11 CX experts share their views on GigCX

“There is more awareness of GigCX now, as compared to a year ago. It’s a topic that is becoming more relevant as attrition has become more widespread and talent acquisition has become more complex.

“Interestingly, a year ago, most customers interacting with a GigCX expert may not have realized it, but they are becoming increasingly aware. The same way that companies are waking up to the humanity that gig expertise brings to the table versus the transactional volume they have traditionally measured against, customers are recognizing the value.”

“As I’ve spoken to industry peers, I’ve seen the confidence level of GigCX go up. Leaders are realizing that it can be a long-term and sustainable part of the way that they think about their overall staffing and coverage plans. It’s no longer a pilot or proof of concept: it’s a concrete idea that companies are incorporating into the future of work.”

“In one of our recent customer service employee surveys, we found that 80% of our team wanted to continue working at home or wanted some type of a hybrid model. They wanted to be able to come in for team meetings and be with their team, but didn’t want the daily commute of two hours a day. It’s a big deal to them, and we’ve fully embraced this. What remote working has allowed us to do is actually expand our workforce from a regional perspective. We can access a broader population of workers in order to meet our growth targets.”

“We’re definitely seeing an issue surrounding pent up attrition. People are reflecting on their employment roles. Many want to stay, but perhaps go part-time. Or they are indicating that they want to be able to mix what they do with some personal projects, or go and do more philanthropic things to help what is happening in the Ukraine, for example. You can do that today with the technology available – there are any number of apps and websites that connect people with skill sets with people with needs. It’s really changing people’s mindsets about what they do, and how they want to do it.”

“When it comes to CX delivery, it’s important to look at how agents’ jobs have changed, and what forces are driving those changes. Today, agents are getting a much higher volume of calls, and those calls are more difficult and challenging to deal with. People may have just lost their jobs, or homes, or may be struggling to pay their bills.

“For general inquiries, most people will use self-service or interact with a bot. But for difficult queries, people want to talk to people. It means agents are spending a lot of time handling difficult calls. We already know that call center employee churn is 30% on average in the first place, and much higher in some larger organizations. However, today, call centers are losing 5–10% more people on top of this.

“It’s proof not only of the fact that it’s a hard time for agents and they need as much empathy as customers, but also that companies need to look at what they can do to improve the employee experience, or to explore new models if they want to maintain consistent levels of support.”

“When we began looking at GigCX a couple of years ago, it was only Limitless that was looking through the lens of the customer. Everyone else was looking at it just in terms of generating revenue, of P&L within the customer service business unit – they only cared about how much demand they were addressing as providers. You’ve got to understand the need of the consumer coming into the top end of the funnel. And how do you make it an effortless experience, focusing on experience and resolution?”

“Partners in large markets like ours can get vast teams of GigCX experts working with us, and within these, about 25 to 30% naturally come from a community of diversity and inclusion. They may belong to LGBT communities, minorities, or some have physical difficulties that limit them from in-office work.

“GigCX represents a significant opportunity for some of these people with physical difficulties. When you think about it, changing office infrastructure for people with physical disabilities may be complex and expensive, but with GigCX, these people can operate from home. It’s a big opportunity to open up a whole new world of jobs and new talent. Think about those who may have hearing difficulties as well. We’ve got advisors who can use sign language and video calling functionality to speak to customers, which is a huge opportunity. There’s a lot more that can be done to make customer service roles more inclusive for people who find it difficult to find jobs, and GigCX can play a growing role."

“GigCX … is completely accessible, and these experts are getting rewarded for the answers they are providing. There have always been people who get a genuine buzz out of helping other people, but now they are being compensated for that, and helping to improve the customer experience formally.”

“Our GigCX experts stay because they love the company and they love the product. They love being able to share what they’ve gained from the product with other customers. For most of them, the money is just a little supplementary income that is nice to have. One of our GigCX experts uses it as her travel fund; for another, I know that one of the things she likes about GigCX is that she gets immediate responses and sees the impact of her work instantly. It’s a great mental life/work balance to strike because experts can help make a difference on a day-to-day basis.”

“Customers would prefer to take product advice from other customers over taking it from the enterprise itself. It’s a similar concept to a peer who is helping you, or explaining something to you that you didn’t yet know, in a very relatable way. I like to call it ‘the conversation function,’ and in most cases, it inspires a much longer conversation than what you may get if you ask an agent the answer to one simple question.”

“There’s a level of personalization they are getting about products when they learn about them from [fellow] users. With GigCX, there’s that big advantage because you’re tapping into a peer with product knowledge and expertise.”

“We may begin to see companies use brand experts to evangelize their brand knowledge, to talk with customers about their use of the products and services in a conversational way, rather than as a customer service representative.”