Steps and tips for designing effective guided workflows (2023)

While the term "workflow" may not sound exciting, it serves as the basis for everything we do. A workflow consists of a sequence of tasks required to achieve a specific goal. From getting ready to work to completing work projects, we rely on workflows to help us get things done efficiently and effectively.

For example, a workflow for a writer might include researching, outlining, editing, revising, and editing. A chef's workflow can include planning the menu, ordering ingredients, preparing, cooking, and serving.

In a contact center, workflows are especially important to help agents handle customer inquiries with speed, accuracy, and consistency.Guided workflowsinclude the use of technology to automate certain tasks and provide agents with step-by-step guidance on how to handle customer inquiries. It enables agents to perform at their best from day one. They no longer have to waste time looking for answers and workflows in different placesknowledge basenor do they have to worry about what step to take next.

Here are some of the benefits of guided workflows:

• Accelerate the training and onboarding of new agents

• Reducing the number of errors resulting from manual workflow management

• Increased consistency and efficiency in service delivery

• Increased agent credibility and adherence to compliance standards

As automated workflows provide agents with valuable information, promote consistency and increase their confidence, it has become a widely adopted strategy in contact centers. Gartner predicts that global spending on process automation will increase to approx$3.4 billionin 2023, indicating an expected increase of 17.5% from 2022.

However, creating effective guided workflows is not a one-time task. It requires defining specific goals, mapping the process, and testing and refining the workflow to ensure its effectiveness.

In this blog, we will look at the key steps involved in designing an effective guided workflow for a contact center. We will also provide tips and tricks to help you create a workflow that canimprove agent productivity, reduce waiting times and increase overall customer satisfaction. So let's dive in!

Identify the processes

To design effective guided workflows, you need to start by identifying the specific processes you want to automate for your agents. Each industry and department has its own unique set of challenges and opportunities that require tailored workflows to be effective.

For example, in the banking industry, a common workflow that can be automated is the process of blocking a lost or stolen credit card. By creating a form for agents to verify user data, you can streamline the ireduce the time and effort required to handle customer inquiries.

Similarly, in the healthcare industry, you can design a guided workflow for booking appointments or scheduling examinations. This can help contact center agents reduce wait times and improve their service by providing a seamless and efficient appointment scheduling process.

There are various ways to specify which topics/features should be upgraded to a guided workflow for agents. Here are some examples:

• Take a look at the most commonly used manual functions:Identify the most repetitive manual functions and develop guided workflows. These could be tasks like sending emails, canceling orders, updating CRM fields, or scheduling events.

• Deal with the most in-demand topics:Identify topics where customers often ask for help and develop workflows to help agents handle those queries efficiently.

• Tackle the toughest topics:Identify the topics your agents struggle with the most and consider creating guided workflows to give them step-by-step guidance and improve their success rates.

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Once you have a good understanding of your goals, you can start designing a customized workflow to achieve them.

Identify decision points

Decision points are areas of the workflow where employees must make a decision or take action based on the information they receive. For example, when a customer contacts a customer service representative about a problem, the representative may have to decide whether to escalate the problem to a supervisor or handle it themselves.

Similarly, in the case of e-commerce, a customer's contact with a customer service representative requesting the return of a product can be a decision-making point. The representative would have to decide whether to approve or reject the return based on the company's return policy. If the return is approved, a representative will need to guide the customer through the return process.

By identifying these decision points, the company can create branching logic within a guided workflow. Logic can be designed to direct the representative to the appropriate form or script to guide them through the decision making process. This ensures that the client's request is handled efficiently and the representative follows a standard process.

Plan your process

Once you have identified the processes and decision points for guided workflows, the next step is to create an end-to-end workflow to guide your agents through the process. Process mapping involves dividing the workflow into a series of steps, from the initial inquiry to the final resolution of the customer's problem. Each step in the process should be identified, such as verifying customer information, accessing relevant databases, and providing a solution or solution.

A guided workflow can be designed to guide the agent through the troubleshooting process, providing scripted answers, visual aids such as an image, diagrams, and automated data search to help them solve the problem efficiently.

For example, in a healthcare facility, the workflow for scheduling a patient's visit may include several steps, such as verifying insurance information, checking physician availability, and booking an appointment. By mapping each step of the process, the healthcare professional can identify any bottlenecks or inefficiencies and make necessary adjustments to improve the overall efficiency of the workflow.

To ensure guided workflows are effective, it's important to keep them simple and easy to understand. Here are some tips for creating guided workflows:

• Focus on building workflows for your most impactful content, rather than trying to create one for everything.

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• When creating a workflow, reduce the required steps and focus on the task at hand.

• Create a direct path from start to finish without adding tangents or redundant steps.

• Try to keep each step simple and clear, preferably with less than 5 tasks or instructions to start with.

• Use images to visually guide readers through the path, making it easier to follow and understand.

• Create pre-filled forms, templates, and scripts to guide agents through your workflow more efficiently.

Map intent with workflows

Intent mapping with guided workflows involves identifying different types of customer inquiries and matching them with the appropriate workflow. This allows the system to suggest the most appropriate workflows to agents based on the customer's query, helping them resolve the query quickly and efficiently.

Intent refers to the specific purpose or purpose behind the customer's inquiry. For example, a customer may contact a company to inquire about a product, report a problem, or request technical support. The system can use natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning algorithms to identify the intent behind the customer's inquiry and suggest the appropriate workflow to the agent.

It not only helpsimprove the speed and accuracy of the customer service processbut also allows agents to focus on more complex queries that require human intervention.

Test, monitor and improve

Finally, it's important to test and refine your guided workflow to make sure it works effectively. Monitor workflow and collect employee feedback to identify areas for improvement.

One way to test a guided workflow is to run a pilot program with a small group of agents. This allows you to test your workflow in a controlled environment and gather feedback from agents before deploying it to your entire team.

You can also monitor performance metrics such as call resolution time,customer satisfaction ratingsand agent productivity to determine workflow effectiveness. For example, if the average handling time is longer than expected, the workflow can be changed to reduce the number of steps or automate some tasks toincrease efficiency.

Based on the collected feedback and measured results, make the necessary changes to the workflow to improve its performance. This may include updating response scripts, adding new decision points, or improving the automation process.

Last word

In conclusion, designing effective guided workflows requires a deep understanding of the problem you want to solve. It is worth remembering that this is not a one-time activity. Continuous monitoring, feedback and improvement are essential for the workflow to remain effective and meet the changing needs of the company and its customers.

ByWorkflows powered by Sprinklr, contact center managers can easily create, view and manage workflows that their agents can access through a self-service interface. The platform makes it easy to create new workflows and make improvements to existing ones without any coding knowledge.

On the other hand, by simplifying the agent's experience with a clear sequence of steps to follow, guided workflows help agents navigate the various call and chat flows. Step-by-step workflows allow agents to focus on delivering exceptional care, while integrated omni search seamlessly combines knowledge base content and guided workflows into one easy-to-use search tool.

So don't hesitateget to know this powerful tooland take contact center operations to the next level.