INTERVIEW With multiple communication channels available to customers looking to reach out to businesses, it’s crucial for organisations to integrate their channels into one unified system. This ensures agents are well-informed and are able to provide consistent and personalised interactions, regardless of which channel customers use. “Today’s customers expect service on their terms – they want instant, personalised support across channels 24 hours a day, seven days per week,” says Tim Suley, product marketing manager at CentrePal. “They want businesses to know their history and expect agents to quickly grasp their issue without lengthy explanation or repetition, so their problems are solved in the first interaction. While customers are happy using selfservice artificial intelligence-powered chatbots for simple issues, they expect a seamless handover to skilled agents when needed. Smart businesses understand that exceptional service drives loyalty and growth.” CentrePal unites all business communications in Microsoft Teams, turning it into a one-stop contact centre. The solution embeds customer service tools natively into Teams and connects with customer relationship management systems. This ensures agents can access all the information they need in one place and focus on helping customers, rather than wasting time juggling multiple systems and switching between screens. In addition, CentrePal uses AI tools to help agents resolve issues fast while still delivering the personalised care customers expect. “At CentrePal, we view AI as an enabler that enhances, rather than replaces, human service,” says Suley. “We are thoughtfully integrating AI capabilities, focusing on where it can genuinely improve customer experience rather than just jumping on trends. Our existing AI-powered features – which include intelligent chatbots, smart email handling and customer journey insights – work alongside agents to handle routine tasks. This frees up team members to focus on what they do best: delivering personalised, empathetic service while AI works behind the scenes to make every interaction more efficient.” As technology advances and customer needs change, Suley and the CentrePal team will continue to focus on “practical innovations that deliver real value” to customers. “Our vision has always been about making advanced contact centre capabilities accessible to businesses of all sizes, and that guides how we evolve,” he says. CentrePal’s Tim Suley explains how the convergence of unified communications solutions and contact centre functionality is transforming customer engagement A Teams transformation BY LAURA HYDE 104 “ We are thoughtfully integrating AI capabilities, focusing on where it can genuinely improve customer experience”
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