Startek is global business process management services provider and a leader in implementing new-age CX solutions. The company specializes in creating digitally integrated customer experiences between a brand and its customers. Powered by the science of dialogue, Startek helps brands strengthen their customer relationships.

Startek has gone through a sequence of digital transformations to provide cutting edge customer experience solutions digitally – using various integrated AI solutions, such as quality automation, implementation of speech/ chat-bots, WFH, virtual desktops for workforce management and IT security.

The Need for Digital Transformation

The amount of information generated each day within most modern businesses is enormous. The sheer volumes of incoming data continues to overwhelm the abilities of employees to process manually, for any meaningful and intelligent use. Startek realized this dilemma early on and began to examine methodologies on capture and use of this unending overflow of structured and unstructured information to create value. In addition, this was done simultaneously across all the available channels in order to create a fully digital, full-scale solution.

Startek decided to undertake the tryst for digital transformation in customer experience management that would specifically deploy new technologies, such as quality automation, omni-channel capabilities, smart IVR, virtual agents (RPA) and artificial intelligence. This approach to digital transformation not only required the company to invest in but also to build new professional skills and greater abilities to administer them.

Due to this digital approach, the company is able to provide services that are a combination of omnichannel CX, business process services and industry back office solutions , and use of analytics and cognitive technologies. This transformation has also helped meet the demand of consumers who are increasingly digitally minded and can thereof boost their own digital transformation.

Digital Solutions Amidst the Opportunity of Changing Landscape

COVID-19 came as a catalyst for digital transformation. Organizations that were not able to move fast and adapt to the new normal will possibly see their revenues shrinking. For the first time, clients are demanding the change to go digital rather than being persuaded to do so. For long digital transformation was one of the items on the ‘to-do’ list of clients’ CIOs/CEOs. The client organizations have traditionally been wary of change. However, COVID-19 has brought digital transformation into the forefront and superseded all the other initiatives, as it supported a seamless business experience and continuity through the lockdown. The days of FTE based/ transaction led pricing are losing its shine. Clients expect their partners to add value to their business through upcoming tools and technology, such as analytics, machine learning, omni-channel solutions, etc. To achieve this, Startek created a cross-functional team to not only develop customer centric solution but also design an optimal solution journey by exploring technology to aid business as well as to ensure profitable returns. The Start Cloud journey is one such example. This could well be the beginning of a new era not only for Startek, but also for the entire BPM industry.

The onset of COVID-19 accentuated the need for a smart work-from-home model. Prior to that, employees worked in a brick-and-mortar environment, at times in shifts. During and post COVID, offices moved into people’s homes to run the business operations. The mismatch between on-premises infrastructure and cloud-design considerations created the need to address some of the key challenges to ease changes in people, process and technology management. Organizations had to quickly bring in solutions to ensure quality and continuity.

Some of the main concerns were:

With the intention to support the movement in a safe and secure environment, Startek took up initiatives to go digital utilizing technology and innovation to further all the business needs.

Digital Solutions Implemented

In an erstwhile contact center environment, 100% call monitoring was not a viable proposition. At best, audits would be carried out on a random basis, manual feedback collected, analyzed and necessary action taken. This was clearly a cumbersome process with limited reach and time-consuming corrective action. Startek implemented automated AI tools to audit 100% of the calls and provide instant results, allowing a more robust mechanism of exception handling and a focused training needs analysis.

With the quality automation tool, real time self-evaluation of 100% of the calls is done, a dashboard is created at the agent’s screen as soon as the call gets completed and the exception report goes for necessary actions as per a defined matrix in the system. The process not only improves quality real-time, but also creates detailed individual and group-based analysis on areas of improvement.

Implementation of virtual bots empower the operating agents with the requisite detailed information on a real-time basis, to resolve customer issues rapidly and offer solutions based on personalized and predictive insights. The virtual bots technology triggers recommendations on the immediate next best action during the. This not only reduces the average handling time but also vastly improves customer satisfaction.

Using this technology, agents handle customer communications across numerous channels such as voice, SMS, web, email, social, chat and fax. It provides a universal customer experience irrespective of location or mode (anytime, anywhere, any channel).

Working from home brought on new challenges which were never previously thought of. Certain privileges were taken for granted when working in a co-located, controlled and secured environment. A significant challenge stems from the need to enhance security and compliance. Many companies are dealing with and managing confidential data – not only their own, but also their clients and customers. In a vulnerable environment this can give rise to serious frauds, especially in the financial and health sector.

A Phased Approach

The company created detailed project plans, which were eventually implemented in three phases:

The three phases were closely and thoroughly monitored through a program office, which also managed the change process completely.

A few immediate and visible advantages of implementing the digital transformation program were:

Way Forward

The organization’s digital transformation journey covered the three critical facets of work – the business, the people, and the customers. It included not only the technology to automatically collect, extract, analyze and manage data but also the human aspect towards those who execute/ monitor/ qualify the process, as well as provide superior product to the customer by adding individual-specific intelligence and human interactions.

The digital transformation journey at Startek was not only about the opening digital channels to interact with customers, but also a strategic enterprise project that changed the way people work and the way business is done. It gave the customers the ability to transform all their unstructured data and documents into structured, useable data, allowing them to promptly switch to a full digital environment.

More now than ever before, business leaders within the services industry (and in others as well) need to take one of the three possible decisions:

1) Head-in-sand –Do nothing all going well, things will take care of themselves.

2) Adopt and adapt –Implement technology tools in line with the industry.

3) Trendsetter – Choose to be ahead of the curve and take the industry to a new high in which change happens at warp speed

It is a question of what is important to who, and how much. Startek chose the riskier path to be a trendsetter – towards self-determination, intellectual creativity and to build unbreakable bonds.

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