact center planning

Mission and strategy

Your mission defines your company’s purpose, customers, and the desired customer experience. Your mission statement helps guide decisions across the organization in each department. The contact center uses this statement to steer decisions about the best way to deliver contact center services.

Your strategy describes a tactical plan that aligns all departmental tasks, policies, procedures, and measurements to carry out the mission. Ideally, the contact center is part of the organization’s overall strategy to achieve success.

Consider the organization’s mission and strategy when implementing new contact center technology. This detail allows contact center leadership to create a compelling business case for technology acquisition and implementation. 

When there is a clear connection between the mission and strategy of the organization and the work performed by the contact center, you can:

  • Create a productive and positive organizational culture.
  • Attract and retain valuable talent.
  • Improve employee productivity and encourage employees to meet performance targets.

Questions

Discuss the following questions with your team:

  • Does the mission statement accurately describe your company’s purpose? Does a publicized company strategy exist? Are the company mission and strategy aligned?
  • Do employees across the organization and within the contact center understand how they contribute to the company’s mission and help fulfill the company strategy? How is the company’s mission communicated and reinforced with employees?
  • Are critical company decisions, processes, policies, and metrics aligned with the company’s mission and strategy? What about in the contact center?
  • Is the contact center adequately resourced with people and technology to deliver the organization’s mission and support the strategy?

Actions

Take the following actions before moving to the planning phase:

Preparation Assigned to Complete date
Gather your company’s and contact center’s mission statements. Include any other defining statements, such as a vision statement or a list of company values. If you do not have a mission statement, draft one with your team.
Review your organization’s mission statement and strategy. Is it up to date? Do employees understand how the contact center and their job roles support the mission?
Review or define your contact center’s mission statement. (Contact center strategy is in the next step.)

To assess and document any gaps in the contact center’s ability to support the mission, use the questions in the previous section.

For example:

  • Are critical functions supported, such as workforce management (WFM), testing, and training?
  • Is the supervisor-to-agent ratio appropriate? Are supervisors dedicating sufficient time to coaching and creating high performing teams?
  • Do WFM workload forecasts and staff planning drive your headcount requirements? Do you have the staff to support the mission?
  • Do the contact center metrics support the mission? Do you monitor and coach agents to achieve QA goals? Are agents driven to reduce AHT and increase quality and revenue?
  • Are your quality and training programs robust enough to support the mission? Would your customers and agents agree?
Discuss identified gaps with senior management and confirm their commitment to support the contact center and deliver on the company’s mission and strategy.
Ensure that contact center employees understand both the mission and the strategy of the contact center and the entire organization beyond just being able to read or recite the respective statements. Employees should be inspired and motivated when they understand the company’s purpose and their role in it.

 

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