Trend 4

The future of work is now

In an increasingly distributed world, companies must rethink how they work smarter across teams.

Section 1

Workplaces have undergone rapid change

The largest WFH experiment ever conducted has impacted everything about how we work, from the tools we need to stay productive to how we collaborate across remote teams. Over the past year, companies have seen a lot of change: support teams started working remotely or underwent layoffs, while many agents have had to carry heavier workloads or learn new tools or processes just to get the job done.

2020 sees unprecedented volatility in support requests

50%of teams have gone fully remote

36% laid people off

68%of agents reported feeling overwhelmed

The vast majority of teams are navigating new tools and processes

0%40%20%60%80%
Percentage of surveyed technology decision makers who said their team added
Video conferencing
Team messaging or chat
New apps or integrations
Team performance analytics
Agent performance evaluation
Workflow management tools
Project management tools
None of the above
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0%40%20%60%80%
Percentage of surveyed technology decision makers who said their team added
Video conferencing
Team messaging or chat
New apps or integrations
Team performance analytics
Agent performance evaluation
Workflow management tools
Project management tools
None of the above
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0%40%20%60%80%
Percentage of surveyed technology decision makers who said their team added
Video conferencing
Team messaging or chat
New apps or integrations
Team performance analytics
Agent performance evaluation
Workflow management tools
Project management tools
None of the above
Internet Explorer doesn’t support these charts.

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0%40%20%60%80%
Percentage of surveyed technology decision makers who said their team added
Video conferencing
Team messaging or chat
New apps or integrations
Team performance analytics
Agent performance evaluation
Workflow management tools
Project management tools
None of the above
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Filter by:

Overall
80%60%40%20%0%
Percentage of surveyed technology decision makers who said their team added
Video conferencing
Team messaging or chat
New apps or integrations
Team performance analytics
Agent performance evaluation
Workflow management tools
Project management tools
None of the above
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SMB
80%60%40%20%0%
Percentage of surveyed technology decision makers who said their team added
Video conferencing
Team messaging or chat
New apps or integrations
Team performance analytics
Agent performance evaluation
Workflow management tools
Project management tools
None of the above
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Midsize
80%60%40%20%0%
Percentage of surveyed technology decision makers who said their team added
Video conferencing
Team messaging or chat
New apps or integrations
Team performance analytics
Agent performance evaluation
Workflow management tools
Project management tools
None of the above
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Enterprise
80%60%40%20%0%
Percentage of surveyed technology decision makers who said their team added
Video conferencing
Team messaging or chat
New apps or integrations
Team performance analytics
Agent performance evaluation
Workflow management tools
Project management tools
None of the above
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Section 2

Supporting your support team

Many employees still don’t feel like they have the right tools to succeed in this new and often distributed environment, whether it’s keeping track of performance indicators, staying connected, or feeling supported.

Many agents and managers say they don’t have the right tools to succeed

40%of managers don’t have the right analytics tools to measure success for remote teams

46%of agents don’t have the right tools to work successfully from home

Supportive work environment still top of mind for agents

0%20%10%30%50%60%40%
Which do you feel is MOST important to do your job well?
Percentage of surveyed CX agents
Supportive work environment
Access to a comprehensive knowledge base
More training on customer support tools
Learning how to sell to customers
Better management
The best tools and software
Full customer context
Ability to collaborate across teams internally
 202020214% growth13% growth19% growth22% growth24% growth26% growth29% growth31% growth 60%30%40%50%20%10%0%
Percentage of surveyed CX agents
Supportive work environment
Access to a comprehensive knowledge base
More training on customer support tools
Learning how to sell to customers
Better management
The best tools and software
Full customer context
Ability to collaborate across teams internally
Which do you feel is MOST important to do your job well?
2020
2021
4% growth
13% growth
19% growth
22% growth
24% growth
26% growth
29% growth
31% growth
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Section 3

Reimagining the workplace

Faced with these challenges, companies are heading back to the drawing board to figure out how to better organize their teams. A recent survey found that 92 percent of executives have had to rethink how they worked because of the pandemic. Many are developing longer term solutions that include better employee engagement, more flexible work environments, and structural changes to workflows that better suit employees’ needs.

Companies are looking for ways to make life easier for their employees

70%of companies are looking to invest in new ways to engage employees

60%of companies now have access to developer resources (a 30% increase over the previous year), which means that teams can customize their support solutions to help teams work smarter

60%of company leaders say their company has plans to give employees more WFH flexibility

Support teams that outperform their peers are more likely to lean on developers

0%20%60%40%80%
Percentage of companies using developer tools
High performer
Average performer
Low performer
 80%60%40%20%0%
Percentage of companies using developer tools
High performer
Average performer
Low performer
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Investment in internal help desks is forecast to double post-COVID

0%40%20%60%100%80%
Percentage of surveyed tech decision makers
Automating business processes and approvals
Collaboration tools
Data for personalization
Apps that bring together department information
Tracking internal issues
Live support for employees
None of the above
Self-service for employees
Managing customer anger
Mental health, wellbeing
Tools to increase employee productivity
64%+83% 63%+66%46%+92%50%+108%59%+90%58%+87%18%+125%47%+88%50%+100% 52%+100%72%+72%
Total % investing
% Growth
Pre-Covid
Post-Covid
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0%40%20%60%100%80%
Percentage of surveyed tech decision makers
Automating business processes and approvals
Collaboration tools
Data for personalization
Apps that bring together department information
Tracking internal issues
Live support for employees
None of the above
Self-service for employees
Managing customer anger
Mental health, wellbeing
Tools to increase employee productivity
45%+80%55%+162% 26%+100%33%+74%35%+119%39%+144%49%+96%30%+100%27%+93%29%+61% 51%+143%
Total % investing
% Growth
Pre-Covid
Post-Covid
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0%40%20%60% 100%80%
Percentage of surveyed tech decision makers
Automating business processes and approvals
Collaboration tools
Data for personalization
Apps that bring together department information
Tracking internal issues
Live support for employees
None of the above
Self-service for employees
Managing customer anger
Mental health, wellbeing
Tools to increase employee productivity
69%+116%62%+121%48%+78%60%+100%69%+123%65%+117%4%+33%50%+138%64%+94%61%+110%75%+134%
Total % investing
% Growth
Pre-Covid
Post-Covid
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0%40%20%60%100%80%
Percentage of surveyed tech decision makers
Automating business processes and approvals
Collaboration tools
Data for personalization
Apps that bring together department information
Tracking internal issues
Live support for employees
None of the above
Self-service for employees
Managing customer anger
Mental health, wellbeing
Tools to increase employee productivity
77%+166%69%+200%63%+152%54%+100%68%+100%68%+106%7%+40%59%+103%54%+108%62%+107%85%+143%
Total % investing
% Growth
Pre-Covid
Post-Covid
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Filter by:

Overall
80%100%60%40%20%0%
Percentage of surveyed tech decision makers
Automating business processes and approvals
64%+83%
Collaboration tools
63%+66%
Data for personalization
46%+92%
Apps that bring together department information
50%+108%
Tracking internal issues
59%+90%
Live support for employees
58%+87%
None of the above
18%+125%
Self-service for employees
47%+88%
Managing customer anger
50%+100%
Mental health, wellbeing
52%+100%
Tools to increase employee productivity
72%+72%
Total % investing
% Growth
Post-Covid
Pre-Covid
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SMB
80%100%60%40%20%0%
Percentage of surveyed tech decision makers
Automating business processes and approvals
45%+80%
Collaboration tools
55%+162%
Data for personalization
26%+100%
Apps that bring together department information
33%+74%
Tracking internal issues
35%+119%
Live support for employees
39%+144%
None of the above
49%+96%
Self-service for employees
30%+100%
Managing customer anger
27%+93%
Mental health, wellbeing
29%+61%
Tools to increase employee productivity
51%+143%
Total % investing
% Growth
Post-Covid
Pre-Covid
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Midsize
80%100%60%40%20%0%
Percentage of surveyed tech decision makers
Automating business processes and approvals
69%+116%
Collaboration tools
62%+121%
Data for personalization
48%+78%
Apps that bring together department information
60%+100
Tracking internal issues
69%+123%
Live support for employees
65%+117%
None of the above
4%+33%
Self-service for employees
50%+138%
Managing customer anger
64%+94%
Mental health, wellbeing
61%+110%
Tools to increase employee productivity
75%+134%
Total % investing
% Growth
Post-Covid
Pre-Covid
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Enterprise
80%100%60%40%20%0%
Percentage of surveyed tech decision makers
Automating business processes and approvals
77%+166%
Collaboration tools
69%+200%
Data for personalization
63%+152%
Apps that bring together department information
54%+100%
Tracking internal issues
68%+100%
Live support for employees
68%+106
None of the above
7%+40%
Self-service for employees
59% +103%
Managing customer anger
54%+108%
Mental health, wellbeing
62%+107%
Tools to increase employee productivity
85%+143%
Total % investing
% Growth
Post-Covid
Pre-Covid
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“As companies realize that productivity isn’t negatively impacted and that there are benefits, including cost savings, to having a distributed workforce, putting employees first by ensuring that they have the right tools, technology, and policies in place will translate to better experiences for customers, too.”

Annette Franz

Founder and CEO, CX Journey Inc.

NEXT CX TREND

The digital tipping point