8×8, Inc., has published the results of a survey looking at how companies in the UK are dealing with the current permacrisis – defined by the survey report as an extended time of instability and insecurity. Inflation, Brexit, and the COVID-19 pandemic have all contributed to the perception of permacrisis.
The report ‘Permacrisis: The View from the IT Frontline’, reviews the responses of 550 IT decision makers of UK businesses with over 500 employees.
The impact of the UK’s permacrisis
91% of respondents are feeling the effects of permacrisis in the UK to some degree, with two-thirds stating that macro issues are accelerating their organization’s digital transformation plans.
Unsurprisingly, multiple and consistent challenges have led to a feeling of crisis fatigue among employees, with fewer than 9% of respondents stating that their colleagues do not appear to be fatigued by ongoing events.
While operating in an environment of constant change and uncertainty, organizations are having to be agile to ensure business continuity. More than 94% of IT decision makers reported that their organization is implementing technology changes to reduce crisis fatigue and be future-ready, with customer engagement and communication systems allowing them to manage ongoing instability and uncertainty.
Two areas being seen as key in helping organizations through this period are AI and automation. Both of these technologies are being seen as able to help streamline workloads, reduce routine manual work, and increase both customer and employee satisfaction, while 76% of respondents agree that their organization is using the technology to better serve customers.
The UK has experienced a number of crises over the last decade, with no end in sight. As a result businesses are being forced to constantly adapt to significant amounts of change. Further, the expectations of customers and employees have also shifted along the way and digital technology has played a fundamental role in enabling organizations to adapt and show resilience. As companies now have more data, and demand for real-time insights, the use of AI will go beyond customer engagement, and be deployed to run more efficient businesses and provide better services and offerings.
Chris Angus, VP, EMEA Contact Centre Engagement at 8×8, Inc.
Business resilience: the importance of being future ready
Organizations can enhance business resilience by preparing and ensuring that the right tools are used to ease communication and reduce friction in the event of a crisis, without adding to the burden on IT and digital teams. Moving forward, nearly all organizations are planning to use communication systems to manage instability and uncertainty, with planned use cases including: automating processes (51%), managing staff performance (47%), and predicting customer and employee trends (44%).
When considering the most valuable call handling tool for a crisis situation, 40% cited virtual agents/chatbots. Meanwhile, auto attendant (19%) and voicemail (22%) are considered to be the least valuable call handling tools in a crisis.
