I’m presently revising for the MB-230 examination. This examination is for Microsoft Dynamics 365 and covers all features of customer support. As I revise I plan to publish weblog posts that collectively will turn into an entire revision information for anybody embarking on the identical journey as me. On this submit I’ll start to debate Omnichannel for Buyer Service.
You possibly can see an extract from the present expertise measured assertion beneath. What we are able to instantly see is that Omnichannel for Buyer Service covers a big part of the examination! And likewise that this matter contains quite a few topics for us to revise. I’ll try and cowl as a lot info as doable in a group of weblog posts that ought to support your understanding of Omnichannel. On this submit I’ll think about an outline of Omnichannel and I’ll develop on any matters raised in future posts.
Tip:
My weblog additionally contains many posts about Omnichannel for Buyer Service. You may additionally profit from studying not less than a few of these as they may dive deeper into particular matters.
What’s Omnichannel?
I assume I ought to set the scene by explaining what Omnichannel is and why we’d want it!
We dwell in a digital age the place empowered prospects can (and can) contact service-focused organisations in a mess of how. The shoppers will usually attain out utilizing no matter communication technique works finest for them. And whatever the channel chosen by the client the agent might want to have the client’s particulars shut at hand to have the ability to rapidly and successfully deal with queries.
Organizations subsequently have to supply a wide range of assist channels together with; telephone, electronic mail, dwell chat, SMS, digital brokers, social channels and extra. And whatever the channel getting used the brokers will want constant entry to data base articles, agent scripts and different productively instruments to assist them resolve the queries.
Moreover brokers might have to juggle a number of buyer conversations concurrently. In my expertise it has been frequent for one agent to be required to deal with between 3 to five internet chat conversations concurrently. This could solely be achieved when the purposes they use assist contextual classes which allow them to seamlessly swap from dialog to dialog.
Microsoft’s Omnichannel for Customer support app can assist a number of channels and has quite a few options to assist organizations present top notch service on this omnichannel / digital world.
Notice:
In current months Microsoft have made an enormous push to make steady enhancements to their Omnichannel providing. It’s subsequently very doubtless that a few of the ideas I present in these posts may evolve fairly rapidly. I encourage you to make sure your revision doesn’t rely purely on my posts however you additionally search out extra info on the newest options. Plus Omnichannel is a big topic, so don’t assume I’ll have coated each final element!
Buyer Service Workspace and Omnichannel for Buyer Service Apps
Microsoft present two customer support apps which assist a multi-session interface and can be utilized by brokers to handle Omnichannel conversations.
The primary of those is the “Omnichannel for Buyer Service” app. That is their unique multi-session app that shipped with Omnichannel for Customer support. You could subsequently generally discover it being utilized in any examples you see for Omnichannel.
We now even have the “Buyer Service Workspace” app. In lots of respects this presents precisely the identical agent expertise as the unique omnichannel app. Within the Buyer Service Workspace the default dashboard (usually) isn’t the agent dashboard we see within the Omnichannel for Buyer Service app. However the brokers can simply open that dashboard or the default could be modified.
I assume the important thing distinction (in my view) is you could choose to make use of the “Buyer Service Workspace” app with out enabling Omnichannel. Subsequently perhaps its utilization may turn into wider than the unique Omnichannel for Buyer Service app.
I personally usually favour utilizing the “Buyer Service Workspace” app. However any of the agent or supervisor experiences I describe in these posts will work just about precisely the identical in both software. (At this cut-off date I feel your solely “take-away” must be an understanding that we now have two multi-session apps obtainable!)
No matter which app you utilize there are a number of elements to the agent expertise you want to pay attention to. I’ve proven a display screen shot of a dwell dialog beneath. Then beneath the display screen shot I’ll spotlight the aim of every a part of the display screen.
- Periods
As brokers settle for the notifications from incoming conversations classes will robotically open. They’ll swap from session to session by clicking on the session names within the left panel. Additionally discover that the agent at all times has entry to their “Dwelling session”. It’s right here that they are going to view any world tabs. Sometimes that might be their agent dashboard exhibiting the standing of conversations.
Agent can begin classes robotically by clicking on notifications brokers. As well as they’ll additionally open instances (and different data) from their residence dashboards by clicking the mouse while holding down shift.
Tip: Should you discover holding shift to begin classes “clicky” then checkout this weblog submit. As I describe how we are able to allow a simplified technique of navigation. Additionally … I feel I just lately learn that the second launch wave in 2021 will allow this simplified navigation by default!
One – Session tabs
Inside every session we can have a number of session tabs. Every tab will embody a Dynamics 365 kind or different internet useful resource. Directors can really improve the session begins to open a number of tabs if required! Or holding “ctrl” if you click on a hyperlink will open a brand new tab within the session. You can even use the “+” icon to open new tabs within the session. (Sure, the simplified navigation talked about above does take away the necessity to maintain “ctrl”.)It’s these ideas of classes and session tabs which give us the multi-session interface inside our Omnichannel apps.
Two – Dialog panel
Throughout conversations we even have a dialog panel. It’s from this panel that the agent can swap messages with the client and even different brokers. Extra capabilities transferring the dialog to a different agent. Plus fast replies can be utilized from the dialog panel, these are an effective way to rapidly and constantly ship generally used phrases.
Brokers can even rapidly take notes, entry the data base and even activate real-time language translations from the dialog panel. Plus if enabled the agent can escalate an internet chat right into a voice or video name.
Importantly brokers can even see a real-time evaluation on the client’s satisfaction degree or sentiment. As I’ll describe in later posts the sentiment rating can be seen to supervisors when they’re monitoring ongoing conversations.
Three – Presence management
The agent’s presence is a crucial idea! You probably have ever used Microsoft Groups you’ll already be aware of the concept that every particular person could be inexperienced (obtainable) or purple (busy). We will additionally outline customized presence values if the agent desires to flag they’re on a break and so forth.
The brokers presence will default and alter from obtainable to busy robotically as they begin / finish conversations. However along with this brokers can manually change their presence as required.
4 – Buyer abstract
The shopper abstract tab or dialog tab in case you favor accommodates particulars of the incoming dialog. That is the “anchor tab” for the session. As you open buyer data or create instances these might be linked to the dialog.
Additionally on this tab the brokers can see the dialog abstract management. It’s right here they’ll see all kinds of helpful details about the dialog. Together with any pre-chat survey responses, wait occasions, buyer location, language and extra.
5 – Productiveness panel / agent scripts
The productiveness panel can embody three issues. Sensible help, agent scripts and data base. All of those are designed to assist the agent analysis and resolve buyer queries.
The good help panel makes use of AI to present strategies on data articles, comparable instances and different strategies which can be helpful.
The agent scripts are guided processes to assist the agent resolve queries. Of their easiest kind they provide prompts to the agent to assist them resolve what messages to convey to the client. However past that they’ll additionally set off macros which might automate processes, corresponding to opening a brand new case and rather more.
Omnichannel Admin Heart (and NOT Omnichannel Admin app)
As I’m certain you possibly can recognize directors have a great deal of configuration choices related with Omnichannel for Buyer Service. Subsequently we now have an administration app known as “Omnichannel admin heart”. That is used to outline the channels, routing guidelines and different settings that make up our Omnichannel resolution. As I progress with these weblog posts we’ll cowl many choices inside the admin heart
At this level I ought to point out the “Omnichannel Administration” app! Sure we now have two admin apps in the intervening time. (Complicated I do know!!) As talked about earlier Microsoft have been constantly bettering their Omnichannel capabilities …. When Omnichannel first launched all the administration was accomplished within the “Omnichannel Administration” app. That app does nonetheless exist and does nonetheless function.
BUT IMPORTANTLY. Upon getting began to take care of settings within the newer “Omnichannel Admin Heart” you possibly can now not preserve your channels within the older expertise. Subsequently in all of those weblog posts I might be exhibiting display screen pictures from the newer Omnichannel Admin Heart. This does imply you should still discover some info printed which exhibits the previous app. (My older weblog posts for instance!) Usually the ideas from the previous app could be utilized within the new one. Usually it’s simply the navigation which is totally different. However the brand new app will even embody new options not current within the previous app. (Clever machine studying for routing of instances being one in all many examples!)
Channels / Workstreams / Queues
The admin heart permits us to configure Omnichannel settings. So this may be a very good level to introduce just a few new ideas / phrases.
Channels could be created. These could be for internet chat or social channels corresponding to Fb or Twitter. Every channel is linked to a workstream. Workstreams are the important thing definition of how we wish conversations on the related channel to function. The workstream will embody a definition of the behaviours and consumer options relevant to the channel. For instance, it would embody a definition of the pre-conversation survey or allow sure options like dialog transcripts.
Workstreams can even embody classification guidelines. These might embody particulars of what expertise we anticipate brokers to have to have the ability to reply buyer queries.
Subsequent the workstream will embody routing guidelines to outline which conversations might be routed to which dialog queues. Queues in Omnichannel are fairly just like different queues in Dynamics 365! In that we now have a queue and it may be related to a lot of members. (or brokers.)
Different settings on the workstream outline the work distribution logic. For instance, how a lot capability of the agent might be consumed for every dialog on this workstream. Or after we are utilizing expertise primarily based matching if an actual match is required or if a closest match logic could be utilized.
I’ll little doubt return a number of occasions in future posts to explaining ideas related with workstreams! As they’re the core part within the definition of our Omnichannel behaviour.
Agent Dashboard
As already talked about … in each Omnichannel apps brokers will use the Omnichannel Agent Dashboard. That is their start line for managing conversations.
Typically talking the agent will get a notification {that a} dialog has been assigned to them. They’ll settle for that dialog and subsequently set off a session to open. Generally they are going to full the dialog after which exit the session. A minimum of that might be a typical course of after we are speaking a couple of internet chat dialog!
Not all conversations will function in the identical approach. Take into account an SMS dialog … these are typically lengthy operating. As prospects will most likely not give the moment responses we’d anticipate with an internet chat. It that situation it might be fairly doubtless that the agent closed the session previous to the dialog ending. After which re-open the dialog later.
One other situation is the decide distribution technique. Usually we’ll “ship” the dialog on to an agent with a notification. That is known as the push distribution technique. However we now have one other method known as “decide”. With the decide method the dialog is routed to the queue however the brokers would then manually decide the dialog when they’re prepared. I’ve used the decide method when routing instances created from a web-portal to brokers, because the instances didn’t want the identical occasion response as we’d anticipate with the push technique.
These eventualities and extra are the place the agent dashboard comes into play. It accommodates three panels that robotically refresh each few seconds. (Though the agent can even click on the “Refresh All” button to drive a refresh if required.)
- My work gadgets – this panel accommodates an inventory of all of the conversations presently energetic with the agent. These perhaps already open in classes. However the agent might have closed the classes. To allow them to use the “…” choice on the dialog card to open a session when required.
- Open work gadgets – This central panel will present any conversations (or data) which have been routed right into a queue the agent is a member of. The gadgets right here can be found for choosing. When this occurs the agent can use the “…” choice to choose the dialog. Doing so would successfully assign them to the dialog and transfer it from the “Open work gadgets” panel into the “My work gadgets” panel.
- Closed work gadgets – Not too long ago accomplished work gadgets will present within the closed work gadgets panel. As conversations are closed within the “my work gadgets” panel we’ll see their standing adjustments to “wrap up”. After which they turn into accomplished as they progress into the closed work gadgets space. This panel may be helpful if an agent must overview the small print of a just lately completed dialog.
Agent Presence / Capability Ideas
Earlier I discussed the idea of agent presence … and the way this may change robotically as conversations are began. I additionally talked about how conversations are routed within the workstream to queues.
Every queue accommodates a lot of brokers and the system must resolve which agent to push the conversations to. (Assuming you might be utilizing the push distribution technique!) That is when the idea of capability can come into play.
Firstly the agent presence might be evaluated. As any brokers who’re off line or in a don’t disturb mode could be excluded. (Truly the presences which are thought-about for routing could be tailor-made in your workstream!)
Subsequent we’ll usually allocate the dialog to the agent who has probably the most capability. Every agent’s system consumer report contains some extra fields particular to Omnichannel. You possibly can see my report beneath! I’ve a capability of 300. This implies I can deal with as much as 300 “workstream dialog factors” at one time. Every workstream has a capability setting that might be utilized to conversations arriving on that workstream. So, say I’ve a chat workstream and that has been set to 100 factors. This may imply I may deal with as much as 3 chats concurrently as my capability is 300. However say SMS conversations are rated at 50 factors. Then I may deal with as much as 6 SMS conversations directly. And any mixture …. So I may deal with 4 SMS conversations and nonetheless full one internet chat. And so forth and so forth.
It may also be value noticing that our brokers additionally get a default presence. That is really actually helpful. As I typically set my default presence to “Don’t disturb”. That means once I first log into Omnichannel I can’t begin getting any notifications till I manually make myself obtainable.
You can even see that inside the Omnichannel tab you possibly can see which dialog queues I’m a member of and in addition entry my expertise profile as properly.
WOW that’s a variety of ideas for one weblog submit! I hope you might be nonetheless with me. Future posts will construct on these ideas and extra to hopefully provide you with an outline of the important thing info you’ll want to pay attention to in your MB 230 examination. Get pleasure from.
