Explanation of asynchronous communication
Asynchronous communication is the exchange of information where participants do not need to be present or involved at the same time. It allows individuals to respond to the communication when it is convenient for them, taking into account different time zones, availability and preferences. It has gained a foothold in business communication, especially in a post-pandemic world with remote and/or hybrid working patterns.
Examples of asynchronous communication include emails, messaging services such as WhatsApp, project management tools such as Trello and Slack, and recorded video or audio messages.
The advantages of asynchronous communication include:
- Flexibility – participants can participate according to their own schedule
- Productivity – responses can be more thoughtful and detailed as all participants can participate at their own time
- Inclusion – it takes into account different time zones, work patterns and preferences
- Records – there is a written communication trail that can be referred to later
The disadvantages include:
- Delayed responses – Time delays between messages can slow down decision making or resolution
- Misunderstandings – Misunderstandings that require clarification can extend the conversation time
- Engagement – the lack of immediate or face-to-face interaction can leave team members feeling disconnected, especially when much of the conversation takes place outside of their time zone or work hours.
Asynchronous communication in the contact center
The benefits and flexibility of asynchronous communication in the contact center are clear. Customer wait times are no longer dependent on the availability of human agents to answer their questions, and customers benefit from the ability to communicate on their terms rather than being dependent on the contact center’s opening hours.
Using email in the contact center, for example, allows agents to be more productive. Customer service platform provider Local Measure points to a study by SBR that found that during a customer interaction, customer service agents switched between an average of two computer screens and seven different windows to gather the necessary information. Using asynchronous communication like email allows agents to handle multiple cases simultaneously, which suits the study in a way that phone conversations wouldn’t be possible.
How asynchronous communication alleviates problems in the contact center
Challenge No. 1: High call volume
A high call volume can overwhelm employees and lead to long wait times, which in turn leads to frustrated customers.
- Adding asynchronous communication channels such as email, chatbots, and messaging apps allows customers to send messages without requiring an immediate response, reducing agent workload and reducing wait times for customers using phone lines.
- Asynchronous communication channels allow requests to be queued based on priority, smoothing call volume peaks and potentially improving the customer experience.
Challenge two: agent burnout
Agent fatigue and burnout can lead to high turnover – making recruiting, training and retaining employees a time-, resource- and cost-intensive challenge.
- By using asynchronous communication channels, agents can manage their workload more efficiently, responding to customer requests more flexibly and when they are most productive – without the pressure of real-time interactions.
- In addition, requests can be distributed more evenly among agents, thus avoiding overloading individual agents.
Challenge No. 3: Time zone differences
Asynchronous communication enables more seamless and effective conversations across time zones – without customers or agents having to interact in real time. Customers can send their comments or requests 24/7, so they are not tied to business hours.
Contact centers can also implement a “follow the sun” model, where teams can address requests of varying difficulty levels during their working hours, providing continuous support without overloading specific global teams.
Challenge four: uniform responses
Agents have more time to access different screens and knowledge bases when handling requests that are not in real time. For example, when responding to an email, they can review previous interactions with that customer and research the best course of action before responding.
Agents can also use response templates to manage consistency, speed up responses, and reduce tedious workloads.
Challenge five: Dealing with customer frustration and reducing frustration
In addition to the clear advantages of this always-on communication already explained, this asynchronous approach offers two further advantages:
- Self-service options: Self-service ensures that customers can access FAQs, tutorials, and live chat to reduce the need for agent interaction.
- Proactive updates: Asynchronous communication allows customers to be automatically informed about the status of their request, eliminating repeated phone calls to follow up.
Asynchronous communication channels can significantly alleviate some of the common challenges of a contact center: they increase efficiency, improve the customer experience, and reduce agent burnout.
Engage, Local Measure’s pre-built contact center, enables omnichannel support within a single interface, allowing agents to manage multiple interactions in one place without getting lost trying to find the relevant windows and information.
Learn more about Local Measure Engage.
