Knowledge management and the impact of COVID-19

Proactive diagnostic analytics versus predictive modeling and data science. We’re learning how to collaborate remotely, navigate varied supply chain demands, and connect to our customers in new and meaningful ways. What does this mean for how we measure our businesses and the way we scale, compete, and learn? As businesses adapt to the pressures of COVID-19 and the uncertainty of re-opening the global economy, proactive diagnostic analytics will overtake predictive modeling and data science as the path forward for successful companies. In the midst of drastic change, businesses need to be proactive in their use of data, and they need tools that can proactively recommend the data that’s having an impact.

This proactive approach is far more valuable than predictive technologies and automation. These are peacetime investments for businesses, places to look for incremental gains when the entire market is rising. Today, companies need to make critical decisions about immediate sustainability, and those that can leverage the data they have in the moment will separate themselves from those who can’t. The most successful leaders will seize on any opportunity to use detailed facts about the current performance of their business to ensure they have a path forward to their future.  — Peter Bailis, CEO and Founder of Sisu

A dramatic shift in how and where we work: COVID-19 has shown the importance of innovation and technology to enable work flexibility regardless of physical location, and across multiple devices. In particular, intelligent automation and cloud computing have been vital technologies in enhancing pandemic response across the private sector, governments, and healthcare agencies during the pandemic. They have helped enable business continuity, allowing citizens and frontline workers to access critical information in real time, accelerating contact tracing, and expediting loan processing to help business stay afloat.

Businesses with a digital transformation strategy already in place were able to more quickly adapt and transition to remote work. As a result, we expect to see more companies continue to operate virtually even after offices reopen and lean more heavily on the cloud to sustain a virtual workforce. As offices reopen, we will likely see businesses heavily rely on digital tools to manage safeguards such as staggered shifts, contact tracing, and health scoring.  The current economic climate is also likely to accelerate digital transformation, as organizations automate manual processes to better manage a disparate workforce, optimize supply chains to handle disruptions and meet demand, and scale up remote customer support. —Max Mancini, Executive Vice President, Bot Store, Automation Anywhere

The need for the latest technology. We have seen first-hand the value of a work from home (WFH) solution and the positive effects it can have on productivity, absenteeism, adherence (to schedules) and attrition, which has been beneficial as we’ve ramped up to address added customer needs. Going forward, I would expect to see companies moving to a blended solution of WFH and traditional brick and mortar to optimize costs and drive productivity. However, with the high-unemployment rate globally and increased agent satisfaction levels in a WFH solution, I would expect the currently low levels of attrition to continue well into 2021. Additionally, a WFH solution expands the scope of recruiting for traditional call center roles, allowing for lower costs and/or higher skills that may or may not be as prevalent within the geographic areas around the brick-and-mortar call centers.

With more people working from home and social distancing, there has never been a more important time to rely on the latest technology to ensure customer service. We are seeing a higher reliance during technical support – and even in some of the most basic customer support calls—to leverage technology. For example, to get more visibility into the customer’s issue, we’re integrating such tech as Smart/Interactive IVRs, augmented reality, AI—all of which could be integrated into an application enabling real-time access to a help desk.  — Steven Petruk, President of Global Outsourcing Division at CGS

Marketing must be human.  The pandemic came on so fast and people’s lives were upended overnight, yet the marketers that pivoted quickly to meet customers in their moment of anxiety, not to sell, but to support were the ones that resonated.  The brands that really applied the concept of “the thought matters” will see long-term gains in the minds of their customers.

The way this work gets done is also different.  The "future of work" that we thought was at least 5-7 years away is here now and we’ve got to lean into it or else everything will break.  Our new normal is that work will continue to be digital, disparate, and demanding.  Of course, marketing is not getting any less demanding.  The strain the pandemic put on marketing to shift was severe and marketers must adopt new strategies, planning cycles, and execution processes to keep up, and then eventually lead. — Ed Breault, CMO, Aprimo