2023 Trends for Enterprises to Watch

While entering a new year is often associated with self-reflection, it’s also an opportunity for businesses to take a step back, assess, and recalibrate, too. A large part of enterprise success can be chalked up to the ability to stay ahead of the curve by identifying and adapting to the latest trends in an ever-changing economic climate. Keeping the following trends top of mind will help businesses best prepare for and navigate the rest of the year.

1. Walk the walk

There seems to be a lot of hollow “business speak” surrounding the concept of a people-first workplace. Unfortunately, it’s become trendy for enterprises to posture as prioritizing individual agents, only to fail to deliver on the back end after having secured talent. The personal and professional health of working individuals go hand-in-hand. Many businesses herald “self-care” as a value and offer “flexible” work schedules, but these benefits end up being covered in caveats that defeat the purpose. Perhaps an enterprise offers unlimited vacation days, but then makes those who exercise the perk feel guilty. Maybe they offer remote work, but only on some days or for certain people.

2. Practice true flexibility

According to The Washington Post, the demand for remote positions remains high, and the workforce continues to expect flexibility in 2023. People have grown accustomed to working when they want and desire to be their own boss. With this model, virtual agents can work where and when they want in order to maximize productivity on their terms. Flexibility in the workplace is a hot button issue these days, and there’s a distinct disconnect between how the workforce defines flexibility and how enterprises deliver it. For instance, some businesses offer a flexible work schedule, but that flexibility ends up equating to a part-time role or a schedule that’s still dictated in a limiting way. Also to be considered is the rapid growth of the gig, freelance, and distributed economy in general. As people take ownership of their work-life balance, demand for flexibility means they are ditching the 9 to 5 (or, let’s be honest, the 8 to 6) for good.

3. Lean into change

For better or worse, there seems to be a collective grappling of what an idealized workforce looks like in a post-2020 world. Despite remote work becoming commonplace, many businesses are summoning employees back to physical offices, including the robust community of call center agents. While some enterprises are trying to return to old standards, others are working to reinvent operating procedures to accommodate the new atmosphere. The latter is sure to yield the healthiest agent and enterprise trajectory.

4. Prepare for feedback

First, this is not a negative! As in any healthy work environment, agents want to be heard. In 2023, it’s vital for contact center leaders to be open to and truly receive feedback from agents. One size does not fit all, and the benefit of accommodating the reasonable desires and needs of agents pays off in the long run. Don’t forget to close the loop. Asking for feedback is one piece of the puzzle. As you implement change – or not – it is important that agents feel their voices are heard and not lost to the void.

A hallmark of Liveops Nation is a person-first approach, as agent satisfaction is directly correlated to performance on behalf of businesses utilizing the independent contractor network. Happy agents=happy customers=happy business leaders.

5. Consider cost efficiency

Companies are always looking to cut costs, especially as 2023 recession fears linger. Conducting large scale layoffs is a major way to cut costs, but at what expense? It’s important to consider whether such measures harm the remaining workforce , for example, or the company’s image/brand loyalty among consumers. When consumers are more mindful about their spending, delivering a sub-par customer experience may cost you more in the long run. Essentially, long term consideration is the name of the game to secure success. One way to keep costs variable, however, is to outsource service to a qualified partner, or leverage the distributed workforce.

6. Keep humans at the core of innovative tech

Speaking of cost efficiency, AI and Machine Learning (ML) are becoming increasingly important in the enterprise world, with organizations using these technologies to gain insights and alleviate the tedium of monotonous tasks. While these platforms can help cut costs by maximizing efficiency, they don’t operate in a vacuum, and people remain vital to tackling certain tasks. For example, natural language processing (NLP) has become more prevalent, but it can also be infuriating for users. With increasing AI integration, it’s important to prioritize how AI can best work for and with people.

7. Lead with purpose

Perhaps most important of all is that consumers align with organizations with similar values. When enterprises infuse purpose into every part of the business, agent and customer experiences are enhanced. That clarity keeps all on task, reminding individuals why they do what they do and the impact they make every day.

From the view at the top of Q1, the concept of preparing for the unknown of 2023 can feel overwhelming to businesses. The good news is that being mindful of forecasted trends and concerns and maintaining open lines of communication will maximize preparedness, inform an idealized work environment for all, and ensure enterprises are well-positioned for success in 2023.