For the success of any business, great customer service is critical. Customer service can make or break a company’s bottom line. Loyal customers are worth as much as ten times the dollar amount of their first purchase. While many companies try to have an in-house team to address customer issues, the most successful companies realize that this is not their core competency. For those companies, this critical task is outsourced to partners who specialize in providing world-class customer service, where a dedicated team is allotted to them to handle queries regarding their products or services. The professional call center industry has existed for a long time.
In today’s digital world, the definition of customer experience has shifted. Consumers are unhappy with a business that is only open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. They desire the ability to communicate with a company at any time of day or night and the freedom to choose which channels to use. While evolving technology is ushering in a new era for call centers, organizations must still focus on offering a positive customer experience. Catering to this change in the market, companies like Skybridge Americas are offering unparalleled customer services with the help of technology and new business models.
Andrew J. Bosko, CEO of Skybridge Americas, was with the CEOViews team sharing details of their journey.
How it all started
Skybridge Americas has a long history of customer care excellence, dating back to 1953. In 2011, after a long-term collaboration with Skybridge, entrepreneur Mark Morris bought the company and hired a seasoned CEO, Andrew Bosko to lead its transformation. He was so impressed by the depth of talent and the ability to build these incredibly long-lasting partnerships with America’s most beloved brands. Since then, they have not only maintained those brand relationships, they have invested in the technology, infrastructure, and innovation to become one of the most agile, customer-centric contact centers in North America.
By the mid-2010s, the company recognized that the old “call center” paradigm would never be able to keep up with the speed at which consumer behaviors were changing. They knew that staying at the cutting edge of technology investments was important. But again, the focus was on how they could maintain maximum agility in the marketplace, no matter what disruptions might befall the industry. Technology is just one part of the picture. By 2019, they had a super nimble operating model that allowed them to deliver seamless, superior service to the clients and their customers, even during catastrophic circum- stances. While so many contact centers and the brands they served – thought it was crazy to give up the brick and mortar to go 100% at home. But when the pandemic hit, they were one of the few who were unscathed.
Factors influencing the success
When asked about their success in recent days, Andrew responded, “For us, it’s always about partnership. We know our success comes from our total commitment to partnership with the customers we serve. We embrace each client’s mission and brand strategy, and we collaborate on the best ways to deliver a superior customer experience. Our clients know that they’ll need to adapt as their customers’ needs evolve. They need a customer care partner who is willing, capable, and financially able to adapt. Everything we do is for the purpose of helping our clients build their brand equity”.
Skybridge Americas has a long history of customer care excellence, dating back to 1953.
Andrew credits their consistent growth to the clear, unwavering organizational mindset of the employees. New technologies will come and go, consumer needs and priorities will shift, sometimes unpredictably. But they have a fundamental leadership commitment to staying agile in attitude and open to new ideas while remaining unwaveringly true to the vision and values. Its mission is to continue helping North America’s most beloved brands deliver unparalleled, superior customer experience.
Trends in the industry
Global corporates are now moving their operations to the cloud. Following the same, Skybridge Americas also have moved their operations to a cloud-based platform, allowing them to work with a 100% remote team. They have also embraced artificial intelligence, particularly conversational A.I., which allows them to effectively triage incoming customer contacts by the complexity of call and seamlessly transition between A.I.-assisted calls and live agents whenever needed. But they also maintain significant investments in the technology necessary to support the agents on multiple levels. However, none of those systems would make much of a difference if they didn’t have such close collaboration between the I.T. talent, coaching talent, and the agents themselves. They believe it is just as important to be as attentive, nimble, and responsive to the agents’ needs as they are to those of the customers.
The work culture at Skybridge Americas
Skybridge Americas’ clients know that when their customers need assistance, they become the voice of their brand. Yes, their customers demand accuracy and speed of response. But that’s just not enough. Their clients’ customers place a high premium on whether they feel cared about. Their interactions with the contact center leave deep, long-lasting impressions. For a contact center to consistently deliver that level of CX, its teams have to be empowered and supported to do that. They have to love what they do. They have to love helping people, including customers and teammates. The company hiring model reflects that. It reflects how strongly they value and prioritize a positive, inclusive, welcoming,, and supportive work culture. One can train the technical skills, but you can’t train kindness, empathy, or a problem-solver attitude. They are very proud to have a culture in which everyone strives to make a positive difference in the lives of their customers, their fellow employees, their communities, and themselves.
Roadmap for the future
There are plenty of contact centers that can claim they invest in innovation. But Skybridge Americas’ approach to client partnerships is unique within this industry. Their clients are extremely brand conscious and know that the ultimate make-or-break moment for customer loyalty is the point of communication with the contact center.
The company already has work@home agent teams in fifteen U.S. states and seven Canadian provinces. Their service delivery focus will continue along the current trajectory throughout North America. With this, they aim to serve their North American clients with the best possible attention and create an impact for themselves as well as the brands that they are representing.
