GBS WORLD NEWS | WEEK 1 | APRIL 2023

Customer service workers in Oregon, US were in an uproar after 150 to 200 agents were retrenched at an iBex Global contact center located in Bend. Once employing over 850 people for 23 years, the company’s loss of the customer support contract with DirectTV has led to the decision to close down the Bend offices and restructure customer service delivery to a work-from-home (WFH) operating model. As such, an undisclosed number of workers have been shifted to WFH.

Implementing security checkpoints along the entire customer journey is one of four key global customer experience (CX) trends revealed in the CSG State of the Customer Experience 2023 Report. Data was collected from over 12 billion global customer journey interactions, leading to the overall conclusion that business leaders realize the importance to accelerate digital CX but need help deploying their CX journey.

Johannesburg, South Africa is the first location in the continent with an Apple Premium Partner (APP) store concept. The new store is inspired by Apple’s iconic retail concept, offering the Apple experience while delivering an enhanced level of customer service. Some of the key features of the APP store include interactive CX, training workshops and Apple products for SMEs.

Ukraine exported more IT outsourcing (ITO) services in 2022 than the previous year – a strong indication of the country’s resilience and agility during the Russian invasion, as found in the CrossConnect Forum. The conference aimed to connect European and UK businesses with outsourcing partners in the Americas. The IT Ukraine Association and the Ukraine Contact Centre Association have continued to grow their international outreach to show potential enterprise buyers and operators that the country can still successfully deliver ITO services despite the war.

A dedicated cloud communications provider in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, Toku, has announced the acquisition of the Southeast Asia arm of Activeo, a CX consulting firm headquartered in France. Activeo Singapore currently supports over 150 clients with their digital transformation projects and for the past year has worked with Toku as an independent partner to deliver CX transformation projects.

North American air carrier, Air Canada, will be experimenting with artificial intelligence (AI)-powered voice assistants for customers experiencing unexpected flight delays or cancellations to reduce call volumes. The launch date for the innovation has not been officially announced, but the trial could start as early as this coming summer. The AI solution will initially address low-complexity CX issues but over time it will learn from its interactions and take on more complex tasks for Air Canada customers.