Enhancing global contact center efficiency using WhatsApp

With 33 contact centers that serve as primary touchpoints for client interactions, it was crucial for MSI to answer as many client inquiries as possible. The existing voice-based approach restricted their ability to provide the right information to those who needed it, manage the volume of inbound calls efficiently, and be cost-effective.

“Our reliance on voice traffic as a primary means of communication limited our ability to handle increasing numbers of inquiries. As a result, we could only answer just over half of the calls we received. With limited resources and agents available, we needed to find ways that would help us address these challenges within the confines of our resources and staff,” shares Ephraim Muvirimi, Global Contact Center Lead at MSI Reproductive Choices.

Customizing contact center operations is easier said than done. For an organization operating in multiple countries, MSI’s challenges were diverse. While the goal was to maximize the number of people they could reach in a cost-efficient way, they also had to ensure that the contact center could operate remotely owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Given restrictions, during the pandemic our agents weren’t able to answer calls from our contact centers. We tried initially to transfer all incoming calls to our agents working remotely but this was a very inefficient process. The varying telephony standards in the countries we operate in further complicated the situation. We needed our agents to continue handling client interactions without putting them at risk,” Ephraim explained.

MSI needed a platform that could integrate with their existing database management software.

With Webex Engage’s capability to seamlessly work with existing systems, offering two-way messaging for client interactions at scale, and evolve with MSI’s presence across the world, were the key reasons that made it the perfect option. The platform enabled agents to work remotely without compromising on productivity or contact center performance. It also supported clients unable to make personal phone calls in private during lockdown.

Webex Engage offered:

• The ability to add WhatsApp Business and Messenger as the go-to channels for communication across all its touchpoints allowing clients to reach out much faster.
• Integration capabilities and the ability to cater to our bespoke requirements helped us kick off the pilot phase quickly.
• Scaling up operations across 33 contact centers at speed.
• Out-of-the-box functionalities, allowing agents to interact with clients in their local language across countries. Along with altering character limits based on the language clients were interacted in, MSI could also standardize WhatsApp messages based on local culture and legal restrictions in each country.

The benefits of the platform were evident right from the start, leading to their inbound call answer rate improved from 54% in 2018 to 78% in 2021 - a 23% increase.

• Webex Engage with WhatsApp enabled MSI to deliver interactive and engaging customer experiences.
• Clients became comfortable with using WhatsApp as their main channel of communication.
• Clients could also rest easy knowing their conversations were private and secure.
• MSI was able to share more relevant content around contraception methods, explainer videos about family planning methods, and the pros and cons of each procedure.
• The platform’s reporting and tagging functionalities helped MSI gain insights on client communication preferences and the most common topics of discussion to help steer content.
• The standard responses available on WhatsApp and the ability to pin important messages like locations or contact information quickly helped agents handle multiple inquiries much faster.