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South Africa’s refreshed GBS value proposition to bolster the international offshoring investment pitch

Genesis Global Business Services (GBS) was commissioned by Business Process Enabling South Africa (BPESA) to compile the South Africa National GBS Value Proposition, which was officially released at BPESA’s 2022 GBS Investor Conference.Following the former GBS value proposition document published in 2019, the refreshed South Africa GBS National Value Proposition presents eight updated key pillars that position the country as an ideal location for offshoring services.Under each key pillar are a collection of data, statistics and information as supporting evidence of South Africa’s winning GBS characteristics. These are some of the highlights:Cost-saving talent and impact sourcing workersCost competitiveness is the ‘tip-of-the-spear’ of the country’s GBS value proposition, registering between 60% to 70% lower costs compared to those in key source markets, including the US, the UK and Australia.Moreover, South Africa’s fully loaded full-time employee (FTE) costs are noted to be lower than those in several competitor markets. The average monthly cost per seat in the country ranges between US$1 096 to US$1 462, which is lower than Poland (US$1 405-US$1 873), Malaysia (US$1 328-US$1 771) and Jamaica (US$1 120-US$1 493). When the country’s GBS Incentives are applied, these costs are comparable with those in the Philippines, Kenya, Egypt and India, which are renowned for their low-price points.Inexpensive costs do not compromise output, as GBS investors and operators have recorded that the country delivers 18% better CX quality, which translates into 4% to 5% better/higher customer retention each year when compared to some competitor offshore markets.One of the factors contributing towards superior CX delivery is South Africa's abundance of English-speaking talent. There is an estimated 760 000 qualified South African youth that are proficient B2 English speakers that are readily available for GBS/BPO hire (after going through work readiness training). This translates into estimated ramp-up speeds of over 21,000 per month.Several of these candidates consist of South Africa’s scalable and diverse pool of impact sourcing workers, which form a third of the country’s total GBS/BPO workforce. Estimated figures of the number of impact sourcing workers employed in South Africa’s GBS/BPO sector are between 78 000 to 90 000.Digitally enabled and vertical-specific expertiseThis talent pool can deliver digitally enabled end-to-end customer lifecycle management services across a range of vertical industries. The predominant vertical industries serviced include telecoms, which employs an estimated 31 092 GBS/BPO workers servicing international markets. Banking (5 511), insurance (11 126), retail (21 827) and utilities and energy (14 870) are the other top international vertical industries serviced from South Africa.International customers in these verticals are supported by ‘follow-the-sun’ models consisting of staff rotation or 24/7 Teams, self-service and omnichannel helpdesk services.Flourishing alongside South Africa’s international contact center and BPO services is its sophisticated business process capabilities in finance and accounting (F&A), legal,  It outsourcing (ITO), learning and credit lifecycle management.Supporting infrastructure and enabling environmentMore than 380 000 kilometers of fiber optic and six submarine cables support the country’s 144 terabytes per second fiber optic capacity. This ensures that there is seamless connectivity to international clients and end-user customers.The country is also physically accessible for GBS/BPO investors, buyers and operators by 141 direct...

Released: bespoke US and UK source market value propositions for South African offshoring providers

In tandem with the release of the South Africa National Value Proposition, Business Process Enabling South Africa (BPESA) commissioned Genesis Global Business Services (GBS) to compile separate GBS source market value propositions for the UK and US markets.Attractive price points, cultural affinity, favorable time zones and accent neutrality, are all factors that have influenced enterprises in the UK to outsource to South Africa, making the UK the country’s largest source market.However, there has been significant growth and investment from the US which is the world's largest offshoring market and South Africa's second-largest source market. Notably, this presents a largely untapped opportunity for South African GBS/BPO operators.Each value proposition is tailored to the unique requirements of the UK and US markets, which can be utilized by BPESA members to deploy bespoke marketing strategies to the respective source market buyers and operators.Keep reading to catch a glimpse of what one can expect to find inside each source market value proposition.UK source market value proposition highlightsRanking 12th out of 112 in the Education First 2021 English Proficiency Index, South Africa is viewed as a right-fit provider of English-speaking CX talent to service UK. In fact, South Africa ranks ahead of popular UK nearshore markets, including Hungary, Poland, Czechia, Ukraine, Morocco and Egypt.Adding to this, UK buyers can save up to 77% on salary costs and between 60% to 70% on per seat full loaded full-time employee (FTE) costs. When South Africa’s GBS incentives are implemented, fully loaded FTE costs can be reduced further by 8% to 10%.When compared to competitor UK nearshore markets, South Africa’s fully loaded FTE costs are less expensive than Ireland, Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Morocco. Again, when the GBS incentives are applied, South Africa’s fully loaded costs are comparable with Egypt.What’s more, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in South Africa is firmly entrenched, translating into a diverse GBS workforce that is 96% multi-ethnic and consisting of 89% youth and 65% female workers.South African GBS/BPO providers have developed niche domain knowledge in the UK and source markets, namely in the telecom vertical, which has created an estimated 16 718 offshoring jobs. Retail (11 742), banking, financial services and insurance (8 946) and utilities (7 996) are other major areas of expertise for the UK market.However, the education and legal verticals are rapidly emerging as new areas of niche expertise delivered to UK buyers by South African GBS/BPO providers, creating an estimated 3 355 and 559 offshoring jobs respectively.Growth in leading and budding verticals is supported by South Africa’s capability as being an established business continuity location for UK brands seeking to spread service delivery across multiple geographies. The ability of South Africa to operate as an offshore hub for UK enterprises is owed to the widespread adherence to key data protection and other compliance legislation, such as GDPR, UKAS and BSI.US source market value proposition highlightsWith over 205 000 B2 level (proficient and potential) English-speaking candidates available to service the US source market, South Africa has a ready supply of skilled CX talent to service...

Latest Global Index Ranks Asia, Eastern Europe as Top Digital and IT Outsourcing Destinations

The latest GBS World Competitiveness Index, published today on the World Source Marketplace for Global Business Services (GBS.World), found that global buyers ranked the Asia-Pacific and Eastern/Emerging Europe regions as leading global destinations for Digital and IT Outsourcing services.Conducted by Genesis Global Business Services (GBS) on behalf of GBS.World, the research included feedback from global enterprise executives based in the key source markets of Australia, Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The respondents represent organizations that outsource and offshore services from the countries and regions covered in the index.Extensive, in-depth analysis“Surveyed executives were asked to rank and rate each country that they outsource to according to factors that include service level delivery across various key business process areas,” explains Mark Angus, Genesis GBS CEO and GBS.World co-founder.Genesis conducted deeper analyses on each country’s talent pools, skills development initiatives, enabling infrastructure, multilingual capabilities, labor costs, specialist business processing services and CX capabilities.“Tallied results established the final competitiveness scores out of a possible combined score of eight across all leading GBS locations,” elaborates Angus.APAC remains global powerhouseThe Asia-Pacific (APAC) region emerged as the dominant destination for IT Outsourcing globally across five key categories, namely general ITO services, software development, technical and helpdesk support, data analytics and science, and robotics and automation.“India emerged as the clear standout performer, appearing in the top 5 in every category and ranking first in two categories, specifically General ITO Services and Data Analytics and Science,” continues Angus.The APAC countries of Philippines, Malaysia, China and South Korea also featured prominently across the categories, which helped to cement the region as the leading delivery location across all the GBS categories assessed in the survey.China emerged as a leader in Robotics and Automation, while Philippines ranked second in IT Outsourcing and the Technical and Helpdesk Support categories.General ITO ServicesEmerging markets boost competitivenessPoland was the leading destination in the burgeoning Eastern/Emerging European (EE) region, which is gaining ground on the APAC region.Poland placed favorably in three categories, ranking first in the Technical and Helpdesk Support category, and within the top three in the general ITO and Data and Analytics categories.The EE region also performed favorably in the Software Development domain, where two countries – Poland and Romania – ranked in the top 10.Africa also had good representation, with Egypt emerging as the dominant location in this survey, ranking in the top 5 in the IT Outsourcing and Software Development categories. South Africa and Tunisia appeared in the top five in a category each – Technical and Helpdesk Support and Data and Analytics, respectively.Mexico, Brazil and Argentina were the best ranked destination in the Central and Latin America (CALA) region.Technical and Helpdesk Support...

Genesis GBS conducts analysis on nearshore CX opportunities in the Caribbean and CALA regions

Genesis GBS recently published a customer experience (CX) market analysis report on the best potential English-speaking, contact center/CX delivery locations in the Caribbean and Central and Latin American (CALA) regions. The closed report was commissioned by a prospective international investor through The World Source Marketplace for Global Business Services (GBS.World).Measuring contact center/CX desirabilityA variety of factors were analyzed in determining the desirability of a potential contact center/CX delivery site, the most pertinent being the total addressable talent tool proficient in B2 English levels. As such, the number of English-speaking, qualified youth was a major influencer in calculating this ‘’magic number’’.Salary costs of contact center agents, team leaders/supervisors and managers were compared between 12 city locations, which revealed the overall average salaries of each contact center role. These were then compared with broader operational expenditure factors to establish cost competitiveness among the profiled locations.Market growth potential, as well as market saturation, were key considerations when presenting the final recommendations. The analysis found that some locations had ample room for contact center/CX growth, while other locations were approaching levels of saturation, and yet still offered proficient skills development pipelines.Physical and ICT infrastructure, tertiary education institutions and skills training capabilities were also used as measurements of desirability. Other multilingual capabilities were also considered, including Spanish and Chinese dialects.Competitor landscapeThe report also included a full analysis of 18 competitor brands across the 12 city locations, including the size of their contact center/CX operations, and profiles of their customer care services, digital fulfilment, compliance and certifications and customer groups serviced.A high-level view of each location’s contact center/CX capabilities and maturity was illustrated by presenting a list of vertical industries serviced, call center/CX services offered, digital channel delivery/fulfilment and technology deployed.Research approachA mixed-methods research methodology was utilized for the market analysis report, incorporating both secondary and primary data. Interviews with investment promotion agencies, industry bodies and contact center/CX operators (outsourced and in-house) were conducted to gain critical insights into the value proposition of the Caribbean and CALA locations.If your organization is interested in similar nearshore or offshore location assessments and reviews, please contact the GBS.World team. ...

Genesis GBS produces 2021/22 South Africa Global Business Services (GBS) National Quantification & Investment Report

Genesis Global Business Services was commissioned by Business Process Enabling South Africa (BPESA) to produce the 2021/22 South Africa Global Business Services (GBS) National Quantification & Investment ReportThe report provided global analysts, investors, business buyers and service providers in obtaining strategic market intelligence, benchmarking data and insights into South Africa’s vibrant investment potential in outsourcing services.Provincial GBS value propositions for the Eastern Cape and Western Cape were also launched alongside the report. These value propositions highlight the distinctive talent and investment strengths and opportunities in each province for would-be investors.What’s insideThe report comprehensively unpacks South Africa’s GBS profile against a backdrop of the market from a global, regional, national and provincial level. These contexts provide perspective into key elements that enable South Africa’s GBS market: skills, human capital and talent, infrastructure (physical and ICT) and investment environment.Insights into what vertical industries are serviced by South African GBS operators are uncovered. In addition, the report shows the composition of South Africa’s horizontal GBS service lines, including customer experience (CX) or contact centre services, digital and IT outsourcing (ITO) and business process or shared services.South Africa’s rise as a regional GBS powerhouseWith an estimated market size of US$4,7 billion and employing over 261,000 workers, South Africa’s GBS sector is the largest in Africa. A deep talent pool, specialist niche services and significant cost savings are some features that propel South Africa’s regional GBS status.Approximately US$915 million was generated in international revenue, whereby 54,244 international cumulative GBS jobs were created between 2018 and 2021.Driving South Africa’s offshore segment are its global source markets, the largest being the UK, comprising 61% of the country’s international GBS services. The US (20%), and Australia (8%), are the second and third largest GBS source markets to South Africa.At a time where African delivery locations are leveraging their multilingual capabilities to attract offshore business, South Africa is internationally renowned for its proficient English-speaking GBS workforce. Local GBS workers are favoured for their neutral accents and cultural affinity to both brands and consumers in the US, UK and Australia.As such, voice and non-voice CX or contact centre services receive the bulk of offshore demand. Inbound (28%) and outbound (14%) customer service and support, and outbound sales calling (11%) are the top CX services delivered to the global market. Telecommunications, retail and utilities are the biggest vertical industries serviced between these source markets.Relatively more complex ITO services are also dispensed from South Africa’s shores, notably in technical support (19%), applications and support management (12%) and application development (10%) services. The remaining 59% of digital services are broken into smaller deliverables, such as cyber security, data centre functions, Contact-Centre-as-a-Service (CCaaS) and unified communications. The country is also renowned for operations and administration back office support, payroll and accounting services, debt recovery and credit lifecycle management and its expertise in human resource service delivery.Cost and value competitivenessHowever, when compared to Egypt, India, Jamaica and the Philippines, South Africa’s salary and total loaded operating costs are slightly higher.To stay competitive, a GBS Incentive Plan...

South Africa Launches Global Business Services (GBS) Masterplan

South Africa has launched its Global Business Services (GBS) Masterplan, a detailed blueprint and country strategy to create 500,000 cumulative international-servicing jobs in the sector by 2030.Prepared by Genesis and commissioned by South Africa’s Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) and national investment promotion agency, InvestSA, the GBS Masterplan reveals how key stakeholders will work together to leverage off the export-orientated GBS market to achieve greater job creation and sector development in the country. The plan is also actively supported and endorsed by the industry association, Business Process Enabling South Africa (BPESA).Since its launch, the GBS Masterplan has received widespread news coverage in IT Web, IOL and News 24, to mention a few.Springboarding off a strong industry foundationRecognised as 2021’s Most Favoured Offshore Customer Experience (CX) Delivery Location in the world and the largest GBS market in Africa, South Africa is already well-positioned to capture the increasing demand of international business outsourcing services.Cumulative year-on-year new job creation growth of 24% since 2015 reflects South Africa’s strong foundation in delivering international GBS services. Youth form the bulk of new job growth, comprising 87% of new entrants into the international GBS market, of which 64% are women.South Africa still has plenty of leg room for growth, fuelled by expanding global demand for offshore GBS. Global organizations are increasingly outsourcing more business functions, specifically in vertical specialised CX lifecycle management, in which South Africa is ranked the best in the GBS World Competitiveness Index.Key objectives and targetsCore to the masterplan is the creation of 500,000 cumulative jobs, whereby 30% of those new jobs must be in complex and highly-complex job levels to optimise an annual export revenue of R24 billion.In addition, the GBS Masterplan focuses on transformation by increasing black ownership, management control and linkages with black enterprises in the domestic economy.Actionable stepsTo achieve these outcomes, actions are broken down into three broad categories: demand-side, supply side, and transformation and sustainability. Acting as mechanisms in the GBS job growth engine, all categories need to move forward simultaneously to ensure growth targets are met.The demand side considers what is required to successfully attract GBS operators and global business buyers to establish delivery sites in South Africa. Primary actions include ramping up marketing and investment promotion initiatives, as well as creating a conducive business environment by implementing financial and non-financial incentives.Ensuring capacity for offshore GBS delivery is the supply side, which focuses on the sufficient supply of relevant skills in the country backed by enabling infrastructure. The dominant initiatives include a demand-led and sustainable skills pipeline, physical infrastructure, work-from-home (WFH) models, increased broadband infrastructure and global data policies.Driving the deliverables is a renewed South African GBS stakeholder ecosystem comprised of role players symbiotically working together to meet the job creation objectives, including government, industry, labour and external partners.Key findingsDespite South Africa’s relative cost competitiveness to source markets, it is not cost efficient compared to some competing offshore locations, such as India and the Philippines. As such, South Africa cannot rely on cost competitiveness alone...

Africa’s rise as GBS juggernaut

New report plots the growth of business process outsourcing and services in AfricaKey Facts and Highlights • Africa’s GBS offshoring market is estimated to be worth $8.3 billion rising to US$11.7 billion by 2023. • The combined domestic and international GBS/BPO market on the continent is expected to rise to $19.8 billion by 2023 from $15.1 billion in 2021. • GBS workforces range from 1,200 est. (Mozambique) to over 261,000 est. workers (South Africa). • Singular GBS country market sizes span US$9.7 million to over US$4.7 billion. • Labor costs are low: the monthly cost of a contact center agent in Africa can range from US$546 to as little as US$175 per month.The 2021 Africa Global Business Services (GBS) Benchmarking and Market Report affirms the continent's status as a rising industry powerhouse. The report estimates that the continent’s GBS offshoring market is expected to reach US$11.7 billion by 2023 from $8.3 billion in 2021.Notably, the combined African domestic and international GBS/BPO sector is estimated to be $15.1 billion and is expected to grow to $19.8 billion by 2023.The Fundamental Message: Africa's offshoring riseThe comprehensive market report reveals the key socioeconomic, demographic and technological drivers behind Africa's rise as a GBS location of excellence, with business process outsourcing (BPO) and IT-enabling services at the forefront of Africa’s rapid growth rates.Maturing and emerging GBS/BPO markets emerged as business continuity outsourcing/offshoring locations across the continent during the pandemic as global enterprises looked to decentralize geographic service delivery, spread and risk.The most prolific value proposition across all African GBS locations is the continent’s extremely low labor costs. The monthly cost of a contact center agent in Africa can range from US$546 to as little as US$175 per month. A contact center manager can cost a maximum of US$2,200 to a minimum of US$406 per month.Background to ResearchThese findings, along with numerous other insights, emerged from the report's in-depth analysis which stems from the mixed methods research methodology.To understand buy-side demand and investment priorities, the research team conducted 360 global interviews. This included over 140 interviews with global enterprise executives from organizations in Australia, Canada, Germany, France, the UK and the US that outsource, or plan to outsource, to Africa. These executives were asked to rank and rate each African country, including service level delivery across various key business process areas.In addition, to plot the supply-side, profiling surveys were conducted on over 500 GBS service providers and delivery centers across 19 African countries. The 19 African country profiling surveys represented a mix of mature, emerging and nascent GBS locations in Africa that now serve as key locations for global and local investors and buyers.Key Research FindingsThe research findings highlight the macro- and micro-economic environments of each location and quantifies the size of Africa's burgeoning GBS/BPO sectors. The report also provides key insights into each country's regional GBS competitiveness, along with reviews of ICT/ITES capabilities and enabling infrastructure. The business and investment environments related to skills, services, strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities are also assessed and analyzed.Moreover, market trends, sizes and salary reviews were corroborated...

How are CX service providers responding to pandemic challenges?

Key Facts and Highlights • Over 88% of CX outsourcers have virtual business continuity plans that take into account work-at-home.• 80% of BPOs are implementing some form of multiple, hybrid physical and virtual work models. • Mental wellness programs are being implemented by 75% of outsourcers. • Negotiating revised compliance and regulatory policies with clients for work-at-home is a key focus areas for 63% of service providers.  The global COVID’19 pandemic sent industries into turmoil when surging infection rates forced state- and country-wide shutdowns. Amid stringent social distancing requirements and shelter-at-home orders, global contact centers and customer experience (CX) service providers faced a dual burden.Clients turned to their trusted outsourcing partners to ensure business continuity, address mandated workplace capacity constraints and unlock capabilities in response to shifting consumer engagement and e-commerce trends. However, contact center operators also had to protect the health and safety of their workforces and adhere to government-mandated regulations.Background to ResearchNow, a new research report reveals the steps taken and industry best practices implemented by leading global contact center and CX outsources to navigate these unprecedented challenges.The 2021 Global CxOutsourcers Business Continuity and Evolving Work Models Survey for Outsourcers is the second report in a three-part industry series by Knowledge Executive* and Ryan Strategic Advisory that surveys CX outsourcers. The first edition reviewed the needs and responses of investment promotion agencies. The third and final report (due out in June 2021) will survey global brands and enterprises.This report in particular, includes important learnings and insights gleaned from the extensive quantitative questionnaires and qualitative interviews with over 60 global BPO and contact center outsourcers regarding best practice guidelines for CX outsourcing.Key Takeaways and FindingsThe major theme to emerge was the virtual-overnight shift to work-at-home operating models. However, most operators followed an augmented approach by maintaining at least some on-site operational capabilities in the physical contact center to allay client concerns around data security and privacy.Innovation and adaptability were vital amid this dynamic business environment, with operators adopting hybrid working models, virtual business continuity plans and enabling technology solutions to transition entire workforces.The Fundamental MessagesThe unequivocal messages to emerge from the research is the distinct advantage held by operators that already had cloud-enabled infrastructure and omnichannel capabilities in place when the need to transition to work-at-home operations arose.And the pandemic has effectively accelerated the digitalization of the contact center among those operators that had not yet embraced cloud deployment models and hosted solutions. However, for the most part, it wasn't always a simple plug-and-play transition for most. The report uncovers key challenges faced by operators that successfully transitioned to at-home operations, such as quality monitoring, knowledge management in remote working scenarios, and the ability to effectively communicate, motivate and support remote workers.Widespread retrenchments and layoffs due to the pandemic’s economic impact has also changed the nature of global workforces. Lower headcounts may prompt greater reliance on gig workers our automated interfaces (even among outsourcers), to deliver critical services or ramp up capacity on-demand, without permanently increasing salary costs.The survey findings...

Patient Satisfaction Declined During Pandemic According to U.S. Consumer Trends Survey Facilitated

New research highlights the need for hospitals and health systems to strengthen human and digital patient communicationStericycle Communication Solutions has announced the results of its U.S. Consumer Trends in Patient Engagement Survey, conducted at a pivotal moment in time when consumers across the country were faced with unprecedented challenges related to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Facilitated by Knowledge Executive, the purpose of the survey was to gain an understanding of current U.S. healthcare consumer behaviors and attitudes regarding their patient experience during the pandemic.   The survey examined provider communications, missed appointments, virtual and in-person visits, and mental health during the pandemic.  Findings reinforce the need for health systems to effectively re-establish communication with patients in order to rebuild trust and help patients adapt and succeed with both digital and in-person experiences. Findings were based on an online- and telephone-based survey of more than 500 consumers across all 50 states that was representative of various household incomes, marital statuses, geographies and ages.“The findings of our inaugural survey are indicative of a notable shift in patient behavior and expectations around provider communication, insights more important than ever during this critical time of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout,” said Matt Dickson, vice president of product and strategy and general manager of Stericycle Communication Solutions. “Re-establishing communication with patients needs to be a primary focus of hospitals and health systems to get patients back on track with their care and reconnected to their providers.”Key report findings show that:Provider communication missed the markThe pandemic exposed and magnified existing weaknesses in patient communication and scheduling.  When the pandemic hit in the U.S., the combination of lockdowns and fear of the virus set off massive cancellations of in-person medical services and the postponement of elective surgeries.  Roughly half (51%) of patients in the survey report being contacted “fairly quickly” about rescheduling their cancelled appointments. However, for more than one-quarter (27%), it “took a while” for their healthcare providers to contact them to reschedule. Another 8% of respondents were still waiting to hear from their providers months after their existing appointments were cancelled.Of patients that rescheduled their cancelled appointments, more than half (56%) were prompted by a phone call.  Almost one quarter (22%) received no prompt at all but rescheduled on their own.  Text message (15%), letter (5%) and email (2%) rounded out the other channels providers used to contact their patients to reschedule cancelled appointments.  Conversely, the survey showed that patients’ preferred channels of communication were email (37%), phone call (30%), text message (28%) and video call (5%), with 57% of respondents reporting that multiple reminders help them keep their appointments and avoid cancellations.When asked whether their providers effectively communicated their COVID-19 policies and procedures prior to attending scheduled appointments, 37% of respondents said “no.”  Of those who had received prior instructions, the primary channel was by phone call (35%), followed by email (27%), text message (24%) and pamphlet via mail (9%). Only 5% received multichannel communication — representing an opportunity for providers to broaden their communication strategies...

How will smarter experiences create smarter jobs of the (near) future?

Responding to evolving consumer preferences regarding digital engagement and empathetic services requires a balanced combination of smart technologies and smart human talent, asserts a special report by Knowledge Executive.As more consumer activity shifts online, the need to embrace a digital-first engagement strategy is driving the smart technology transformation agenda among contact center operators and business process outsourcing (BPO) providers.“Deploying smart digital technologies within customer experience environments supports and empowers agents and customer service personnel by informing and guiding more complex person-to-person engagements, effectively creating “super agents,” elaborates Mark Angus, CEO, Researcher & Strategist at Genesis Global Business Services | Knowledge Executive (GKX).“Our extensive industry research affirms that operating and competing effectively in this era of hyper-personalized engagement requires a smarter approach with a combination of artificially intelligent interaction and emotionally intelligent engagement.”The main message to emerge from the white paper is this: combining high performing employees with advanced digital capabilities and technology delivers future-ready frontline and back office customer engagement capabilities.“As such, the white paper focuses on what customer experience tasks are suited to humans and what tasks are best suited to robots,” states Angus.The special report notes that customer engagements exist on a spectrum, with automated and self-service smart technologies on the one end and agents providing empathetic, warm and friendly interactions at the other end.“As the prominence of smart technologies grows in the contact center, operators will increasingly augment these solutions to extract greater value from talented staff by up-skilling or re-skilling them to perform more advanced job functions with the assistance of technology. This will also create numerous new job titles.” says Angus.Potential new jobs and future roles in a more technology-enabled customer-centric service environment would likely include experts that manage combined robotic workers and human agents.“So expect to see new job titles enter the workplace such as 'Data Detective', 'Human-Machine Team Manager', 'Digital Journey Architect' and 'Master of Edge Computing'. The white paper explains what these smarter jobs of the future could look like,” says Angus.You can download the special report here. ...